Planning commission backs Georgia Avenue traffic-calming plan, urges council to weigh roundabout option and parking solutions

The North Augusta Planning Commission on Monday voted to recommend that City Council adopt the Georgia Avenue traffic calming and pedestrian access study, including gateway signage, prioritized corridor improvements and further study of parking replacements and low-cost traffic calming on adjacent city streets.

The commission also recommended that Council consider the major improvement option for the five-leg Georgia–Carolina–Jackson intersection — a dual-lane roundabout that the consultant said would require additional right-of-way but offers the strongest traffic-calming and crash-reduction benefits.

The study was led by consultant Joe Robertson, who described the project as a long-range vision to make Georgia Avenue a more pedestrian-oriented Main Street. "The 80th percentile speed is greater than 5 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour" at the corridor ends, Robertson said, summarizing the August 2022 speed data used to guide recommendations. He told the commission the study used speed, turning-movement and daily volume counts, and six years of crash records from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety to identify safety hot spots.

Why it matters

The study found roughly 300 reported crashes on Georgia Avenue over six years (about 50 per year on average), including angle and rear-end collisions and several involving pedestrians or bicyclists. Daily traffic volumes measured on the southern end approached 25,000 vehicles per day and fell toward 18,000 at the northern downtown end; the consultant projected those volumes could grow substantially by 2047 under a 2% annual growth assumption. The commission noted the corridor is a state- or federal-owned highway, requiring coordination with the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and federal funders for some changes.

Ke…