Five Projects Top Decatur's Transportation Wish List

Decatur’s "Wish List" with five projects got sent to the Georgia Department of Transportation for consideration, according to the Decatur Metro blog.

The “unconstrained list” of projects will then be sent to the Atlanta Regional Transortation Roundtable for refining before the total list of Atlanta projects goes out to voters of the $8 billion regional plan next year.  

The roundtable was created by the Transportation Investment Act of 2010. The bill allows 12 regions throughout the state to vote in 2012 on a 10-year, one-cent sales tax for transportation improvements. 

Decatur’s list is primarily pulled from unfinished projects in Decatur’s Community Transportation Plan, according to the blog.

Here is the list:

1.  Decatur Transportation Management Center – The TMC would increase safety by taking control of the traffic signal system and managing traffic engineering within the city limits.  (The submission notes that in the past three city surveys, residents ranked traffic signal timing as their greatest concern.) – $10 million

2.  Scott Boulevard Safety Improvements - Safety Improvements along Scott would include medians, sidewalks, and physical and “visual delineation of pedestrian and vehicle travel space.” – $ 1 million

3.  South Columbia Drive Multi-Use Path – The proposal calls for building an 8-10′ wide multi-use path along South Columbia Drive that connects College Avenue to the city limits.  The plan would connect with DeKalb improvements on Columbia to the “Memorial Drive BRT (bus rapid transit) transit facility”.  – $2 million

4.  Downtown Decatur to Clifton Corridor Transit Connectivity and Safety Improvements – This project includes safety upgrades and bicycle, pedestrian and transit supportive facilities on Clairemont Road, Commerce Drive and Church Street “to maximize the connectivity between Downtown Decatur and the Clifton Corridor regional employment center.  Improvements include streetscaping, bicycle lanes protected transit stops and shortened pedestrian crossings. – $11 million

5.  Decatur State Highway and Regional Throughfare Safety Improvements and Transit Connectivity – Similar to item #4, but deals with South Candler Street, East and West Howard Avenue, and College Avenue connections with Atlanta, Avondale Estates and DeKalb County. – $17.2 million