City Of Milton Seeking Public Input On Local Road Safety Plan

MILTON, GA — The City of Milton needs the public's help in improving the city's roads by sharing both general thoughts and specific ideas and comments, about things such as problematic roads, dangerous intersections, opportunities for improvement and more, by taking a brief survey.

Input from people who live, work and regularly travel through Milton will serve as the foundation of Milton's Local Road Safety Plan. The Federal Highway Administration encourages communities to develop such plans, in a circumscribed manner, to systematically examine what's working, what's not, and what more can be done at a local level.

While Milton doesn't have as many vehicle crashes as other places, traffic and road safety remain top concerns among residents. Many have voiced worries about excess speeds, dangerous intersections and roads, and other hazard areas for drivers, bikers and walkers related to those who traverse in and around the city - both residents and the rising number of people from outside who routinely cut through Milton.

"Our goal here is to improve quality of life," Police Chief Rich Austin told the Milton City Council in November when pitching the possibility of a Local Road Safety Plan. "If they live in fear that they may be involved in an accident and have had several close calls - [or maybe] they enjoy bicycling, but they're afraid to participate in that activity - that's the kind of feedback that we want to hear."

The City of Milton's Police and Public Work departments are spearheading this project, since both law enforcement and transportation maintenance and design, including roads, sidewalks, roundabouts, are critical to safety. Visit online to review the Local Road Safety Plan presentation that city staff made at the November 2020 city council meeting.

The survey is a critical, early step in this endeavor since those who live, work and play in Milton know the city and its roads best. It is set to close on Feb. 15. After it does, the city plans to hire a consultant to sift through survey results and explore other pertinent data, then help to create the final, actionable Local Road Safety Plan.

This will be presented to the city council and could then lead to any number of strategies for improvements. This might include incorporating more technology, rethinking some roadway designs, and potentially resetting speed limits.

The city also will maintain a website dedicated to this project.

"We want to hear from our community before we create a safety plan," said Public Works Director Robert Drewry. "That means listening to those who spend time on our roads, look at the facts, and combine the expertise of our public works and police departments. We're confident that such an inclusive, deliberate approach will benefit our city for years to come."