Aug
25
The Man Who Loves Traffic
Filed Under Multimedia | Leave a Comment
The winning entry in the U.S. PIRG 21st Century Transportation Video Contest, via Streetsblog.
Aug
24
Ed McMahon of the Urban Land Institute spoke in Savannah in 2006 about the Georgia Department of Transportation’s decision to widen a road in Atlanta to 23 lanes, which will make it the largest road in the history of the world! It made him think of Einstein’s definition of insanity, to keep doing the same thing while expecting things to change.
Aug
24
From WTOC-TV:
“My biggest concern is that some neighbors may have to be uprooted,” said Irene Hines of Tatumville, an area that would also be affected by any changes. Others were concerned about their neighborhoods being disturbed, or the noise from the extra lanes of traffic.
Read more and watch video here.
Aug
24
Public gives input on DeRenne
Filed Under From the Headlines | Leave a Comment
From the Savannah Morning News:
The community meeting was the first public workshop to examine development along the midtown east-west connector. And while it is the third study attempted in about a decade, this one began with citizen input and assurances that traffic considerations would be weighed against the need to protect the neighborhoods and the desire to create more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly pathways.
Read more here.
Aug
24
Video of Project DeRenne Citizens Workshop
Filed Under From the Headlines, Multimedia | Leave a Comment
From the Savannah Morning News:
Aug
11
From the Savannah Morning News:
Some of the people being asked to support the latest study have been some of the most ardent critics of past efforts. Count Su Su Cox among them. In 2005, the study called Connecting Savannah sought out residents, then disregarded their input in recommending a widening plan that called for razing homes, she said.
Some residents felt so used in the process, she said, they formed Preserving Savannah Neighborhoods, a community group that began closely monitoring zoning and development. She is skeptical of the new effort but willing to participate - up to a point - if it means there is a chance for neighborhood beautification.
“It is not about widening,” she said. “I am not participating in this if widening, elevating or tunneling is part of the process.”
She sees this latest study as an opportunity for the city to show it is committed to preserving neighborhoods.
Read more here.
Jul
9
Project Derenne Stumbles
Filed Under From the Headlines | Leave a Comment
From WSAV-TV:
Project Derenne is supposed to be different. “Number one,” says Kinstler, “it is supposed to be about what to do about the entire corridor, enhance the livability of the corridor not to just widen it gratuitously for traffic.” The idea is to view the road, the homes, the businesses and the people as one organism realizing that changes to one part will affect all the others.
Read more here.
Jul
7
PSN, neighborhoods to protest GDOT’s Abercorn Street turn lane on July 8
Filed Under Take Action! | Leave a Comment
On Tuesday, July 8 at 10 a.m., Preserving Savannah Neighborhoods and members of the Kensington and Groveland neighborhood associations are staging a one hour protest of the Georgia Department of Transportation adding a turn lane (at the City of Savannah’s request) at the southeast corner of Abercorn Street and DeRenne Avenue.
A number of mature pine trees have already been removed from the side yard of a home zoned single-family residential. Scheduled to be done soon, the removal of several new trees planted by the City as well as moving a large utility pole with lamp, power lines, and a crosswalk signal.
The protest is designed to raise awareness and prevent action that compromises a current $300,000 City study on the use DeRenne.
Jun
28
Georgia Governor Challenges Government Agencies, Business to Offer Commute Alternatives
Filed Under From the Headlines | 1 Comment
From Government Technology:
With gas prices at near record highs, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue today challenged state agencies and businesses to continue to expand commute alternative programs. “Gas prices and long commutes are a challenge for many employees,” said Perdue. “Many employers, including state government, have developed a range of options for workers that help them save on fuel costs and enjoy stress-free commutes. Continuing to offer these programs and expand them where possible is a great way to reduce congestion and help employees deal with the burden of high gas prices.”
Read more here.
Jun
28
Trees & Transportation: Debunking the Myths of Traffic Safety
Filed Under From the Headlines | Leave a Comment
From the Savannah Tree Foundation Spring/Summer 2008 Newsletter:
One major misconception is that the presence of trees near roadways increases the likelihood of traffic crashes and deaths. Over time, this idea has resulted in trees being removed or setback from roadsides in the name of transportation safety. Early research on trees and transportation safety was done on rural high speed roads. Multiple studies of the last decade have focused on urban streets and have not found the claimed level of safety risks, including studies by the City of Toronto, Texas A & M University, University of Washington and Georgia Tech.
Download the newsletter here.
