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

  Video.

• 5. Minutes for Approval

  Video.

• 6 a. Grant Of Easement for Utility Right of Way Moody-Azalea Commons

  Video.

• 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)….

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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.

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

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