Transit in Oconee?

ABH covers a push in Oconee County for better transit options.

GDOT ok's sprawl in Oconee Co

Banner-Herald:

GDOT "will give Oconee County officials the go-ahead to buy 150 pieces of rights of way along Mars Hill Road in North Oconee."

" The new Mars Hill Road will be a four-lane, divided highway... and [will] help spur business growth in the area. "

The affected area:



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MACORTS surveying interest in rural bus routes

MACORTS, our regional transportation planning body, is conducting a survey to measure interest in running public transit to Madison & Oconee counties.

Officials said any rural transit system likely would consist of smaller vans that would, for example, ferry elderly residents from home to the doctor and back.

There are no plans to expand Athens-Clarke bus service into outlying counties, Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie said, but he does get requests from carless commuters in small towns like Winder, Danielsville, Watkinsville and Lexington for some form of public transit.

MACORTS hosting public transit feasibility meetings in Madison & Oconee counties

PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Public Transportation Feasibility Study

The Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS) has contracted with Street Smarts to assess the need and evaluate the options available to provide public transportation service within the MACORTS region.

A public meeting will be conducted in both Madison County and in Oconee County to obtain public input on various service concepts for meeting public transportation needs in the community. The meetings will be held as follows:

Oconee County
Thursday, April 23 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Oconee Veterans Park Community Center
3500A Hog Mountain RoadWatkinsville, GA 30677

Madison County
Tuesday, April 28 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Madison County Government Complex
91 Albany AvenueDanielsville, GA 30633

Rail-Trail follow up

Promising news from yesterday's meeting in Oconee County:

A new effort is starting to rumble among residents in Oconee and Clarke counties to convert a mostly inactive rail line from Watkinsville to Madison into a haven for cyclists and joggers.

Organizers face an uphill climb in their nascent move to switch rails to trails on the 20-mile stretch of railroad. At least one previous rails-to-trails effort, about nine years ago, failed after backers met resistance from the rail company and local officials.

Still, about two dozen locals showed up to a meeting this week to support the project, and Oconee County Parks and Recreation officials are excited about the idea now, so organizer Scott Nichols said he feels good about the trail's prospects.

Oconee County rail-trail meeting

The Oconee County Advisory Committee on Recreational Affairs will be holding a meeting on Greenways, Rails to Trails and connectivity between parks, schools and neighborhoods. Guest speaker will be Mike Wharton from Athens-Clarke leisure Services and John Devine from the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center. The meeting will be held at the Oconee County Civic Center on October 21 at 6:00pm (just before the SPLOST public hearing).

Road & development plans

Two items from the ABH today:

1. The state Department of Transportation will hold an informational meeting this afternoon about a proposed interchange at the Athens Perimeter intersection with Peter Street and Olympic Drive.

   The meeting will be held from 5-7 p.m. at Stroud Elementary School, 715 Fourth St.

   Visitors will be able to view interchange plans, ask questions and make comments. There will be no formal presentation.

2. Oconee [county] approves Epps Bridge shopping center despite environmental & traffic concerns:

Oconee commissioners voted 3-1 Tuesday to rezone the site from agricultural use to allow the shopping center. Commissioner Margaret Hale voted no.

Commissioners were more concerned about the problems visitors to Epps Bridge Centre will create for already-clogged traffic in the area, especially if plans for a new state road never come to pass.

The entire project hinges on a road that hasn't been built, the Oconee Connector extension, with which state Department of Transportation officials still have not moved forward.

Oconee officials hope the shopping center, if approved, and the road - if it's ever built - likely will be finished about the same time, early in the next decade.

But, the potential lack of access, along with environmental concerns, kept a regional planning organization from recommending the project last summer.

The Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center found in its nonbinding July review that Epps Bridge Centre would not be in the best interest of the region.