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Effingham County outlines draft bike‑pedestrian master plan, highlights Georgia High‑Low Trail connections
Summary
County engineer Jonathan Holmes presented a draft master plan proposing multiuse trails (10–12 feet where separated), route priorities including the Georgia High‑Low Trail, coordination with Georgia Power, and funding strategies including MPO, Safe Streets, impact fees, and developer incentives.
Jonathan Holmes, Effingham County engineer, presented a draft master bike‑pedestrian plan to commissioners, walking them through proposed routes, outreach completed to date and next steps toward formal adoption.
Holmes said the draft recommends a mix of separated multiuse trails, on‑road bike lanes and sidewalks depending on the corridor. Where possible the plan favors 10‑ to 12‑foot asphalt separated trails for both pedestrians and bicyclists. He said the plan identifies county routes such as Old Augusta Road, Ebenezer Road (County Road 275), Courthouse Road, Blue Jay, Effingham Parkway and Benton Boulevard as candidates for different treatments, and that the county has tried to link trails to parks, schools and major neighborhoods.
Holmes described coordination with regional partners: the Georgia High‑Low Trail — a planned route from Athens to Savannah — appears on the county map and staff said a recent set of plans is under review. Holmes said the county must negotiate a memorandum of understanding with Georgia Power to place trail segments in power‑line easements and that counties would each be responsible for construction in their jurisdictions. He said any full build would be phased; staff would likely bid a section from Guyton toward Sand Hill as an initial segment.
On funding, Holmes told commissioners the county will likely use multiple sources: federal MPO and Safe Streets grants, segregated federal funds for bike/ped projects in MPO areas, private grants, impact fees if the county revises its impact fee ordinance to separate parks and trails, and developer contributions for subdivisions on identified routes. He said Savannah had separated parks and trails in its impact fee to make that charge administrable.
Public outreach so far has included stakeholder meetings with the Georgia High‑Low organizers and with municipalities, a general public meeting and surveys at parks. Holmes said staff will circulate the full draft plan to solicit additional public feedback before the plan is brought back for approval.
No formal action was taken; commissioners asked staff to share the draft with the public and return with a package for adoption when ready.
