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Board of BikeAthens
Comment on the
FY2008-2010 MACORTS Draft TIP

July 1, 2007

The following comments are submitted to the MACORTS Policy Committee, Technical Coordinating Committee, and staff as BikeAthens’ response to the FY2008-2010 Draft Transportation Improvement Program.

Public Participation
As noted by MACORTS/ACC staff at a TCC meeting, the recent Public Participation Plan for the MACORTS process represents only a mandated approach to providing a bare-bones framework to solicit public comment.  While this may satisfy federal and state requirements, it does not satisfy the MPO’s duty to administer a responsive, inclusive planning process, nor does it help the average citizen to understand or address transportation planning in the Athens region.

Neither staff nor committees have suggested a protocol to adopt changes to MACORTS’ draft documents based on public comment.  Without this step, the general public and organizations such as BikeAthens become marginalized and wastes time and resources attempting to change a process that currently works against, and not for, the community.  Current practices of using token, mandated measures to solicit comments that will ultimately be ignored lack vision, respect for the individuals and groups who submit input, and procedural integrity.  A governmental organization that does not respond to public concerns serves no useful purpose. 

BikeAthens asks, again, for the following changes to be made to the public involvement process:

  1. Develop more comprehensive and creative advertising for input opportunities
  2. Clearly locate draft documents online
  3. Present draft documents in a more user-friendly, interactive format that will enable readers to locate important information quickly

Additionally, the Board of Directors offers these new comments:

  1. Establish an explicit procedural framework of standard operating procedures to solicit and present to the Committees public comment, and recommend tangible changes based on this wealth of community knowledge and sentiment
  2. Seek out populations currently underserved by and underrepresented in the planning process
  3. Direct staff, or contract with outside groups, to undertake region-wide comment solicitation efforts

Without wholesale changes to the methods and principles through which public comment periods are approached, the community will continue to be disenfranchised by the MACORTS public input process. Individuals and groups are highly aware of the lack of credence their concerns are given in Athens region’s transportation planning. 

Comment Opportunities
Once more, due to a series of meeting cancellations, there has been no opportunity for spoken public input in front of the MACORTS TCC between the initial draft TCC meeting (before the public sees the document) and the day the final draft TIP is to be recommended for approval.  And sadly, the MACORTS Policy Committee never offers an opportunity at their meetings to hear spoken public comment.  Nor will there be an opportunity for the public to comment in front of the ACC Mayor and Commission (with both a live and TV audience) as there has been in past years.    

BikeAthens and the TCC  
Our repeated requests over the past three years for a seat on the MACORTS TCC deserve a serious consideration, but have yet to receive any response.  We have aided MACORTS for years, raising public awareness of transportation issues and generating public comment for transportation plans.  Most important, BikeAthens represents a user group with a clear active interest in transportation issues, and is at least as deserving of being a part Committee deliberations as are many current member organizations such as the Athens Downtown Development Authority, the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, the Oconee Rivers Greenway Commission, the U.S. Navy Supply School.  The new nationally funded Safe Routes to School program in the TIP underscores the value in participation that BikeAthens could offer the TCC (see SR2S program comment below).

Public Transit Features
As an organization particularly interested in public transportation activities, we are again disappointed to find the transit section of the TIP unfathomable - full of confusing charts and tables with little informative discussion.  Although our organization stays active in an Athens Transit user group and closely follows and reports regularly on transit activities, we were unable to glean any new information or even to interpret this portion of the TIP for our constituency. 

Bicycle/Pedestrian Features
Several projects are of special concern with regard to bike/ped issues this year, although others are encouraging in their promised additions to the multi-modal network.  There are also a couple of projects that are key features of the Bicycle Master Plan and the Greenway Network Plan that might find readier funding as singular projects in the TIP, and so should be very seriously considered as additions to the 2007 plan.

Athens Perimeter Interchange at US 78/Lexington Road.  The project description has changed significantly, from a statement that the new interchange "will include" connections to the Rail-Trail project (as in previous years) to say that the project "will not prec[lude]" those connections.  The reason for this change is puzzling given 1) GDOT policy of accommodating transportation choices whenever feasible, 2) their commitment to including bike/ped facilities in many other TIP projects, and 3) the expressed desire and financial commitment of the Athens community to the Rail-Trail project (which is also a Tier 1 TIP project).  The Rail-Trail must be wholly integrated into the design of the interchange project up front, so that there is no excess burden on ACC for costs to design the trail later within severe constraints imposed by the interchange project.  Explanations that the funding for the interchange is coming from a motor vehicle fuel tax source and can’t be used on trails is acceptable, but there are other sources of funding that could be sought support the RT inclusion in design.  Transportation Enhancements awards could be sought to provide construction funding.  BikeAthens thus supports the ACC Rails-to-Trails Committee in their resolution to request that the TIP description for the Lexington Road interchange be left as it was in past years.  

College Station Road Bike Lanes.  This project completes much-needed CSR bike lanes between Research Road and Barnett Shoals Road and has now been moved into a GDOT Work Program.  We encourage GDOT investment in this relatively inexpensive project, and hope to see the ACC government take the initiative to invest the required local matching funds by pre-designing this project, to attract federal/state funds and speed construction to a nearer-term time frame. 

North Avenue Beautification &  Lexington Road Bike Lanes.  Although not yet in the GDOT Work Program, it is encouraging that GDOT has requested federal funding for construction of these projects. 

Safe Routes to School Lump Sum Project.  In 2005, BikeAthens organized a local SR2S program, Safe Routes Athens, one of only two SR2S programs organized to date in the state of Georgia.   Safe Routes Athens has conducted numerous local activities in its 18 months of existence, including the certification of 9 local bicycle education instructors, the hosting of several bicycle education classes for adults and children, the mapping of sidewalks for ACC Transportation and Public Works, and the establishment of a successful pilot SR2S program at Barrow Elementary School.   Safe Routes Athens has also been an active participant on the GDOT Advisory Council that has established policy for application and distribution of millions of dollars in funds that will be available for distribution on a competitive basis in FY 08, ensuring that the Athens community is well-positioned to compete for these funds.  It will be the role of  ACC Planning staff and MACORTS to work with Safe Routes Athens in seeking these funds, a role that would be more sensible were BikeAthens (as the SR2S program sponsor) an official organizational member of the TCC.  With such limited local dollars for bike/ped facilities (ACC general fund budget of $100K for FY 08), this project is a critical funding resource for both infrastructure and educational/outreach activities.  

College Station Road Bridge Improvement.  The construction funds for this project have been moved back to 2010 in the TIP, which is unfortunate.  We hope to see this bridge project coordinated with the completion of the College Station Road bike lanes to Barnett Shoals Road.  

Greenway Master Plan Projects.  It is heartening that several greenway projects are now funded through SPLOST and congressional allocations, including the Rail-Trail project, the Oconee-to-College Station segment of the North Oconee River Greenway, and a few other potential trails and rail-trails outlined in the Greenway Network Plan.  We would encourage MACORTS support and inclusion of similar future projects in Tier 2 in the future.

Danielsville Road.  An expensive road-widening project does at least come with the consolation of sidewalks and a shared off-road path for pedestrians and cyclists.  The bike/ped facilities would link very nicely with proposed North Avenue improvements slated for 2010, but GDOT and MACORTS should give strong consideration to bike/ped access to the bridge over the SR 10 Loop, and of on-street bike lanes rather than an off-road path.

ACC Bicycle Facilities System Improvements.  This project concerns local government rather than the MACORTS, but deserves comment.  Bicycle facility improvements remain severely under-funded in the ACC capital budget.  There are no SPLOST 2005 funds for bicycle improvements, and the budget reflects a $50,000 reduction in anticipated ACC capital funds over what had been previously slated (itself minimal).  Worse, ACC capital funds are projected at only $100K per year for the next six years, with no increases—that comes to less than one dollar per person for each ACC resident.  Yet local sources of funding for bike projects are critical, as a 20% local “match” is required to attract an 80% federal/state funded share for most bike/ped projects.  Without these local funds, it will be difficult to attract federal/state funds, which are essential for completion of almost any but the most simple and minimal improvement projects.

ACC Sidewalk Improvement Program.  Another local issue deserving comment.  SPLOST 2005 and the ACC Capital Budget are the source for sidewalk construction funds averaging more than $500,000 for the next six years.  Improved selection criteria adopted by ACC will be helpful in making the tough choices for sidewalk locations.  Nevertheless, the high demand for sidewalks would warrant an even greater local investment in the future.   Sidewalk are a segment of infrastructure that will benefit greatly from BikeAthens and Safe Routes Athens applications for GDOT statewide grant funds for SR2S projects.  

Proposed Additions to 2008 TIP.   There are a number of bike/pedestrian projects that should be considered for inclusion in the current TIP.  Two standouts are as follows.  

Prince Avenue (Milledge to Pulaski) is possibly the best example, particularly this locally-controlled section of Prince Avenue that is desperately in need of traffic-calming features and bike/pedestrian facilities.  Already part of the Bicycle Master Plan, this project could be readily inserted into the 2008-2010 TIP.  

Milledge Avenue (East Campus to State Botanical Gardens) would be a particularly attractive project that would provide a near-complete bike/pedestrian path of 8-9 miles between Sandy Creek Nature Center and the State Botanical Gardens.  The south end of Milledge between East Campus Road and Riverbend Road may be mostly amenable to restriping, and the segment between Riverbend Road and the Botanical Gardens is an ideal location for a shared bike/pedestrian off-road path.  Already part of the Greenway Network Plan, this project could also be readily inserted into the TIP.  

Road Projects.  There remains a heavy focus on the widening of roads in the rural parts of Athens-Clarke County, while some major in-town roads deteriorate and desperately need attention, particularly with regard to the addition of multi-modal improvements and pavement quality.  

Among the many road projects in the TIP, there are a number of examples where traffic volumes would not seem to warrant the proposed widening to a four-lane road.   For example, Simonton Bridge Road in Oconee County hosts only 6,530 vehicles per day (and also has some vehement local opposition from residents and planners who think it would be unwise to bring a four-lane road into downtown Watkinsville).  ACC’s Lexington Road between Whit Davis and Smokey Road handles only 11,130 vehicles per day.  Although construction for widening of Lexington Road appears to have been pushed back at least a few years, to some time beyond 2012, it is still an expensive proposition - at least $15 M for what promises to be a corridor for more sprawl development.

The estimated cost of many of the road projects seems to have gone up significantly.  The ROW acquisition alone for Oconee County’s SR 53/Mars Hill Road widening project has risen 75% since the 2006 TIP, from $3.5 M to $6.1 M in 2007 to $9.1 M in 2008.  The ROW acquisition for the Lexington Road widening project has escalated approximately 40%, from $4.2 M to $7.4 M (construction costs would add at least another $7.4 M). 

The construction costs for the Danielsville Road widening project have risen considerably in the past two years, from $4.4 M to $6.9 M to $7.6 M.  Presumably, at least some part of the escalating costs for construction for that project will be borne by the local budget, from interest money earned on SPLOST accounts (as with the Barnett Shoals Road widening project a few years ago), taking away a potential source of funding for sidewalk projects or for matching money for bicycle improvement projects.

MACORTS Representation
Another issue of process concerns the fact that Athens-Clarke County residents continue to be under-represented in MACORTS activities.  While only a small portion of the populations of Madison and Oconee counties are included in the MACORTS area, all of the population of Athens-Clarke County is included.  Thus, with two votes for Madison County, two for Oconee, and two for Athens-Clarke County, the 100K+ residents of ACC do not have their fair share of voting clout for the transportation issues that affect them.     


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