CUMMING - Two public input meetings will be held by the Forsyth County Department of Engineering later this month to inform local citizens of the most recent update to the county's Bicycle Transportation and Pedestrian Walkways 2025 Plan.
According to Forsyth County Director of Communications Jodi Gardner, the meetings are scheduled for Monday, August 24th, at the Hampton Park Library, and Tuesday, August 25th, at the Post Road Library.
The meetings will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on both nights.
Gardner said while no formal presentations will be made at the meetings, consultant representatives and various county staff will be on hand to discuss the updated plan with those in attendance.
"At the meetings, folks will be able to see maps of the existing and proposed sidewalks and multi-use trails...and see an overview on the county's bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways needs assessment," she continued.
First adopted in 2002, the 2025 Plan was, according to a media release from Forsyth County, created to address "the development of an interconnected network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities that meets Forsyth County’s future transportation mobility, serves recreation needs, promotes alternative means of transportation, and enhances the county’s overall quality of life."
Gardner said the plan has continually evolved since its inception.
"It was most recently updated in 2008," she said. "We are in the process of updating the plan currently, and that process started back in October of 2014 with a taskforce having their first meeting, and we're now at a point where we're holding public information meetings."
County officials consider the public meetings a crucial step in the overall development of the plan, with Gardner saying they hope locals in attendance will be vocal with their opinions and concerns.
"At these meetings, we'll be looking for...public input; they'll have the opportunity to not only view the proposed projects and make comments about them, [but] also share with county staff and the consultants information about, perhaps, proposed projects not currently shown on the plans," she explained. "And then staff and the consultants will use all of those comments collected to make the final revisions to the plan update before it's presented to the board for approval."
According to Gardner, the same materials and information will be available at both meetings.
County officials currently hope to present the final version of the plan to the board of commissioners sometime this fall, with that presentation tentatively slated for sometime in October.
The locations for both meetings are within the city limits of Cumming. Hampton Park Library is located at 5345 Settingdown Road, while Post Road Library is located at 5010 Post Road.
Tuesday
November 26th, 2024
5:35AM
