ACC taking public input on Oak/Oconee St & prince Ave

See the background details and let 'em know what you think here:
www.accplanning.com/corridorstudies.php

Public meeting: Oak Street/Oconee Street and the Prince Avenue Corridor

A community-wide public meeting regarding the Oak Street/Oconee Street and the Prince
Avenue Corridor Studies will take place on Thursday, April 30 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the
Planning Department Auditorium:

View Larger Map

The Mayor and Commission of Athens-Clarke County have requested that the Planning
Department evaluate the existing conditions along Prince Avenue and Oak Street/Oconee
Street. Based on what is discovered, recommendations will be prepared regarding the future
of these corridors. These recommendations can include changes or additions to public
policies and development regulations designed to improve, enhance, alter and/or conserve
the future quality of these corridors.

The primary focus of this project is on land use and design outside of the right-of-way, with a
secondary focus on right-of-way improvements as they relate to the land use and design
goals.

Planning Staff will give a short presentation at the beginning of the meeting and then again
at 6:30. Public comment on the future of these corridors will be welcomed and is
encouraged.

The Oak/Oconee Street study area boundary includes an area on either side of the corridor
from the intersection with Broad Street, east to the intersection with the Athens Perimeter.

The Prince Avenue study area includes an area on either side of the corridor from the
intersection of West Dougherty Street with North Hull Street, west to the intersection of Prince
Avenue with the Athens Perimeter.

For more information, contact the Planning Department at 706-613-3515, or visit our website
www.accplanning.com.

Clarke applies for sidewalk improvement grants

"Athens-Clarke County is going after a half-million-dollar state grant to make Athens students' walk to school safer," reports the Banner-Herald.

The improvements would include crosswalk countdown timers that show pedestrians how many seconds are left until the light changes, school zone beacons that display cars' speeds to discourage drivers from speeding, upgraded crosswalks and better signs.
...

Committees of Clarke County School District administrators, teachers and parents recommended the seven schools because they're located in areas where children are most likely to walk or ride bicycles to school, district spokesman Mike Wooten said.

The DOT started its Safe Routes to School program in 2005 to offer funding and advice to local governments and school districts on improving safety for children who walk or bike to school.

Athens residents independently formed a volunteer group by the same name [aka Safe Routes Athens] around the same time. Members of the local Safe Routes to School association traipsed all over Clarke County mapping gaps in sidewalks and other areas where traffic might pose a danger to students on foot.

...

Some commissioners said last Thursday that they were irked at the officials who wrote a document for the commission to approve because it did not give enough credit to the citizen Safe Routes for School group.

"We ask that citizens partner with us and that should be reflected in the report," Commissioner Andy Herod said.

The oversight wasn't intentional and will be fixed in the version of the document the commission will approve Tuesday, said David Clark, director of the Athens-Clarke Transportation and Public Works Department.

Also not mentioned is the fact that Safe Routes Athens is a sponsored program of BikeAthens.

Hopefully, the approved version of the document will make note of this fact, but overall we're glad the applications will be submitted and hopeful the grants will be awarded so that Athens can implement these important upgrades to pedestrian infrastructure!

Residential streets may require parking passes

ABH reports:

Athens residents who live near the University of Georgia campus more and more are turning to government-issued parking permits to keep away outsiders who use their narrow streets for free parking.

The Athens-Clarke Commission is expected to approve requests next Tuesday from residents who live on five Midtown side streets to add those streets to the county's parking permit program.

Once approved, those residents will receive hang tags allowing them to park on the street. If others, mostly UGA students and employees looking to dodge campus parking fees, park there between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, they can be ticketed or their cars can be towed.

Full story.

Downtown traffic counts

ACC's Transportation & Public Works department is performing traffic counts downtown. Based on their results, they may adjust the timing of lights.
Full story here.

Baxter St Lane Conversion Featured in Engineering Article

The conversion of Baxter Street from 4 - Lanes to 3 - Lanes was
featured as part of a larger article regarding the concept of Road Diets
in this month's edition of the "ITE Journal" (the monthly publication from the
Institute of Transportation Engineers). Baxter Street was one of six
streets highlighted in a recently published book, "Road Diet Handbook:
Setting Trends for Livable Streets," documenting the process and results communities
have followed in converting four lane streets to three lanes in the past
few years. Transportation & Public Works staff worked closely with the
researcher to convey [their] experiences with the concept of road diets and
[their] successes and failures in implementing them on several streets since 1999.
The book was recently awarded the ITE Past Presidents' Award for Merit in
Transportation Engineering.

- from "The Week that Was" - an ACC publication covering weekly goings-on within the government