The Ellijay City Council approved a resolution for exploration of alternate truck routes to alleviate traffic congestion downtown as the council met, for the first time since March, Monday, May 18.
The resolution refers to agricultural and delivery trucks that pass through downtown Ellijay, as well as increased tourism and pedestrian traffic in the same area:
The agriculture industry and related products, goods and services is a significant and primary contributor to the economic health of the city and is recognized as the largest employer of persons as compared to any other single industry in our city. The agricultural industry in our locality requires the use of large commercial vehicles for transportation of goods to market. Tourism and related business is a growing contributor to the economy of the City of Ellijay supporting the increased growth of retail shops, as well as restaurants, in the downtown area. This increased growth has not only resulted in an increased number of pedestrians upon our local streets and highways, but also an increase in commercial vehicular traffic delivering goods and services to and from local shops and restaurants.
Mayor Al Hoyle and councilman Tom Crawford stressed that the city and city council are not anti-truck, but the resolution is needed to discuss, at the state level, ways to better the traffic issue.
“We’re not anti-truck at all and we’re certainly not anti-agriculture trucks, be it chicken trucks or feed trucks, because that’s the lifeblood of the county,” Crawford said. “However, something simply has to be done about large trucks coming through the town square. As tourism grows and pedestrian traffic grows, it becomes a public safety hazard. Not only that, it congests traffic when school is in because school buses have to take that route.”
“Truck traffic, in general is necessary. It’s what carries our commerce, agriculture and food. We know that truck traffic is an essential service,” noted Hoyle. “But downtown Ellijay was built many years ago and trucks were smaller. It’s gotten to the point that tractor-trailers have a hard time navigating some of the turns. We recognize that and we’re looking at trying to work with the DOT to see if there’s an alternate route that would help trucks as much as it would help downtown.”
One alternative would be construction of a truck bypass route around Ellijay, Crawford said.
“(That) would be a good solution to everybody, but it’s way above the pay grade of the city and city council, which is why we passed a resolution. We have a resolution to send to David Ralston, to Steve Gooch and to the Georgia DOT because it’s going to have to be done at that level,” he noted. “During peak periods in the morning and afternoon, 30-plus trucks come through the square an hour. You add that with school buses and pedestrians and you’ve got yourself a problem that’s only going to get worse.”
In other news ...
﹣ A master lease-purchase agreement was approved for two new patrol vehicles for the Ellijay Police Department. The total financed amount for the 2019 Dodge Charger and 2020 Ford Interceptor with police equipment added is $75,559. Funding for this year’s portion of the lease-purchase has already been budgeted, Hoyle noted.
﹣ Mark Queen, Tom Cox, Ed Grant, Teri Owens and Iris Davis were all reappointed to the city’s historic preservation commission.