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Lane Creek residents urge county for physical traffic-calming after repeated near-misses
Summary
Residents of Lane Creek Plantation told the Oconee County Board of Commissioners they regularly see drivers doing 45–50 mph in a 25 mph zone, described multiple close calls involving children and bikes, and asked the county for physical traffic-calming measures; county staff asked the HOA to set a follow-up appointment to document the problem.
Residents of Lane Creek Plantation told the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on July 7 that speeding and a lack of sidewalks have created a persistent safety hazard in the subdivision.
"We regularly have very near misses around those curves," resident Jolene Gilbert said, describing a neighborhood of more than 300 homes with a single entrance and no sidewalks. "I regularly see speeds 45 to 50 miles an hour in my 25 mile per hour zone." Gilbert said the development was promised a second entrance that never materialized and pleaded with commissioners to help before someone is hurt.
Tom Golden, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, told the board he has witnessed several close calls and one head-on collision near a pool and tennis-court area. "We've asked in the past for the speed humps… They work," Golden said, and added that enforcement alone had not produced lasting change.
DJ Butler, speaking for the Lane Creek HOA, said the county has collected speed-sign data but that the record is incomplete or corrupted and warned that a safety problem could be dismissed based on imperfect data. "Documentation alone will not slow vehicles down," Butler said, asking the county to consider physical measures such as speed tables, raised crosswalks or additional signage.
County Administrator (role: County administrator) asked HOA representatives to set an appointment so staff could document the problem and better understand the "totality of the problem." Chair noted the road department recently placed radar signs and that county staff is drafting a traffic-calming policy to provide a procedure for neighborhoods interested in traffic-calming measures. Planning and public-works staff had previously told residents that permanent speed tables are against county policy, according to residents' statements at the meeting.
The board did not take immediate formal action at the meeting but directed staff to meet with HOA representatives to document safety concerns and consider policy or infrastructure options. The county administrator offered to take meeting notes and follow up with staff recommendations.
