Funny…I just this past week openly wondered on the status of this transportation project.

At tonight’s meeting, Decatur’s City Commission will vote on an agreement between the city and the Georgia Department of Transportation for the Clairemont-Commerce-Church Street Pedestrian Safety and Bicycle Trail Improvements.  The agreement, which was originally announced way back in November 2011, will provide $2.1 million for the project from the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative program.

The entire C-Streets project is estimated to cost $4.2 million.  So where will the rest of the funding come from?  A letter from Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon details the sources…

Decatur City Commissioner Fred Boykin writes in to note that next Thursday, January 12th at 6pm, the city will be hosting a second workshop “to discuss alternative plans for pedestrian safety improvements at Clairemont, Church Street and Commerce intersections and Church Street bicycle lanes.”

According to the note on the city’s website…

The city has retained the services of Development Planning and Engineering, a planning and engineering design firm, to help plan the project. The project will be partially funded through grants from the Georgia Department of Transportation. An initial workshop to outline project goals was held in September.

As part of its capital improvements program, the city is considering options for pedestrian safety improvements to the Clairemont Avenue-Commerce Drive and Church Street-Commerce Drive intersections and for bicycle lane improvements on Church Street in downtown Decatur. The purpose of the work is to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists and others using these facilities.

Fred also emphasized the particular importance of this meeting…

It is really important that residents (especially cyclists and walkers) attend this workshop as it will be the first one where the consultants present their proposals based on what they heard from community comments at the September workshop and afterwards. These projects will change the ways folks move around in this part of Decatur and will define the character of those areas for years to come. Community input is key to getting a good result – one that benefits Decatur as a healthy, active community.

Thomas Wheatley – famed trustafarian of the “wheat” family dynasty – reports on Fresh Loaf that the Atlanta Regional Commission has announced a new round of grant-recipients for the Livable Centers Initiative.  Along with a $4 million grant for the Beltline to build a ramp that connects with Ponce (near Ponce City Market aka City Hall East aka the old Sears Warehouse) is a $2.1 million grant for the City of Decatur towards our Clairemont/Commerce/Church Street pedestrian and biking improvements.  According to the Amber Waves of Wheatley, the grants require a local match.

Other area recipients include: Doraville, New Peachtree Bike and Pedestrian Improvements ($2.3 million), Midtown Atlanta, Juniper Street Bike and Pedestrian Facilities ($3.4 million) DeKalb County, Lake Hearn Drive, Perimeter Summit Parkway, Parkside Place Bike and Pedestrian Facilities ($3.1 million), DeKalb, Tucker Streetscape, ($960,000).

What’s a $2.1 million grant mean for the timeline of this Decatur project?  Guess I’ll just have to ask the city!

If you attended the city’s open house on Monday this is all old hat to you.  But if you didn’t, you’ll want to check out this new city webpage which features maps, fact sheets and a general overview of pedestrian safety and bike improvements to the Commerce/Clairemont/Church Street corridors.

There’s even a questionnaire that was handed out at the session, which you can fill out and return to the city if you want to give official input to the project.

The developmental future of Commerce Drive is interesting to ponder.  It was built as a way to funnel cars around the heart of downtown Decatur.  It’s massive width tells the most ancient parts of your brain that it’s built for speed.  These mockups seem to indicate that transportation is still a key element of Commerce’s future, it’s just that peds and cyclists take up a larger footprint on the landscape.

But could Commerce ever become downtown Decatur’s third (Trinity is the second, IMO) east-west “A” street, extending the city’s downtown of walkable shops and restaurants? (Just to be clear, this is my question, not the city’s)

Never say never, but urban development around Commerce is all rather new, with no older, ped-friendly examples to get the ball rolling.  Slowing traffic and allowing more shoulder room for peds and cyclists is certainly a step in that direction.  But maybe I’m being too pie-in-the-sky.  For now, perhaps it’s best to focus on baby steps.  Mitigate the car’s footprint and its speed and then slowly over time, see what other urban elements grow up around it.

h/t: Patch