Watkinsville City Council Sit On Their hands In Releaving Congestion in Downtown

I have lived in the Watkinsville area since 1981 when I retired from the Navy. Since that time traffic in Watkinsville has increased significantly year-after-year until we can now call it a congestion. In other words from stop light to stop to stop light is backed up. With Oconee State Bank wanting to place another light at its entrance, well!

The City Council has over the years expressed a need for a by-pass from South 15 to South 441 at Bishop to divert big rigs. They have dragged their feet on this issue until traffic has become a major problem. This also includes congestion on Simonton Bridge Road, and Experimental Station Road.

But what does the present day City Council do; a $69,000 study on the congestion and still have NO SOLUTION in the foreseeable future. Political mumbo jumbo for elect me to correct it, although Councilman Brian Brodrick has had an 18-year opportunity to correct it. The only thing standing in correcting the problem are banks, and the money and power shakers, that’s looking out for their own property interest.

Being retired with no skin in the game, let me put forth a solution to Watkinsville residents to really reduce 18-wheeler traffic on highway 15 and car traffic on Simonton Bridge Road. Correct these two areas and traffic will greatly decrease.

SOUTH HIGHWAY 15--On Greensboro Highway turn onto Greene Ferry Road to Colham Ferry Road. From there a road would have to be constructed along the property lines of 1650 Colham Ferry Road and Stephenson Trustee Old Bishop Road. This would connect onto Thomas Farm Road to 441 Macon Highway North of Bishop.

SIMONTON BRIDGE ROAD—Turn along the property line of 1011 Simonton Drive and Thomas Life Estate, Simonton Bridge Road to the back property of 1570 Calls Creek Circle. Then go to the east property of 1100 Durham’s Mill Way and connect to Fuller Road. Fuller Road connects to Macon Highway and then 441 by-pass.

Over the past years candidates have used the by-pass as a political football, promises made, promises not kept. If the council continues to wait until those areas become residential, then it will be too late to correct the congestion problem, so it will be welcome to Gwinnett.

Until local residents stop voting in complacent Council members, it will be City Council business as usual—we need people like former Mayor Bob Smith on the Council to get something done.