Elbert County officials, school weigh traffic fixes at Singing Hills Elementary

Monty Hankins, Elbert County public works director, convened a meeting to review traffic and safety issues at Singing Hills Elementary on County Road 166 in Madrid and to discuss short-term changes and longer-term options.

Hankins said the county and the school have tested a new traffic pattern that moves some staff parking to a recycled-asphalt lot on the southeast portion of the school property and uses the existing paved lot as a drop-off/pick-up drive-through. "I'm the Elbert County public works director," Hankins said. He described the recycled-asphalt option as a way to route vehicles in a U-shaped flow that reduces stacking onto County Road 166.

A school representative said the new pattern appears to reduce backups near Firehouse Street but remains "a 10-minute challenge at the end of the day." The representative added the district operates eight to nine buses from the site and cited bus egress as a primary concern that motivated interest in a traffic signal.

Why it matters: County staff and school leaders said the changes aim to reduce vehicle congestion on County Road 166 and lower risks to students gathering on the front lawn. A county-commissioned traffic study, however, found the intersection does…