Help
Make a Better Athens!
PARTICIPATE in
the
MACORTS* LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION
PLAN
Draft Plan Ready for
Review. Following last summer's comment period prior
to the creation of the Athens area Long Range Transportation Plan
(LRTP), the Draft LRTP is now ready to review.
Comments Reflect Community
Desire for Better Transportation Options.
Here is a brief report on last year's comment period. An
unprecedented 355 comments were submitted for the LRTP, and a
startling 330 of those comments (fully 92%) included specific
requests for improved biking, pedestrian, and public transit facilities
in the MACORTS area. 68% of the comments asked for bike
facilities, 63% asked for pedestrian improvements, and 50% requested
better bus services. Many more of the comments were
directed toward more general requests for traffic enforcement
(25%) or traffic calming (18%), for commuter rail (21%), or
for greenway and rail-trail projects (27%).
Public Comment Period Now Open.
Between June 7 and July 9, ACC Planning will accept comments on
the Draft LRTP. Just like last summer, comments will be
accepted by mail, email, or telephone, or you may come to a scheduled
public hearing. Unlike last summer, your comments
should be directed toward specific projects that are included
(or not included) in the LRTP. It is the last chance be
heard before the final LRTP is completed in August.
How to Obtain a Copy
of the LRTP. Copies
of the LRTP are available to download from the ACC/MACORTS
website.
You may also obtain the plan on
CD (maps included) from the ACC Planning Department.
How to Review the LRTP.
At 240+ pages, the Draft LRTP is daunting, but you should
(at minimum) direct your attention to Table 26 on page 168,
which outlines the road, bike, and sidewalk projects proposed
for the next 10 years. If you made a specific request
for a bike or sidewalk project, check to see if it was included.
Review the table for what is missing, as well as what is there.
If you see road, bike, or sidewalk plans that you think
should not be included in the LRTP, make sure to comment on
those as well. BikeAthens will be posting our
own review of the Draft LRTP to our website sometime in the
next few weeks www.bikeathens.com
Public Hearing Dates.
There will be a public hearing in the ACC Plannning Department
Auditorium on Monday June 21 at 5:00 p.m. if you wish to leave
your comment that way. There will be another public hearing
in the Oconee County Government Annex Courtroom on Monday June
30 at 4:00 p.m.
PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR
PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROCESS!
*MACORTS is the Madison Athens-Clarke
Oconee Regional Transportation Study - the transportaton planning
body that serves a region encompassing all of Athens-Clarke County,
and parts of Oconee and Madison counties.
