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Various Comments from Citizens that were Sent
To:
Harvey Keepler <harvey.keepler@dot.state.ga.us>
Mr. Harvey Keepler
State Environment/Location Engineer
Georgia Department of Transportation
3993 Aviation Circle
Atlanta, GA 30336-1593
Dear Mr. Keepler,
In response to the legal ad (scanned
here) in the June 26 and the July 6, 2006 edition of the Macon
Telegraph:
The Forest Hill Road project requires a
qualitative evaluation for a PM-10/Pm-2.5 as provided for in
40CFR93.123. This qualitative evaluation is required because:
1. The project is located in a PM-10/2.5 non-attainment or maintenance
area
2. The project is funded by FHWA
3. The project will increase traffic volumes and speed which will
contribute to an increase in localizes PM-10/2.5. This hotspot analysis
must include the entire project as required by law.
4. The project will make significant changes in the built and natural
environment which may change current PM=1-/2.5 dispersal patterns
*Studies have shown that adding
lanes to an existing road will actually induce (create) traffic so
making Forest Hill Road 4 lanes from Vineville to Wimbish will increase
traffic and add PM2.5 to our already unhealthy air in Macon
and Bibb County. (Macon had the 24th dirtiest air in the U.S. 4 years
ago and we are in non-attainment , according to Federal Clean Air Act
guidelines!)
* Automobiles and trucks create
the most PM2.5 when they are idling or accelerating from a dead
stop at traditional signalized intersections which will continue to
exist under the present GaDOT design for FHR.
* The public has asked repeatedly
for a more modern design for FHR eliminating traditional signalized
intersections and substituting roundabouts which are safer and more fuel efficient, thereby reducing
PM2.5 emissions. (Cars traveling through roundabouts emit less PM2.5
because they don't have to stop or idle, which emits more PM2.5
into the air) It also saves fuel which is very expensive these days.
* Over 4/5ths of FHR is within the city
limits of Macon and Macon City Council has passed two resolutions
asking for a redesign of FHR to include roundabouts with no increase in
the number of lanes.
* The traffic counts from GaDOT
and the Metropolitan Planning Organization have been inconsistent, but
in fact now project a decrease in Average Daily Traffic Volume from
year 2025 to year 2030! The accident rate determination for this
project also had a 30% overage error.(Please see an included copy of
Mr. Tom Scholl’s November, 2001 letter below explaining these
inconsistences). Based on these data and the fact that the 2025/30 Long
Range Land Use Plan does not show enough projected additional growth
within the area of FHR to justify adding more lanes, and since level of
service is going to be determined by the back up of automobiles waiting
for the "green" light at the proposed traditional and archaic
signalized intersections, a more modern design with roundabouts seems
to be the most cost saving, safest, and healthy (less PM2.5)
alternative to the proposed GaDOT design.
*We are already inundated with
PM2.5 from Georgia Power's Plant Scherer so adding more pollution by
increasing traffic on Forest Hill Road will not help our health.
* Studies have shown that
"suicide lanes" (a continuous middle left turn lane) are dangerous.
There is a "suicide lane" in the projected design from Wimbish Road to
Northside Drive going past an elementary school street entrance. With
the added speed that this will create for FHR there will be more cars
pulling into the "middle lane" idling (increasing PM2.5) while
waiting for traffic to clear to move into the through lane. A "suicide
lane is not designed for that purpose because the practice is
dangerous, and in fact, studies have shown that is one of the reasons
they are called "suicide lanes."
* The Citizens Advisory Committee of the
Macon Area Transportation Study has asked the Policy Committee to
redesign any pending projects that have "suicide lanes" (this includes
Forest Hill Road), never plan to design or build any more, and to
eliminate and redesign any that have already been built.
* There has only been one true public hearing on this
project where the residents and neighbors were allowed to speak
publicly and that was approximately 4-5 years ago. The other "public"
meetings were with appointed "stakeholders" and only they, and not the
public, were allowed to speak. The public should have more than a small
legal notice in the newspaper for public health issues such as this. A
true public hearing about this health issue should be held so that all
the residents and neighbors in the affected area can hear each others
questions and have them answered.
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