The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association website reports that they have “received a Rezoning and Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) notice pertaining to lots at the Blackmon Drive and Scott Blvd. intersection.”, which proposes a 5-story Marriott hotel.

MANA states that they have “several concerns about this proposal” and asks the community to “to attend the meeting scheduled for June 1, 2016, 7pm, at the North Decatur Unived Methodist Church, 1523 Church Street.”

Map courtesy of MANA website

Breaking news!  Cones gone from Commerce Drive Scott Boulevard!

Photo courtesy of Chris

Westchester rocks!

As a daily walker along Scott Boulevard, I can report back to you that it’s no picnic.  I’m sure you’re shocked to hear that.

It’s especially gripping along the strip of ‘walk pictured above where someone once decided that there is no problem with running a sidewalk within two feet of a speedway.  The makeshift memorial for the driver killed earlier this year at the intersection of Ridley and Scott is a daily reminder that your pedestrian fears are justly founded.

Over the years, the city has made some small gains to make Decatur’s only highway safer for its pedestrian-minded community.  You may recall that in 2011, the city finally got GDOT to connect the sidewalk on the eastern side of the street between Garden Lane and Clairemont.  Additionally, the reopening of Westchester Elementary has generally slowed traffic along the stretch in the morning, provided there’s a police officer present.

But more can certainly be done.

“Yeah, OK.  But WHAT?”, you ask.

Well lucky for you, the Westchester Elementary Safety Committee has compiled a specific list of recommendations to make the area friendlier to other forms of transportation, beyond the almighty internal combustion engine.

Short term plans include making improvements to crosswalks and intersections in the area, adding a “hawk light” and crosswalk in front of the school, place more signage alerting drivers of the school zone, and creating a direct source of funds to monitor speeds along Scott.

Longer term plans include widening Scott’s sidewalks and commissioning a walkability study for the area.

Sound like a good place to start?  You can sign THIS PETITION put together by the Westchester Elementary Safety Committee to show your support.  The petition already has over 600 signers, but I’m sure we can get that number up to at least 1000.

State roads, like Scott Boulevard, are notoriously difficult to alter thanks to the need for GDOT’s sign-off on any and all changes, so it’s great to see a concerted community effort to tackle this important safety issue in our city.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is conducting a “road safety audit” of Scott Boulevard inside Decatur and Ponce de Leon to Briarcliff Road in Atlanta (aka the catchily named “SR8/US 78/Ponce de Leon Avenue/Scott Boulevard”).

Sounds hopelessly boring, right?  Wrong!

If you’ve ever been concerned about pedestrian/cyclist/motorist/unicyclist/motorcycle/scooter/rollerblading safety along this stretch, take a minute and TAKE THIS SHORT SURVEY associated with the audit.

GDOT rules over this stretch of road, so there’s little your City of Decatur or Atlanta can do to implement changes along this stretch without getting buy-in and execution from GDOT.  So this is actually a very important survey.  You have until 11:59p next Tuesday, November 24th to chime in fellow commuter.

In official speak, GDOT says that this audit is being conducted “to identify potential solutions leading to both short-term improvements and longer term efforts including construction projects.  It is a proactive tool, not solely dependent on crash data, but rather an innovative approach that includes firsthand observation to identify enhancement opportunities to be considered in improvement projects.”  This survey is just one piece of the audit.

The survey itself asks about how often you use the corridor, how you use it, what you see are the problem areas and how to fix them.  It asks about the stretch overall and specific intersections.  It’s a pretty thorough vetting of the entire area.

I know you’re busy.  You’ve got turkeys to truss and pumpkins (sorry, sweet potatoes!) to puree.  But take a few minutes and sound off on this long-standing traffic issue in our community!  You’re children and children’s children will thank you.

Map courtesy of Survey Monkey GDOT survey

Not all that surprisingly, the recent onslaught of rain is taking its toll on the city’s tree population. Chris sent in the photo above of a very large tree that fell just behind the playground at Adair Park.

There is also a substantial vehicle backup on Scott Boulevard this morning due to a tree down at Ponce and Scott, according to reports.

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