CAUTION Macon    -  - Forest Hill Road Homepage

 

Resolution before Macon City Council

for redesign of Forest Hill Road improvements 


SPONSOR: NANCY WHITE

LAUREN BENEDICT


A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MACON, GEORGIA Establishing a Review Requirement for Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Program Projects within the Corporate Limits of the City of Macon, Georgia; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.


WHEREAS, the City of Macon, its Mayor, and City Council have responsibility for the health, welfare and safety of its citizens, to include transportation systems and public safety; and


WHEREAS, the City can delegate responsibility for road improvements, but cannot abdicate its ultimate authority or responsibility for said improvements, or for their impact on the safety and well being of its citizens; and


WHEREAS, the City has, in cooperation with Bibb Country, authorized a one cent special local option sales tax to fund road improvement within the city and county; and


WHEREAS, the City has never formally delegated responsibility for road design and construction to the Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Program, but has informally allowed said agency to manage certain projects within the jurisdiction of the City, with the understanding that the Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Program would safeguard the interests and welfare of city and county residents, to include maximizing effective public participation in the planning process; and


WHEREAS, the Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Program has ignored the concerns of the Mayor, the City Council, and the Citizens of Macon regarding certain projects, and particularly Forest Hill Road; and


WHEREAS, the design of Forest Hill Road prematurely proceeded despite these concerns, with exaggerated traffic volumes, at a waste of public funds; and


WHEREAS, implementation of that design promises to waste substantial additional funds in initial construction and ongoing costs for maintenance and policing; and


WHEREAS, the integrity and quality of neighborhoods and the aesthetics of our roadways are priorities of the City and its Citizens, essential to the continued livability and economic viability of our city; and


WHEREAS, the design of Forest Hill Road as currently configured ignores these concerns, threatens the viability of the neighborhoods bordering on and adjacent to Forest Hill Road, impedes access by residents and emergency vehicles to said properties, promises to encourage excessive speeds, and marginalizes many of the properties bordering Forest Hill Road; and


WHEREAS, modern traffic planning and “traffic calming” technologies would resolve council and citizen concerns, but have not been utilized on Forest Hill Road despite repeated requests by the Mayor, the City Council, and Citizens; and


WHEREAS, the expansion of Forest Hill Road threatens to generate additional traffic that cannot be safely handled by other segments of the city’s street system, most particularly Vineville Avenue and Park Street; and


WHEREAS, the Forest Hill Road project as planned will greatly increase the rate and volume of storm runoff, imposing substantial costs and liabilities on the City of Macon; and


WHEREAS, the City assumes the burden of maintaining and policing roads and streets within its limits once completed, with said burden and cost aggravated through the inappropriate design and sizing of streets; and


WHEREAS, the Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Program has not been responsive to concerns of citizens and members of the City of Macon’s Mayor, City Council and staff; and has therefore hindered the City in its performance of essential responsibilities; and


WHEREAS, portions of Forest Hill Road and certain other city roads were designated as temporary state highways (namely, State Routes 1125, 1125TA, 1125TB and 1125TC) effective August 28, 2004 by the Georgia Department of Transportation in connection with the Forest Hill Road project.


NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the City of Macon and it is hereby so resolved by the authority of the same that:


1. The City of Macon hereby requires formal review and approval by the City of all road designs, new or pending, at preliminary and final stages, to include Forest Hill Road, within the city limits of the City of Macon.


2. The President of the City Council is hereby directed to inform the Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Program and the Georgia Department of Transportation of this resolution.


SO RESOLVED this _19th_ day of   February, 2008.

____Miriam Paris______

President, City Council

_______________________

Mayor





(Previous Attempts)
Council Resolution (draft) asking GaDOT to reconsider the design for improvements at Forest Hill Road.

Whereas the GaDOT has designated Forest Hill Road (FHR) as a temporary state route in order to use state funds and expertise to improve traffic flow along Forest Hill Road, and

Whereas Macon citizens have overwhelmingly stated their written concerns and opposition to the proposed GaDOT design, and

Whereas the official traffic counts do not justify the overbuilt design proposed, and

Whereas a group of Forest Hill Road neighbors have met and formed a consensus for a new alternate design, and

Whereas the alternate design and rationale is posted on the Internet at FHR

Summarized as follows:

95% of Forest Hill Road can remain 2-lanes by using Roundabouts at Ridge, at Wimbish, at Lokchoppee at Old Lundy (<-See Visual Preference Design Concepts) and at Forest Lake Drive - Newport Road.

1. Roundabouts are markedly safer. 90% safer according to Federal Highways Administration reports.

2. They move traffic faster by not holding it up at stop lights, especially when there is no intersecting traffic to justify the delay.

3. They tend to slow traffic between intersections by curving into the roundabout.

4. They are less expensive to maintain than traffic signals.

5. They reduce auto emissions -- Macon is already in trouble with EPA over air quality.

6. In this case the overall cost of the project would be dramatically reduced.

7. Grassy Swales will remain to better handle runoff - water is quicker to leave the roadway, then it is slowed and filtered before entering local streams - from which Bibb County derives its drinking water.

, and

Whereas the alternate design is less expensive and will save taxpayer dollars, and

Whereas the alternate design is quicker to construct and will save any prolonged disruption of local traffic, and

Whereas the alternate design utilizes roundabouts that calm traffic, resulting in fewer collisions and less severe injuries, and

Whereas the alternate design is more attractive and will enhance the natural beauty of our city,and

Whereas the alternate design is less polluting to our air, creates less ozone, and improves water quality over the GaDOT model, and

Whereas Forest Hill Road traverses an established residential neighborhood and serves several adjacent neighborhoods, the quality and integrity of which must be respected, and

Whereas Forest Hill Road is within one block of the McKibben Lane Elementary School, and provides vehicular and pedestrian access to said school, and it is also only 3 blocks from Taylor Elementary School, and

Whereas Forest Hill Road is one of Macon's more scenically attractive roadways, with a rural character derived from its tree canopy and drainage swales, and

Whereas the current configuration of Forest Hill Road handles drainage in an effective and cost-efficient manner that reduces downstream impacts, .....

Therefore, be it resolved that the Mayor and Council of the City of Macon do hereby request of the Bibb Coounty Commission, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highways Administration, that the new alternative design for Forest Hill Road should be reviewed, modified as little as possible, and then implemented in order that the citizens of Georgia may benefit from its advantages..

Macon, Ga

SOS forest

Flooding Problems along Forest Hill Road are unresolved 

Consider having the City of Macon, Bibb County or the contractors, Moreland-Altobelli to hire someone like Michael Wallwork webpage as a consultant to this design.  Any redesign consulting fee will be negligible compared to the amount of money saved to taxpayers by not doing the major construction called for in DOT's plans.

Below:  Macon Telegraph reports unresolved flooding-erosion at Forest Hill:

Published on Thu, Nov. 03, 2005   page 6B

Residents: Erosion, runoff problems unresolved

By S. Heather Duncan

TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER

Three months after neighborhoods near Forest Hill Road in Macon sustained flooding from storm water, residents say Bibb County hasn't tried to solve the problem.

Neighbors said two factors led to the flooding in the Forest Lake and Glenwood subdivisions: Bibb County's long neglect of the storm sewers and its failure to enforce erosion rules that could have stopped runoff from the Northside Crossing construction site.

"I don't think we're going to get any help," said Norman Highbaugh, whose basement filled with 18 inches of water in July when heavy rains caused a sediment pond at Northside Crossing to overflow. "They've forgot about us."

A VCR, typewriter and other items are still piled outside Highbaugh's basement, where they had been stored before the flooding that Highbaugh estimates cost him about $8,000. The county hasn't given him any information, and the insurer for Northside Crossing said it isn't responsible, he said.

Highbaugh said county engineering officials admitted to him eight years ago when they patched a collapsing pipe in his back yard that pipes in the area are rusted.

Bibb County Commissioner Joe Allen says the county is responsible for failing to maintain sewers or fine developers. The County Commission has repeatedly denied its engineering department's requests for funding to replace the pipes, he said.

"We do not put money back into even having a maintenance program," Allen said. "We will be sued, and we'll end up losing and owing hundreds of thousands of dollars because we did nothing. And if I get called to testify, I'll testify on behalf of residents."

He said he is angry that commissioners are unwilling to spend money on storm water problems countywide.

County Engineer Ken Sheets said his department is researching the history of the Glenwood storm sewers but is having trouble finding the original designs. If necessary, the department needs to conduct its own survey to map the sewers, said Commissioner Elmo Richardson, who represents the area.

'DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT'

Helen Lumpkin, who lives behind Highbaugh, said she has never seen county workers check or maintain the storm water pipe and rusted drain in her back yard during the 36 years she has lived there.

"I definitely think the county should inspect it," she said. "As long as I can manage with it, I put up with it; but that doesn't make it right."

When water escaped the sediment pond in July, Lumpkin watched in fear as a wave of water swept across her yard. Water ran 3 feet deep next to her home, twisting a fence and carrying landscape timbers and bushes across the street.

It continued to nearby Forest Lake, said Shirley Gray, who has lived on its banks since 1962. The lake is in the city, but it fills with runoff from the county, she says, so she wants Bibb County to clean out the silt.

Gray wrote to a variety of elected officials about the lake contamination, including U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is now investigating at Chambliss' request, said Dawn Harris-Young, a spokeswoman for the EPA in Atlanta.

Bibb County officials discussed fining developers Henry Arrington and Mike Appling about the Northside Crossing erosion and storm water runoff, but they didn't. The county's erosion ordinance allows $1,000-a-day fines for commercial builders who don't prevent erosion.

Sheets said Northside Crossing contractors finished planting grass and mulching Friday. Several months ago, they dug out the retention pond, built another pond, installed silt fences and raised the earthen wall behind the main pond at the county's request.

Wednesday, exposed dirt still covered large portions of the work site, although grass had started growing in some spots and straw covered some areas. Gray pointed out where dirt from the site washed onto Forest Hill Road last month during a storm that again muddied the lake.

"You can't grow grass overnight," Arrington said. "(The engineering department) told me everything was nice and great." Arrington said the lack of rain in the last month has slowed the growth of ground cover.

Sheets said the county has reached no conclusions on whether the developer or the county, which approved the developer's plans for the sediment pond, could have prevented the flooding. He said he is waiting to hear back from the EPA.

To contact S. Heather Duncan, call (478) 744-4225 or e-mail hduncan@macontel.com

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Forest Hill Road