Council considers traffic safety measures for downtown

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traffic safety

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Local business owner June McEldowney presented her case for a crosswalk between City Hall and Merchant’s Walk, along with other safety improvements.

The pedestrian traffic between the two areas continues to increase as more businesses open downtown. Since the opening of Lucky’s Taqueria and Cantina, one could make the argument that foot traffic back and forth has doubled because restaurant-goers use the adjacent parking lot.

“Daily I see from our store, I see pedestrians trying to cross over from the parking lot. They are literally taking their life into their hands. Those cars do not see that yield sign, and they’re coming at a pretty good clip over that hill and they’re very, very close to meeting up with a pedestrian in seconds,” McEldowney stated.

After some discussion, it was discovered the yield sign was a caution sign. Nevertheless, no one notices it when driving along Blue Ridge Street.

McEldowney also brought up adding a flashing light to alert drivers to the crosswalk and maybe another crosswalk with a flashing light on the square. Additionally, she turned in a petition from downtown merchants about fixing the sidewalks and restriping parking. 20 business owners signed the petition.

Mayor Jim Conley agreed “wholeheartedly that a crosswalk is something we’re going to have to do.” However, the traffic must be slowed down first. A flashing light and prominent signage are necessary for that effort.

Councilmember Mary Ruth Cook agreed but wanted to know how it could be done. Councilmember Tony Dyer offered the crosswalk at Union General Hospital as the perfect example.

Last month, the council hired Kevin Hamby as a SPLOST administrator to help with some city needs. Conley said they could discuss safety issues like a crosswalk and flashing lights with him.

Police Chief Michael “Bear” Baxter added that flashing lights are needed on all four crosswalks on the square.

The subject of lowering the speed limit came up, but nothing was settled on. The current speed limit is 25 mph.

Other City Business

The council approved the alcohol ordinance change to move server and pourer background checks in-house.

They also approved Ricky Rich Construction to fix the drainage issue at Tanyard Apartments. The estimate was $35,000 and $2,000 for new soil if needed. The owners of Tanyard agreed to pay 75 percent of project costs and the city will pay 25 percent using SPLOST funds.

Michaelee’s Italian Life Café was granted an alcohol license for malt beverages and wine for on-premise consumption.

Jason Helton was hired as a new operator at the water waste treatment plant.

The council agreed to purchase a metal building for $21,000 for the water and sewer maintenance shop. The building will fit all the trucks and replace the current ruined building.

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