A car transporter stuck on the railroad tracks at the McDonough crossing in Decatur is making for worse than usual traffic in the city this afternoon.  A reader writes in “traffic is totally screwed at the high school!”

Find an alternate route!

Just like my zigzag-lines-approaching-intersection “campaign” many years ago, I’m sure there are all kinds of technical reasons why we can’t do this.

But don’t you think many Decatur intersections could use some low-cost, polka-dotted curb-extensions like these newly painted ones in Austin, Texas?

They were inspired by “various parklet and pedestrian plaza projects in New York City and Los Angeles.”, according to CityLab.

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin, via CityLab

Bye bye you elegant crane.

From the Decatur Minute blog…

Rampart Construction will remove the crane from The Arlo site on E. Trinity Place (across from Fire Station 1) Oct. 27-29. Traffic will be reduced to one lane, so try to avoid the area if possible. Pedestrian access to the PATH trail will not be affected.

Of course when we say “traffic”, we mean CAR traffic.  If you’re travelling via foot, you’re probably good to go wherever you’d like around Decatur!  

Pic submitted by Jane

Update: Lt. Ross reports that Scott Boulevard has reopened.

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Lt Ross confirms for us that Scott Boulevard is currently closed between West Ponce and Coventry Road due to an accident.

An eyewitness states that the accident occurred just west of Nelson Ferry Road. Tow truck currently on the scene.

Photo courtesy of Julie

UPDATE: Well that was quick: Another tweet from Downtown Decatur reads…

Good news: Scott Blvd is back OPEN and power in the area has been restored.

Everyone be aware.  Downtown Decatur just tweeted…

TRAFFIC ALERT: Scott Blvd closed COMPLETELY between Clairemont & Coventry, tree down on power lines

The AJC reports this morning that the City of Decatur has recently met with the Georgia Department of Transportation and that while they likely aren’t open to lowering the speed limit on Scott Boulevard, they may be open to making physical changes to the road to deter high-speed travel through Decatur’s premier car sewer.

“They really don’t want to lower the limit, which we would like,” [Asst. City Manager David Junger] said. “But I think they’d be open to making physical changes, like narrowing the lanes, or maybe doing a series of medians in the middle. We want to make people less comfortable driving fast on Scott.”

As has been reported here previously, a large majority of speeding tickets given out in Decatur are along the Scott speedway.  According to the AJC, Mr. Junger reported that a recent speed study by the city concluded that 85% of drivers went 49 mph or lower along Scott, well above the current posted 40 mph limit.

As we’ve discussed many times before, Scott Boulevard is a state road so any and all changes must be approved by GDOT.  The department calculates speed limits by looking for the magic speed limit number where 15% drive faster and 85% drive slower, so it’s not all that surprising GDOT doesn’t want to lower the limit.

Related: It took three years for  the installation of sidewalks along Scott in both directions to come to pass, so don’t hold your breath for any changes along Scott in the near-term, even if there’s general agreement among parties.

UPDATE III: Scott Blvd reopened around 11pm last night, according to DPD.

UPDATE II: Decatur PD also confirms that as of 10:15pm, Scott Boulevard is still closed.

UPDATE: More detail from  Decatur Police…

On Saturday, April 25, 2015 at approximately 6:00 pm, Decatur Police responded to a vehicle accident involving two vehicles on Scott Boulevard at Ridley Circle.  Preliminary investigation revealed one driver was attempting to turn off of Ridley Circle, eastbound onto Scott Boulevard.  One driver was traveling westbound on Scott Boulevard.  The driver of one of the vehicles, an adult, was killed and their passenger was taken to an area hospital and is in critical condition.  The driver and a passenger in the other vehicle were also taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  The investigation is ongoing.  The identity of those involved are not being released at this time pending notification of family.

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Sad news coming out of a two-car accident that occurred on Scott Boulevard in Decatur this afternoon.

Decatur Police provided this detail in response to our inquiry, after we received word from a Decatur resident that there were fatalities reported…

At approximately 6:00 pm, Decatur Police responded to a car accident involving two vehicles on Scott Boulevard at Ridley Circle. There is one confirmed fatality of an adult. Three other occupants are being treated at area hospitals.

The accident is currently under investigation.  The identity of those involved are not being released at this time pending notification of family.