Four Lane Castleberry “Parkway”
from
SPLOST VII and the BoC (3 of 5)
Todd Levent organized a Sept.16th meeting on the Castleberry re-widening plan in SPLOST VII with the following county officials: Brian Tam (BoC chairman), Todd, John Cunard and Tim Allen of FC Engineering.
Our Suggested Plan for Castleberry Road
ForsythCRG members Helen Nycz, Lee Cohn, and Tony DeMaria presented what we believe is a viable plan to widen Castleberry:
- We requested a 3 lane road that would bring us greater safety, more capacity, and yet preserve our residential atmosphere. Also, that the BoC continue the “NO Thru Trucks” policy.
- Use of a new traffic engineering firm for realistic growth rates versus the previous firm whose report was severely flawed. A previous BoC discredited the old report by requesting a re-do. Unrealistic growth projections skewed the results to a 4 lane road.
- We asked Brian Tam to support our plan: He refused by saying the BoC would set priorities after the vote on SPLOST - - - - - It was clear that he favors the 4 lane approach.
Response of County Officials
With the exception of Todd Levent who favors the 3 lane approach, the other county folks provided the following input:
- FC Engineering indicates that the Master Plan calls for a 4 lane divided roadway. Despite a traffic study revision now underway, both gentlemen indicated that the 4 lane is needed. They ignored the prior flawed projections
- Brian Tam made points for a 4 lane and told us that since a 4 lane divided Castleberry roadway is on the Project “A” list, we must wait for the BoC to establish the actual priority after the SPLOST VII vote. Our response was that we have been thru this ”prioritize process", which still left the 4 lane on the master plan.
- Except for Todd, the other county officials showed no concern that the 2004 traffic study which validated the Transportation Master Plan (and 4 lane plan) used growth projections 100% greater than the county’s own projections or what has occurred in the last 5 years.
Our opinion of the meeting
It is clear that if SPLOST is approved on November 8, Castleberry will be widened to 4 lane road with a 20’ median. In late summer, Mr. Tam had stated to FCRG that he would follow Todd’s decision. Too bad we believed!!
The FC Engineers said that the issue of 18 wheelers and/or the development of Commercial and High Density Residential was dependent upon others, but they did acknowledge that greater densities and intensities bring more traffic. Bottom Line: build a 4 lane & they will come - - - What ? - - high density residential - - - - commercial - - - - - a strip mall or two - - - - - - -18 wheelers, a “new McFarland or Ronald Reagan Parkway called “Castleberry Parkway”?
Conclusion
The 1,000 homeowners along Castleberry must consider if they can support the funding of the 4 lane divided roadway when they vote on SPLOST VII on November 8. Let District 3 Commissioner Todd Levent and other BoC members know how you feel. Go to our website www.ForsythCRG.org for pre-addressed emails to the BoC plus more information on SPLOST VII.
Best question by a Creekside homeowner at an early October meeting: “ Why would anyone run a 4 lane divided highway with its 18 wheelers through 2 ½ Miles of residential neighborhoods and past a Grammar School”.