The Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission in conjunction with Reynolds Smith and Hills will discuss the impact of constructing medians on US Highway 84 at a meeting on Wednesday at Midway Civic Center.
From 4 to 6 p.m., the meeting will be reserved for property owners who could be affected by the traffic alterations, and from 6 to 9 p.m. the meeting will be open to the public.
“It was stunning to find out that the accident rate on US 84 is triple the average of the state highway accident rate, which is the highest in the state,” LCPC Director Sonny Timmerman said.
At the meeting, the LCPC will provide an enlarged picture (accompanied by a slideshow) of the various medians that can be installed that could help alleviate the traffic strains that every motorist in the area experiences while driving in Liberty County.
On any given day, tens of thousands of cars congest the most popular stretches of road, including Frank Cochran to Gen. Screven, Gen. Screven to Gen. Stewart and Flemington to Highway 196, said RS&H senior planner Beverly Davis.
LCPC information says the benefits of medians or access management are capacity can be increased by 30 percent, delays can be decreased by 30 percent and the reduction in total crashes can be as high as 55 percent.
According to the LCPC, the benefits of access management can improve the efficiency of highway traffic. For example, a four-lane, divided major roadway such as 84 has the capability of carrying the volume of traffic equal to a 6-lane roadway with little access management.
The LCPC’s criteria for median construction also coincides with the Georgia Department of Transportation’s.
In order for a major road to be eligible, the traffic volume has to exceed 18,000 cars a day, there has to be a high crash rate, a large number of driveways in the given area and pedestrian crossings in the area.
“Every day at Liberty County High School a sheriff has to come out and direct traffic at the beginning and end of school,” Timmerman said. “These are the kinds of problems we want to fix to make our community safer.”
From 4 to 6 p.m., the meeting will be reserved for property owners who could be affected by the traffic alterations, and from 6 to 9 p.m. the meeting will be open to the public.
“It was stunning to find out that the accident rate on US 84 is triple the average of the state highway accident rate, which is the highest in the state,” LCPC Director Sonny Timmerman said.
At the meeting, the LCPC will provide an enlarged picture (accompanied by a slideshow) of the various medians that can be installed that could help alleviate the traffic strains that every motorist in the area experiences while driving in Liberty County.
On any given day, tens of thousands of cars congest the most popular stretches of road, including Frank Cochran to Gen. Screven, Gen. Screven to Gen. Stewart and Flemington to Highway 196, said RS&H senior planner Beverly Davis.
LCPC information says the benefits of medians or access management are capacity can be increased by 30 percent, delays can be decreased by 30 percent and the reduction in total crashes can be as high as 55 percent.
According to the LCPC, the benefits of access management can improve the efficiency of highway traffic. For example, a four-lane, divided major roadway such as 84 has the capability of carrying the volume of traffic equal to a 6-lane roadway with little access management.
The LCPC’s criteria for median construction also coincides with the Georgia Department of Transportation’s.
In order for a major road to be eligible, the traffic volume has to exceed 18,000 cars a day, there has to be a high crash rate, a large number of driveways in the given area and pedestrian crossings in the area.
“Every day at Liberty County High School a sheriff has to come out and direct traffic at the beginning and end of school,” Timmerman said. “These are the kinds of problems we want to fix to make our community safer.”