At last night’s city commission meeting, Public Works Manager David Junger informed the commission that the 30 mph speed limit recently approved by the commission had been rejected by the Georgia Department of Transportation and would have to be raised back to 35mph.

The resulting conversation revealed some interesting rules regarding setting speed limits.  First, local governments can put up speed limit signs that say whatever they want, but the only enforceable limits are those backed up by the GDOT.  Secondly, GDOT uses some sort of “85% rule” to determine road speed limits, though I must admit Mr. Junger was talking over my head at that point and yelling follow-up questions at my television went unnoticed.

So, the city commission begrudgingly approved replaceing the old 30mph signs with the old 35mph signs.  (The enforceable speed limit was never actually changed)  The move was made with the express intent that the city would now begin strongly enforcing the speed limit in the West Howard corridor.

City Manager Peggy Merriss reminded the commission – and those in attendance – that much of that strip of road is still a school zone with a 25mph limit during school hours.  According to Ms. Merriss, school zone fines are often in excess of $400 a pop.

As Decatur considers installing railroad “quiet zones” at the Candler and McDonough road crossings, Alvin points to this AJC article which reported yesterday that two teen boys were hit by a train in a “quiet zone” in Kennesaw.

It’s very important to note that police have not yet determined whether the quiet zone had anything to due with both boys being hit by a freight train, resulting in one death.  Both were reportedly sitting on the tracks when the accident took place, but it’s not clear whether they heard/saw the train.

A while back, I read a bit into the NY Times in-depth, 2004-05 investigation entitled “Death on the Tracks” – a great read in its own right – and while it was quite clear that investigations conducted by the railroad companies were often incomplete and suspicious, I could find no solid evidence either way about the safety of “quiet zones”.

Left Wing reports in that he has seen an increased amount of graffiti in Decatur and all around metro Atlanta recently.  And he worries that much of it may be gang-related.

Recently the Savi Market in Inman Park was robbed of an ATM and the police believe it may be gang related. Also that same night someone threw a rock or something through the window of Hand in Hand in the Highlands.

Not seeing graffitti like I am? Look at your picture for the Medora hair place.

Here’s the link back to the Medora Hair Salon post if you want to take a look for yourself.  I personally didn’t notice it the first time.

Decatur adopted a stronger graffiti ordinance in 2008 requiring property owners to remove exterior graffiti within 15 days.  The city also requires that graffiti on city-owned buildings must be removed within 24 hours.

According to the city’s website, to report graffiti “please send any graffiti sightings and complaints to reportgraffiti@decaturga.com; or call the Public Works department, 404-377-5571, to report graffiti nuisances on public property, including signs and fences.”

CSD Mom writes in…

I’m surprised you didn’t post about the big fire over on S. Columbia this afternoon. I should have taken pictures. It was an enormous blaze. I couldn’t tell exactly where it was, but I think it was a formerly residential/now commercial building on S. Columbia between College and Talley. The smoke was tremendous and the blaze was frighteningly huge! It sounded like fireworks for awhile…I think there were numerous small explosions going on. I can’t find anything about it on the news websites although there was a helicopter there.

The DNO reports the fire occurred in a woodworking shop on Weeks Street.  Sounds pretty intense.

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And that’s not all you can touch!  From 231 Sycamore…(note the location change)

Come out and join the fun at Decatur’s annual Touch a Truck Day on Saturday, March 20, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The event has been so popular and drawn such a crowd that it has been moved to the Callaway building parking lot, 120 W. Trinity Place.

Children of all ages can see, touch, and explore their favorite truck or equipment on wheels. A City of Decatur fire truck, dump trucks, tractors, police cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and many other vehicles will be on display. For information, please contact Greg White, 404-377-0494, or greg.white@decaturga.com.

I eagerly await hearing those far-off, oddly inconsistent siren durations from my front steps!

(“Oh no!  Did the town wino steal a police car?  Oh no wait, it’s only Touch a Truck Day!”)

The Pencil Lofts were one of the many construction projects being built around Atlanta just when the real estate market fell off a cliff.  And while it may be just one of many such projects, the future of this project has been particularly interesting, since it sits in a slot along Decatur Street in downtown Atlanta with many, MANY different influences in each direction.

To the east: the King Memorial MARTA Station.  To the west: Georgia State.  Across the street to the north, the old location of the Grady Homes, still under construction.  To the south, Memorial Drive.

As a result, it’s been interesting to observe the ongoing fate of this late-to-the-party, mixed-use project.  And though it’s hard to determine the current residential occupancy rate, two of the properties’ commercial locations were just recently occupied, with an Intown Market and a hair salon.

The Lofts finally seemed to be showing signs that it might be able to hold its own in a very transitional area.  Then last night, this happened…

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The AJC reports…

Police in DeKalb County have arrested two men in connection with a robbery Monday of five Emory University students.

An anonymous tip led detectives to Jonathan Ajizian and Cirilo Ramos, a DeKalb police spokesman said.

Ajizian was arrested Monday, and Ramos was arrested Tuesday, Officer Jason Gagnon said Wednesday. They each were charged with five counts of armed robbery and were being held at the county jail, he said.

Thanks to Steve to pointing this out!

From the Emory Wheel yesterday…

Five Emory students were robbed at gunpoint at their residence on North Druid Hills Road Thursday at approximately 2:30 a.m., according to DeKalb County Police Department reports.

According to police reports, two masked male subjects entered the residence at 2497 North Druid Hills Rd. with weapons and tied up the five individuals inside, all of whom have been confirmed as Emory students.

The two masked subjects ransacked the home during the next three hours and stole items such as televisions, laptops, an undetermined amount of cash and assorted valuables, according to the police report.

According to Mekka Parish, public information officer at DeKalb County Police Department, one of the students involved in the incident was struck with a gun by one of the intruders.

According to the Wheel, DeKalb Police do not believe that this was a “random event.”  Nevertheless, quite frightening.

A sampling from the newly discovered Emory Police Beat blog, which I highly recommend adding to your feed reader.

…On Feb. 21, EPD officers responded to the Clairmont Campus field and located several white male subjects taking turns hitting ketchup bottles with wood. EPD officers observed that the subjects had glassy eyes, an odor of alcohol on their person and that their speech was slurred. Officers also discovered a large amount of debris near Clairmont Tower, including pizza boxes, a chair, balloons, a fire extinguisher and glass alcohol bottles.

The report continues here…

http://policebeat.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/police-record-friday-february-26/

(My apologies for the lack of formatting. Posting from my Blackberry.)

After DeKalb’s budget for the coming year passed with no furlough days, no pay on holidays (police still have to work on holidays), and no merit pay increases, some DeKalb police officers on the DeKalb Officers blog threatened to stop giving out traffic tickets in protest.

That led to this CBS Atlanta report…

And that led the DeKalb Officers blog to respond with this statement, which reads in part…

We all took an oath to protect and serve the citizens of DeKalb County, and we intend to do just that. If you have a true emergency or are in need of protection from being a victim, especially a victim of violence, we are coming.

…But on the other hand, when it comes to traffic enforcement, we have discretion and lots of it. During these times when the commissioners are forcing us to work on holidays for no pay, we may just look the other way when you ease through that traffic sign or fail to use a turn signal. We envision traffic citations decreasing and warning tickets increasing. But please, not for one second believe we will allow anyone to place someone ease’s life in danger.

The commission has suggested traffic fines be increased by 3%. We don’t agree. That is just another back door tax on the motorist within DeKalb County. We are not tax collectors. We are law enforcement officers.