Comments on: Candler & McDonough Railroad Crossings Master Plan on Docket

By: CSD Snowflake

CSD Snowflake — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:37:04 +0000

An improved link would also help the scores of students from the northside walking to Renfroe daily.

By: Degreatur

Degreatur — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:01:18 +0000

I hope this project also improves safety for pedestrians using the crosswalk to the pedestrian tunnel under the railroad tracks. I think a pedestrian island there might be helpful. It would at least give a space to rest between the sprinting needed to cross here.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:34:13 +0000

Ok, if I’m reading things correctly, I’m rather dreading some aspects of the implementation. In the current version of the plans for traffic flow, left turns onto Howard will be prohibited both for north bound Candler and McDonough streets. This creates an odd dead zone on Howard if you are south of the tracks.

For example, you are at Agnes Scott and you are looking to go to Thinking Man’s. You will either need to go over to Commerce to Howard or down College to Atlanta Ave and back track. In both cases, you are getting funneled into areas with fairly substantial traffic.

Now, I live in Winnona Park and I would love to see some improvements to the Candler intersection but not being able to get to Howard is really going to be a pain. This also means that a substantial amount of the Howard traffic that you see in the morning is now going to be on College, with its single westbound lane by Agnes Scott.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:56:47 +0000

Thanks for the clarification, Lyn.

By: Lyn

Lyn — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:21:46 +0000

Yep, it’s in the plans. We’ve actually completed Phase I, II and III of the downtown streetscape program using Transportation Enhancement grants from the Georgia Dept. of Transportation. We received another TE grant to complete an additional phase along E. Trinity from Chick Fil A to the Old Depot. This phase also includes improvements along Church Street from Trinity south to the railroad tracks. It’s this grant that’s been stalled in the review process at GaDOT. We also received grants during that same round to install streetscape improvements in the Oakhurst business district and add bicycle lanes along W. Trinity and W. Ponce de Leon. These grants are also stalled in the review process. The cost for the proposed streetscape improvements along N. McDonough between the railroad tracks and Chick Fil A exceed the TE grant limit. We submitted it to the Atlanta Regional Commission during their last Livable Centers (LCI) grant round. We weren’t successful but plan to keep trying! Introducing streetscape improvements along that stretch will be major improvement and create a much needed pedestrian link between downtown Decatur and the neighborhoods around Agnes Scott.