The Gainesville City Council, in their Thursday morning work session, opted to vote on plans to apply for a grant that would seek professional analysis of the E.E. Butler Parkway/MLK Boulevard/Athens Street intersection.
Council members heard from Jessica Tullar, the Housing and Special Projects Manager with the Gainesville Community and Economic Development Department. Tullar presented plans to apply for the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program grant. The city council is slated to vote on whether or not to apply for the grant during the city council meeting on Tuesday, October 4 at 5:30 p.m.
If awarded, the grant will be used to hire a professional engineering firm to assess possible solutions to the E.E. Butler Parkway/MLK Boulevard/Athens Street intersection. Officials said there is currently substantial traffic congestion in the area, complicated by fragmented sidewalks and railroad crossings.
“We conducted what was almost a year long public engagement process with the Athens Street Community and Athens Highway corridor, and learned from the folks who live there, who worked there, who own property there, that traffic is a real concern,” Tullar said.
Navigating the current intersection has prompted some drivers to detour through local neighborhoods.
“The volume of traffic that cuts through this area each day creates issues for residents as they attempt to enter and exit their driveways,” states the Vision for the Athens Street and 129 South Corridors 2022 Master Plan.
The Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program grant aims to award $400,000 with an $80,000 local match from the FY23 Capital Improvements budget. The grant is awarded by the US Department of Transportation on a competitive basis.
“It's going to be a real awesome accomplishment if we're awarded that money,” Tullar said. “But if we are awarded that money, we'd like to use it to hire a qualified consulting firm to do a formal engineering study to come up with what are our current conditions and conflicts and what are some solutions to address those.”
The Gainesville City Council will reconvene on Tuesday, October 4 at 5:30 p.m. to vote on the application for the grant.
