A plan by the Georgia Department of Transportation to install pole-mounted, flashing safety signs on Highway 19 North approaching Summit Drive from both directions ran into an unexpected road block at the County’s July work session.
While the sign to the south of Summit Drive would clearly fall within the City limits of Dahlonega, the sign on the north side is part of the County.
An item was added to the County agenda so that the Board of Commissioners could decide whether or not to sign a maintenance agreement accepting responsibility for the latter sign.
When the item came up for discussion, however, Chairman Chris Dockery expressed serious reservations with signing the agreement.
He pointed out that the sign would be located in the right-of-way, which is state property anyway, and that the City of Dahlonega should bear the responsibility for maintenance of the sign since only its residents inhabit The Summit.
When informed of the County’s position, City Manager Allison Martin said the City is willing to accept maintenance duties for both signs, but the item still has to be added to the agenda and approved by a vote of the council.
In the meantime, residents of The Summit will have to continue to take a dangerous leap of faith whenever they pull out onto the highway.
“The only interest The Summit has is the safety of its residents as they exit Summit Drive,” said Summit Board President Mary Lasris when approached for comment on the latest development.
WARNING SIGNS
When the item came before the Board of Commissioners for discussion, Dockery asked Special Projects Manager Charles Trammell to confirm that one sign would lie outside of the city.
“There’s two signs, one in the city and one out of the city,” Trammell confirmed.
Trammell said that Summit approached the City first, who referred approval of one sign to the County due to a lack of jurisdiction.
Commissioner Rhett Stringer asked if the property owner would be paying for installation of the signs.
“The owner is purchasing the signs and putting them up. He has agreed with the DOT that he would do all the maintenance on them, but they wouldn’t accept that. They want the local government to back that up,” Trammell said.
“But The Summit itself is within the city. I mean those citizens are residents of the City of Dahlonega,” Dockery responded.
Trammell offered to turn the request back over to the City.
Dockery said the County would be open to signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the City, indicating that “we’re not opposed to them putting a flashing sign outside of the corporate limits of Dahlonega for their citizens’ safety located in The Summit.”
However, Dockery expressed his belief that the state should be the entity to grant that permission, not the County.
“It’s a state route,” Trammell confirmed. “That’s the DOT that would allow them to do that.”
“I just think that we give it back to the City … I’m not seeing it. I’m sorry,” Dockery concluded.
Trammell said he would write a letter to The Summit indicating that they should go back to the City for assistance.
CITY SOLUTION
Before that letter could be sent, however, The Nugget reached out to Lasris at The Summit to ask for her comment on the development.
Lasris said explosive growth in the surrounding area more than justifies the new safety signs.
“With Porter Village across the way and close to our intersection, both groups must be careful due to the hills blocking views of oncoming traffic. Adding Miner’s Ridge to the mix, it has become a more dangerous area. Traffic in this area will also increase with the completion of the 60 apartments under construction near the city water plant. The City Council has approved an additional 162 housing units for development in The Summit Planned Unit Development (PUD). When these units are developed, there will be more than five times the current traffic turning on and off Morrison Moore Parkway at Summit Drive,” Lasris explained.
Martin, like Lasris, was also unaware of the County’s perspective when first contacted. The City Manager voiced her support for the planned improvements.
“The residents of the Summit have long requested traffic safety enhancements in that area. It is a highly traveled stretch of state highway used by locals and those traveling through our community to other destinations,” Martin said.
She indicated that the City would be willing to partner with the County for the second sign, but at the time she was not sure if GDOT would accept the City’s request for a sign outside of their jurisdiction.
Later, Martin e-mailed The Nugget to confirm that a resolution to the impasse is already in the works.
"Will be able to work with the developer and DOT to move this forward," Martin said, although she noted that a resolution would have to be voted on by the City Council first.
She said City staff anticipates “minimal maintenance” will be required for either of the solar-powered signs.