They would have managed less than four minutes,
even with
chatting with Leadership Lowndes in the audience,
including 45 seconds on the only substantial
agenda item,
6 a. Grant Of Easement for Utility Right of Way Moody-Azalea Commons
(aka Moody Family Housing).
2013-07-29 GLPC Packet-007 REZ-2013-09 Moody Family Housing
Note the big sinkhole in Phase 2.
But
citizen Jacinta Howell talked about traffic safety.
Let’s remember the immortal words of
former Chairman Ashley Paulk
during a rezoning near Bemiss Road:
I’m not going to argue Bemiss Highway, it’s not a pertinent fact.
Below are
links to each LAKE video
of the April 24, 2018 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission,
with a few notes,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
See also the
LAKE videos of the previous day’s Work Session.
-
1. Call to Order 2. Invocation 3. Pledge
-
5. Minutes for Approval
-
6 a. Grant Of Easement for Utility Right of Way Moody-Azalea Commons
-
6b. removed from agenda 7. Reports – County Manager (none)
Video.
They did use 18 seconds reminding everyone they had removed the
Lowndes County Government Probation Plan and Resolution
from the agenda;
see
LAKE video of previous day’s Work Session. -
8. CWTBH – Jacinta Howell – traffic safety
Video.
She presented her
facebook post.Open letter to Lowndes County and City of Valdosta Engineering
Department (feel free to like and share, as I would like these
departments to take some action on the situations)To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter out of concern for multiple issues that I
have continuously noticed regarding the road maintenance and
infrastruction of the roads in Lowndes County and Valdosta City
limits. This is in no way attempting to shame any particular person
or department, but to bring to light these issues in order that they
may be given careful consideration and fixed as deemed necessary.As a citizen who has lived in Valdosta for over 20 yrs, I have seen
this city/county grow in number, but unfortunately our road
infrastructor has not caught up with that growth, making it (what
seems like) a battle nearly every time we travel in the area. It is
true that each driver has the responsibility of driving as safely as
possible, but at the same time the individuls responsible for the
actual road setup have a responsibility to mitigate any potential
dangers they may be inadvertantly creating by their structure or how
they are set up. In my personal opinion, the county and city are
failing in that area, leading to dangerous travel and increased road
rage/ frustrations as well.Let me provide you with a few examples (some of which I have
personally called and reported with no avail)….- The intersection of Oak Street Ext and Bemiss Road. There is a
gas station that is located there. At multiple times during the day,
there are people that are at the light, turning left off of Oak st.
ext onto Bemiss Rd. At the same time, multiple times throughout the
day, there is someone turning off of Bemiss onto Oak st ext and then
wanting to make an immediate left into that gas station, though
there are double yellow lines on the road that indicate that is not
allowed, but cannot complete the turn bc of traffic and cars backed
up. I have witnessed this on MANYl occasions backing up traffic into
the intersection, including school buses with children. This lead me
to call and request a “no left turn sign” be put at that location
which is really to just reinfrce what the traffic rule already is,
but my request has not been honored as of yet and I received no
followup on it. - Bemiss Rd in and of itself is a hazard. Yes, there have been
improvements and a reduction in head on collisions from the days in
which the divider didnt exist which I am grateful for . However,
there are still and abundance of hazards that exist. Individuals
turning left onto Bemiss Rd. often us the middle divide as a waiting
area until the traffic clears in the direction they are wanting to
travel. This causes issues with individuals using that same turning
lane area to make a U turn. Technically, the U-turn individuals have
the right of way. This problem could be alleviated if signs were put
up stating that U turns have the right of way or if traffic lights
were up at those intersections where this frequently happens (Bemiss
and Old Pine Rd, Bemiss and Huntley Drive (by the Taco Bell), Bemiss
and Knights Academy, etc). - Traffic flow. …There are certain intersections that would be
much better served and flow better if there were traffic lights put
in place. Two examples that I can come up with off the top of my
head are Forrest Street Ext & Knights academy and Lake Laurie Rd
and Cherry Creek. Accidents and near accidents happen frequently
there bc people are trying to find a gap in traffic to get where
they are going. If there was a sensored traffic light there it would
flow much better.
These are just a few of the areas of concern. My question is, what
happens when as citizen points these things out? Are studies
conducted to survey the area and the potential risks and then
changes made? Are there already studies that exist to show how many
accidents happen in these areas and what is contributing to these
incidents? Is the concern ignored? Again, I understand that each
person has the responsibility to drive safely, but the roads and the
road setup we drive on has the the responsibility of creating the
safest driving environment possible as well.I welcome the oportunity to discuss these concerns further with
anyone willing to assist. As a tax paying citizen, I would like to
see the services that we pay for work for us and our best interest
and Im sure others would as well.Thank you for taking the time to read.
Fellow FB readers: If you have an area of concern, feel free to
leave a comment below indicating exactly the traffic area you’re
talking about including street names. Also, it would be very helpful
if you provide a suggestion as to how the area could be improved. - The intersection of Oak Street Ext and Bemiss Road. There is a
Here’s
a LAKE video playlist:
Videos: No Opioid No Probation Military Utility
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, April 24, 2018.
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
-jsq