The Athens-Clarke County Commission approved an alternate plan for North Avenue that raises questions about whether it meets the criteria for a $25 million grant the Biden administration awarded the county government.
The plan put forward by commissioners Ovita Thornton and Tiffany Taylor would leave North Avenue five lanes wide and eliminate a proposed roundabout at a Loop interchange. It includes sidewalks and bike lanes, but they are not separated from each other or from cars under the Thornton/Taylor option, designed by local engineer Quaison Payne.
Under the Biden administration, RAISE are grants intended to improve safety, slow traffic, reduce emissions and address historic inequities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. “Some of these goals have dropped off with this model, particularly the climate impacts,” Commissioner Melissa Link said. “I’m not sure this five-lane concept reduces the speed, and speed equals safety.”
The vast majority of people who attended public hearings and responded to surveys said their primary concerns were safety-related, such as lack of crosswalks and adequate lighting or shade, lack of sidewalks or bike facilities, and traffic that moves too fast. Traffic counts show that the road could easily handle the current traffic volume with fewer car lanes, except perhaps on football gamedays or similar special events. The debate among staff was whether to three-lane the road or leave a second northbound lane for special event traffic.
However, several neighborhood residents showed up to the Nov. 6 commission meeting to complain about congestion and say they felt left out of the process. “There are millions of dollars being allotted to these historic Black and working class neighborhoods… and we really want to see more conversation and dialog when these types of projects come our way, so that you hear from us and our lived experiences,” Tawana Mattox told commissioners.
Commissioner Carol Myers, usually a supporter of safer-streets projects, said she was swayed by the equity concerns. Commissioner Jesse Houle, however, pointed out that North Avenue has seen 450 crashes in the past five years, a third of them fatal or serious.
“That’s almost 200 people who’ve had their lives ended or ruined by the design of that corridor,” Houle said. They were the only commissioner to vote against the five-lane configuration.
The commission also:
• approved a new apartment complex on North Avenue that will include 20% of units for low-income renters as part of ACC’s inclusionary zoning policy. The development was approved despite concerns expressed at last month’s agenda-setting meeting about yet another gas station on North Avenue and the environmental damage that could come with it, as well as displacing a homeless camp on the property. But the gas station could be built without commission approval, so the choice was essentially a gas station with affordable housing or without it. Houle and Taylor were the only “no” votes.
• voted down a proposal for trash pickup franchising in suburban and rural Athens. It would have ended self-hauling and assigned one hauler to each of several zones, thus reducing littering, dumping and the number of trucks rumbling down each street. But opponents said they’re happy with their hauler and don’t want to change, or they want to maintain a choice. A committee will take another stab at addressing the dumping and route overlap issues. Houle and Commissioner Patrick Davenport voted to move forward with franchising.
• approved very preliminary plans for a GDOT project that will reduce the intown portion of Atlanta Highway from seven to four lanes with a center median. It will also include a $4 million locally funded biking and walking path.
• “pre-allocated” $140 million in future tax revenue from TSPLOST 2026—the 1% sales tax for transportation—with most going to road paving, transit operations, bus replacement and a new transfer station at the former Georgia Square Mall. That will leave a citizen committee with just $60 million to spend when it vets projects proposed by residents and government departments next year. But by stating its priorities up front, the commission avoids the risk of conflicts with the citizen committee over allocating funds.
• authorized a $120,000 settlement for Christopher Glenn, who was arrested without probable cause on suspicion of lurking outside Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School. Glenn appealed the case all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court, which ruled that it is legal to resist a wrongful arrest.
• passed a resolution paving the way for First United Methodist Church to tear down the 100-year-old Saye Building and replace it with a parking lot, despite the fact that it’s within a downtown historic district. Link was the only commissioner to object. “We are giving special consideration to a religious organization by doing this,” she said. “I don’t believe we would come to the same conclusion if it were any random developer, and I will continue to vote no.”
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