A second public information open house held July 15 at the Fayette County Library was designed to seek input on transportation improvement draft concepts for the Sandy Creek Road, Tyrone Road-Palmetto Road, Banks Road and Ga. Highway 279 corridors. The open house was attended by 246 Fayette County residents.
With continued growth in the region, Fayette County had initiated the process to identify current and future concerns for providing safe and efficient movement along these corridors, said County Clerk Tameca White.
Potential corridor projects in each of the four areas included transportation improvements such as installing traffic signals and roundabouts, multi-use paths, road widening, median installation, realigning intersections and adding turn lanes.
Open house participants were asked to indicate their preferences and to complete a written survey ranking the various potential projects. In all, 246 citizens attended the July 15 open house.
Prior input received from stakeholders and the public were used to develop draft concepts to facilitate transportation improvements that address existing and projected conditions with the goal of enhancing safety; reducing congestion and delay; facilitating multi-modal usage; and supporting economic development.
County Public Works Director Phil Mallon said county staff and Croy Engineering will take the citizen input provided July 15 and will generate a preferred and prioritized projects list, and will determine the right-of-way and cost aspects of the four corridor improvement projects.
Mallon said an aim of the process is to prepare for going forward with good projects that could receive federal aid. The county has some 2017 SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) dollars that could be leveraged with federal dollars.
Once completed, the potential projects list will be presented to the Fayette County Commission, likely in October, with an adopted plan coming possibly in November.
“Corridor studies of this nature help Fayette County plan for and construct the appropriate types of improvements to support the varied travel needs of our citizens and business owners. The more public input we receive the better job we can do in providing the desired transportation system,” said Mallon.
