After a downtown business owner was hit by a car while crossing North Main Street, an Ellijay City Councilmember has asked other councilmembers and Mayor Al Hoyle to consider a comprehensive traffic study that will help determine if more crosswalks should be installed to help improve pedestrian safety.
“This is specifically targeted at North Main (Street). We are all aware of what transpired last week with somebody getting hit. It’s only a matter of time, with the increased pedestrian traffic that we’ve got,” said councilman Tom Crawford at a Monday, Feb. 15, city council meeting.
Crawford was referring to Frances Reddick, co-owner of Antiques on North Main, who was struck by a vehicle earlier this month as she crossed the street from her car to her business. The collision left Reddick with serious injuries, and she had to be life-flighted to Kennestone Hospital.
“The increased pedestrian traffic we have is a great thing. I think it’s fantastic. It’s also incumbent on us to look out for the safety of not only our citizens, but (also) our guests. It’s high time we take a comprehensive look (and) do a complete traffic review of not only North Main, but the entire historic sector of downtown Ellijay,” Crawford told Hoyle and councilmembers Al Fuller, Katie Lancey, Kevin Pritchett and Sandy Ott.
Crawford said crosswalks have to be engineered correctly, and the process would involve the state highways that run through downtown.
“We need to get other entities involved like the DOT and our state representatives,” he noted.
In a workshop that preceded the council meeting, Crawford also introduced discussion of removing shrubbery from the town square and parallel parking spaces from River Street and North Main Street.
“It’s my opinion those shrubs need to come down. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven around there and, all of a sudden, somebody’s stepping right out in the street,” Crawford said, adding that seasonal flowers would be a better option for the inner square.
The shrubs serve as barriers that funnel pedestrian traffic through crosswalks, Police Chief Ed Lacey told the council.
“We have crosswalks through the roundabout that go from corners to corners. If you don’t have those (shrubs), people are not going to focus on the corners. They’re going to focus about ... walking in a straight line from point A to point B, where (they) want to go,” he continued. “If I’m on this side and I want to walk to the Cantaberry, I’m going to walk straight across. That’s the natural tendency of people.”
Lacey noted his biggest concern is that removing the shrubs would make it easier for pedestrians to cross wherever they choose instead of at the square’s crosswalks.
“That’s the one place we have that they’re using the crosswalks,” he said.
Hoyle said the crosswalks at the roundabout were approved by the state Department of Transportation when the original Streetscape project was done years ago. A Streetscape project was also done for North Main Street and crosswalks weren’t put in, but the parallel parking was part of it, he added.
“Of course, the DOT is continually changing. You see that with the R-cuts they’re starting to put in on highways. They’re constantly changing what they think is OK,” Hoyle said. “If we’re going to get an engineer to do this (study), we’re probably going to have to do a RFP (request for proposal) for engineers (since) we don’t have one on staff. That would be the first step.”
Hoyle said he’s not opposed to more crosswalks or reducing streetside parking downtown. Taking those parking spaces away, he noted, would likely be an unpopular decision with downtown business owners.
“When you start talking about taking the parking places out on North Main ... it affects a lot of business owners and you need to involve those business owners (in the discussion). They might say they don’t care right now, but, when they can’t park in front of the building, they’re going to be upset,” Hoyle added.
“The parking on North Main and River Street needs to be seriously looked at, especially in front of those businesses,” Crawford said. “Allowing parking to remain on those two streets is going to perpetuate the traffic problems we have and the safety problems we (will) have with pedestrians.”
Councilmembers voted to table the crosswalk and shrubbery issues until an engineer can be found to conduct a traffic study, after which the discussions will be revisited.
“I know we’ve had Streetscapes done before, but we’re in a brand-new ball game (in) this town with pedestrian traffic and tourism. It needs to be revisited,” Crawford said.
In other news ...
Councilmembers approved a setback variance for 449 River Street to encroach on the required 15 foot rear setback by 13 feet.
The auto detailing business, Southern Customs, is undergoing new construction, owner Kris Fonteboa told the council. The work includes putting in a retaining wall and fencing, as well as an addition to the existing structure that will make the shop accessible for bigger vehicles like boats and large trucks.