Public urges traffic calming as council reviews Georgia Avenue study

Residents, business owners and city staff on Monday spoke at length about traffic calming and pedestrian safety in downtown North Augusta as city officials prepared to consider a traffic study for Georgia Avenue.

City Administrator Jim Clifford told the public the study, prepared by the consultant identified in the agenda packet, is organized in two phases: “Phase 1 is every change to Georgia Avenue from Minneapolis Avenue, Carolina Avenue, and Jackson Avenue,” and is the portion staff expects the council to consider next week. Clifford said phase 2 — the traffic circle or roundabout at the Carolina/Georgia intersection — has no identified funding and “in practical terms, I would not view this moving forward during this council's elected term.” He added that adopting the study would allow engineering for phase 1 to proceed but “in no way obligates the city to a traffic circle or any other changes to that intersection.”

Why this matters: Georgia Avenue is the downtown spine for pedestrians, businesses and emergency access. Speakers said the corridor’s angled parking, vehicle speeds and limited pedestrian…