Tag Archives: Transportation

Lowndes County budget hearing today 5PM

That’s 5PM, before the usual 5:30 PM Lowndes County Commission regular session time, at 327 North Ashley Street. The county has published a public notice about this second hearing. It’s not clear they did that for the first budget hearing, which was last week. And the budget doesn’t include the T-SPLOST boondoggles Lowndes County is requesting.

VDT opined 23 June 2011, What We Think: Surviving, not thriving:

Lowndes County Commissioners held a budget hearing Tuesday to discuss the 2011-2012 fiscal year with citizens, only to have no citizens appear. The budget will be finalized at a public hearing Tuesday, June 28, prior to the regular commission meeting.

With all of the attention paid lately to officials and their expenses, you would think that the opportunity to learn how the county spends citizens’ tax dollars would have been an opportunity not to be missed. But missed it was.

After giving people in Valdosta a hard time for not showing up at their city’s budget hearing, I have to say: mea culpa. I wasn’t there.

However, I would ask: how were we supposed to know about it? Someone from LAKE has been at every regularly-scheduled Lowndes County Commission meeting in the recent past, videoing the whole meetings, and I must have missed the announcement of this recent budget hearing, which is also not on the county’s website calendar.

The VDT continues:

Maybe it’s because there’s nothing new about the county’s budget. It’s the same as it has been for several years — flat.

No increases in revenue are projected. No new positions, merit raises, cost of living increases, or significant purchases, again. Caps on assessments, the continuing lull in construction, and slow sales mean no new revenue is coming in. What is projected is enough to make ends meet, but there are no frills, no luxury items, not this year.

Oh, there are luxury items, they’re just not in the budget, because the county is asking we the taxpayers to pay through the proposed new T-SPLOST tax for That’s $24 million in new taxes they’re requesting for unnecessary road projects that will promote sprawl into far north Lowndes County and into Lanier County. Sprawl that will end up costing Lowndes County more than it can bring in in taxes from the sprawling developments.

And Lowndes County has tacked onto the end a request for $7.5 million for a bus system. Which would you rather have? A bus system that would promote the entire county’s economy, or five lanes on New Bethel to add to Lanier County sprawl?

Fortunately, T-SPLOST does publicize its hearings, the next of which will be 6 July 2011 in Nashville, Georgia.

The VDT concludes;

But for Lowndes to thrive, to make such a possibility come alive, it needs citizens willing to participate in the process. We need creative thinking and we need leaders willing to listen to the possibilities of new ideas.
Hear hear!

Stay tuned for what happens when a citizen tries to get involved in the Lowndes County budget process.

-jsq

$7.5 million T-SPLOST for a bus system

What costs less than $10 million to widen New Bethel Road from 2 to five lanes and less than $8 million to widen Old US 41 North? The answer is $7.5 million for a Valdosta Urbanized Area Transit System
…including the creation and maintainance of a Public Transit System in the City of Valdosta and Greater Valdosta-Lowndes County.
What would be the benefits?
This project will provide mobility options for all travelers; improve access to employment; and help mitigate congestion and maximize the use of existing infrastructure by promoting high-occupancy travel.
And that’s the entire description for this project. Nothing about promoting sprawl. Would actually promote dense close-in development. Can’t be very important, then, right?

Not when the sprawl plans for Val Del Road and Cat Creek Road add up to $6 million, or almost enough for the entire bus system.

Last time the transit system was being considered by the county, I was asked by a prominent local politican, “would you ride it?” Not every day. But more often than I would drive on the $10 million five lane New Bethel Road.

If you’re interested in a potential bus system, here is a lot more information about it.

Here’s what Lowndes County submitted for T-SPLOST funding, extracted from the 171 page PDF.

Project Sheet

Continue reading →

$3 million T-SPLOST to widen Val Del Road

In the Lowndes County T-SPLOST boondoggle of the day, the county wants $3 million to widen Val Del Road: all of it that’s in the county, plus adding paved shoulders, and at some intersections turn lanes, plus fiddling with drainage. Nothing in the writeup about promoting new development, although we saw in the proposal for Old US 41 N that that’s exactly what road widening projects are for.

Here’s what Lowndes County submitted for T-SPLOST funding, extracted from the 171 page PDF.

Project Sheet

Continue reading →

Widening Old US 41 North: It’s Back, for $8 million T-SPLOST!

Lowndes County wants $8 million T-SPLOST to widen Old US 41 North from North Valdosta Road to Union Road, and the map shows the entire road to the center of Hahira as part of the plan.

Back in 2009, a local citizens group called car41no managed to fight off widening Old US 41 North all the way into Hahira, at least temporarily. Well, it’s back! This time, instead of asking for general GDOT money, Lowndes County is asking for funds from the proposed T-SPLOST one cent sales tax.

What is in the plan for old US 41 North between Union Road and Hahira?

It is proposed to construct bike lanes and possibly sidewalks throughout the project for the residents of this area to use.
I suspect “construct bike lanes” means paint lines on the pavement, and note that sidewalks are just “possibly”.

So what is this plan really for? Continue reading →

“I do not know of any local elected officials that support the T-SPLOST in its’ current form.” —Tim Carroll

This comment from Tim Carroll came in Saturday on Ashley Paulk, Corey Hull, and Norman Bennett on T-SPLOST -jsq
For whatever it is worth, I do not know of any local elected officials that support the T-SPLOST in its’ current form. Chairman Paulk is right on target with his comments.

Ashley Paulk, Corey Hull, and Norman Bennett on T-SPLOST

Jane Osborn pointed us at a detailed list of T-SPLOST projects.

T-SPLOST regional executive committee chairman Ashley Paulk gave his opinion on T-SPLOST at a Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP) meeting a few months ago: He’s against it because he doesn’t like a law with a stick in it.

At the same LCDP meeting, Corey Hull of VLMPO explained T-SPLOST, which LAKE videoed in six parts,

  1. T-SPLOST Explained
  2. T-SPLOST Business plan
  3. T-SPLOST Project Lists
  4. T-SPLOST Penalties and LMIG
  5. T-SPLOST Projects to GDOT
  6. T-SPLOST referendum in 2012

Before that, Corey Hull explained T-SPLOST to VLCIA, and got a very interesting question about penalties from Norman Bennett.

VLMPO held an extended public participation period for T-SPLOST in May. Maybe some of you who went can report back on that.

-jsq

T-SPLOST Projects for Southern Georgia Region

This came in yesterday. -jsq
From: “Jane Osborn”
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:32:19 -0400

Have you seen these proposed projects for our region if the transportation tax is passed? A few meetings have been held in local cities, mostly attended by elected officials with Ashley Paulk as the chair of our committee. Committee members are listed and projects proposed for each county in the region are outlined in great detail.

PDF

Jane F. Osborn, MSSW
Valdosta, GA
229-630-0924 cell

Cat Creek Road closure has slipped a week

Cat Creek Road closure has slipped a week, although lots of people detouring around didn’t know that.

According to Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization:

Update: On Monday June 13, Cat Creek Rd will be closed at Beatty Mill Creek for bridge repairs. Repairs should take approximately 3 days, and a detour route will be established. Motorists are urged to use caution and to pay attention to all traffic control devices while traveling on Cat Creek Rd. If there are any questions or concerns please call the Lowndes Co. Engineering Dept. at 229-671-2424.
VLMPO had that on their facebook page hours before lowndescounty.com got around to posting it on their own website. And on lowndescounty.com it’s a a PDF, not a webpage. Maybe the county will get the hang of this web stuff eventually.

-jsq

Cat Creek Road closed

Found on the Lowndes County website. -gretchen

Update 9:30 PM 6 June 2011: it’s slipped a week. -gretchen

Date: June 2, 2011 Regarding: Bridge Repairs

PRESS RELEASE County Engineering Division

327 North Ashley Street P. O. Box 1349 Valdosta, GA 31603 Telephone: (229) 671-2424 Fax: (229) 245-5299

On Monday June 6, 2011, Cat Creek Road (CR 777) will be closed at Beatty Mill Creek for bridge repairs. The construction site is located north of Old Radar Site Road, between the address points of 4916 Cat Creek Road and 4989 Cat Creek Road. These repairs should take approximately three (3) days, and a detour route will be established. Travelling south, the detour route utilizes New Bethel Road to State Route 125 (Bemiss Road). Travelling north, the detour route utilizes Radar Site Road to State Route 125 (Bemiss Road).

Motorists are urged to use caution and to pay attention to road closed signs and all other traffic control devices while traveling on Cat Creek Road. If there are any questions or concerns please call the Lowndes County Engineering Department at 229-671-2424.