OAKWOOD – The Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Committee approved a plan Tuesday morning that will quantify the results of money spent on traffic improvements as those improvements relate to actual crash data.
Traffic experts will then be able to see whether or not the investment made to improve traffic flow and safety in a specified area actually is safer and more expedient.
“Performance Based Planning and Programming” is a program mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation instructing all state DOTs and MPOs to develop a way “to measure and quantify different aspects of transportation,” GHMPO Transportation Planning Manager Sam Baker explained.
“The end goal is to let the public know and understand what they’re getting in return for their transportation investments,” Baker said.
Criteria that will be a part of the reporting system is as follows:
- Maintain a 5-year rolling average for traffic fatalities
- Miantain a 5-year rolling average for traffic fatalities per 100-million vehicle miles traveled
- Maintain a 5-year rolling average for serious injuries
- Maintain a 5-year rolling average for serious injuries per 100-million vehicle miles traveled
- Maintain a 5-year rolling average for non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries
In other business at Tuesday’s GHMPO Policy Committee meeting, Flowery Branch City Manager Bill Andrew reported on the progress being made in the south Hall County municipality as their new city hall nears completion.
Part of the project is re-opening a one-block section of Pine Street which will form the southwest boundary of the city hall complex. “The rains could not have affected it worse,” Andrew said.
“They’re trying to do a ‘roll-test’ today to check on whether or not we can start the base of the road and it’s looking like that’s probably not going to happen,” Andrew said.
“The road used to be there years ago and it was covered over by an industrial area,” Andrew continued. “And we’re reopening it and it’s going to help shore-up the grid pattern we have in Old Town.”
“We have on paper right now about 926-housing units being discussed for development within a mile-and-a-half of what we call Old Town Flowery Branch, so preserving and beefing-up the grid pattern in town really helps to move the traffic more efficiently.”
Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller said after the GHMPO meeting that completing work on Pine Street is not a condition of the city hall building receiving a Certificate of Occupancy. He still expects a move-in date sometime in mid-March.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/2/636632/safety-reporting-method-adopted-by-ghmpo