Athens receives $800K grant to add bicycle lanes, more to Hawthorne, Oglethorpe, Alps

Athens-Clarke County has won an $800,000 federal grant for planning vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Hawthorne Avenue, Oglethorpe Avenue and Alps Road, Georgia’s two U.S. senators announced this week.

The local grant is part of a set of transportation grants awarded across Georgia totaling more than $210 million. Other grants went to Atlanta, Savannah and Macon, according to a Wednesday announcement from the Georgia Municipal Association.

The overall goal for the local grant, according to Warnock’s office, is to “increase safety and advance connectivity” along the designated routes. Particularly along Hawthorne and Oglethorpe avenues, safety and traffic volume have long been causes of concern for residents and county officials.

In a news release announcing the grant to Athens-Clarke County and other Georgia jurisdictions, Warnock said “the significant funding for … key infrastructure projects in Georgia will help strengthen communities across the Peach State by improving pedestrian mobility, traffic flow, and bolster(ing) local commerce.”

The funding will come through the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program.

In announcing the $800,000 grant headed to Athens-Clarke County following the local government’s successful pursuit of the funding, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said, “I commend Athens-Clarke County for their successful work bidding for this major award.”

Commenting Thursday on Athens-Clarke County’s successful bid for the $800,000 grant, Daniel Sizemore, the bicycle, pedestrian and safety coordinator for the Athens-Clarke County Transportation and Public Works, said planning for improvements on the three targeted routes should begin this fall.

The planning process is expected to take 18-24 months, according to Sizemore, and will focus on a “Complete Streets” approach. Under that approach, planning will involve enhancing bicycle, pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Part of the planning will ensure that the needs of people with various disabilities will be able to comfortably use the corridors, Sizemore explained. Public engagement will be part of the planning process, Sizemore noted.

One thing that will not happen in the planning process is proposing to increase vehicular traffic on the three routes. Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods funds can’t be used toward that end, Sizemore said.

However, Sizemore added, the grant funding can be used to plan ways to more efficiently move traffic through the targeted corridors.

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Once the county has moved through the planning process, it can begin the process of applying for additional federal grants for actual installation of any planned improvements, Sizemore added.

The $800,000 grant for Hawthorne and Oglethorpe avenues is just the latest in a string of federal transportation grants awarded to Athens-Clarke County over the past two years.

Last year, the community received a $1 million USDOT Safe Streets and Roads grant for boosting transportation safety. The funds are slated for use in developing local plans to reduce or eliminate transportation-related fatalities and injuries.

Tow years ago, Athens-Clarke County received a $25 million grant through the USDOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program.

The RAISE dollars will fund improvements along North Avenue from downtown Athens at the intersection of North Avenue and Willow Street up to the intersection of Freeman Drive and Collins Industrial Boulevard. Improvements include upgraded bus stops, sidewalks, pedestrian traffic signals and lighting.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: $800,000 federal grant to improve Athens roads, including bicycle lanes