A 22-person TSPLOST 2026 committee, with two members appointed by the mayor and each of the 10 Athens-Clarke County commissioners, recently started looking at proposed transportation projects for the renewal of a 1% sales tax for transportation. Proposals include:
• $8.5 million for a College Avenue streetscape project building on the recent Clayton Street improvements, as well as an upcoming project making the College Square pedestrian plaza permanent.
• $17.5 million for a pedestrian bridge over Oconee Street connecting Firefly Trail with the North Oconee River Greenway and the park-and-ride lot at the Loop.
• $5.7 million to provide local matches for state and federal airport grants.
• $9.7 million for pedestrian safety improvements around parks, schools and transit stops.
• $11.5 million for advanced traffic technology like connected and autonomous vehicles, and bike and pedestrian detection systems.
• $7.8 million for upgraded traffic signals.
• $16.5 million for intersection improvements.
• $4.5 million for new reflective traffic signage.
• $17 million for Vision Zero road safety programs aimed at eliminating traffic deaths.
• $6 million for paving dirt roads.
• $6.5 million for improving the intersection at Kathwood Drive and Jefferson Road, and $5.9 million for the Kathwood Drive-Club Drive intersection.
All of that adds up to about $110 million, and the selection committee only has a little more than half that to spend. The county commission has already pre-allocated $120 million for basics like road paving, drainage projects and transit operations, leaving $60 million for everything else. If voters renew the tax in May 2026, it is expected to raise $180 million over five years. For more information, visit accgov.com/11240/TSPLOST-2026..
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