We need more transparency in government
Absolutely. Georgia seems to be heading this way - we just need representatives who will keep the pressure on. Technology now allows, and Georgians should demand, the ability to see government spending online. Think this isn't possible? Just take a look at what some states are already doing...
Traffic on 20 sucks! I thought there was a plan to widen it?
This is one of the reasons I am running. GA Highway 20 cuts across the entire district, but for 10 years it has received hardly any attention. I will make this situation one of my highest priorities - identifying problems along the road and fixing them one by one. And you are correct - back in 2006 the State had a plan to widen the road from the river all the way to PIB that was reported to be 95% complete. The new road will be a 4 lane divided highway with a 44' median and sidewalks and would include a new bridge south of the current one for the extra lanes. Construction was supposed to start in 2007. The latest is that Right of Way Purchase Authorization may start September 2008, but Construction Authorization has been pushed to September 2010.
A huge benefit of this road improvement would be to take traffic off Suwanee Dam - most cars that now use it as a cut through from PIB and I-85 over to 400 would just take 20, alleviating many of the problems for Suwanee and Sugar Hill residents and improving safety at North Gwinnett High School.
I just read that the Gwinnett County Public Schools will not be adding to its police force anytime soon. Should we be more concerned with our children's safety?
Again, this is mostly a County issue, but with two children in our public schools I am as concerned as you are. I would like to work with the schools to come up with some innovative solutions at little or no cost, or projects that could be paid for with State funds. One idea is to offer local police departments an office inside the schools that would include computers and internet access, maybe even a printer or copy machine and refreshments. The cost would be minimal and it would keep a police presence around the school.
I hate fighting traffic around the schools - why don't more students take the bus?
There are a number of reasons, but I don't see this changing anytime soon. While this is not a State issue (the schools are run by the County) there are things I would like to see discussed. Perhaps running a shuttle to an offsite location like the City of Suwanee does for Suwanee Day. I even heard a speaker recently suggest that eliminating parking at high schools would cut down on traffic. Interesting suggestion but not a practical one.
When I was growing up we had Crossing Guards. I live across a major street from my children's school, and if we had a safe way for them to walk I would let them do it on most days.
When I was growing up we had the same thing. Many of the District's schools are on a busy street, and if there was a safe way to cross I would think this would help with traffic. We also may be able to use an area across the road as a drop off point - parents could drop off their children and feel confident that they would be safe.
What about removing salt from seawater?
The newest desalination plant in the US is in Tampa Bay. The cost for this plant was almost $160 million and it has a current output of 25 million gallon per day. The facility is located next to a power plant, which helps them reduce cost in a variety of ways. The largest operational expense is the power required to purify the water, and the resultant drinking water is about twice as expensive as ground water. A solution is also needed to dispose of the salt with harming the environment. A study could be done to see if there is a location on the GA cost that could benefit from this technology.
Where can we get more money for road and transit projects?
I attended a briefing by GDOT Commissioner Abraham - and the outlook is bleak. It appears that too many representatives have been just adding projects to the list to win political points without any consideration of funding, and Dr. Abraham is getting ready to remove literally thousands of projects because the funding isn't there. One of her ideas? Public/Private partnerships resulting in toll projects. Another thing she might consider - getting the legislature to pass the mandatory seat belt law for trucks which would bring in about $20 million in Federal funds. GA is probably the only hold out on this in the US. Almost everyone in our district wears belts anyway - why not get money for it?
Do simple traffic improvements that will make a big difference
I could not agree more! The gentleman who showed me this idea thought like the Engineer he is. He sketched a number of intersections (PIB and Suwanee Dam, PIB and McGinnis Ferry, Suwanee Dam and I-85, even I-85 and Pleasant Hill) that could be greatly improved by simply extending a turn lane, changing a curb cut or making changes to the signal. All of the changes he suggested are inexpensive but would result in greatly improved traffic flow. This not only deserves serious consideration, but I need help from all of you who daily face an intersection where a small improvement in the road would make a big difference.
Want to make our area better? Send in more ideas and get the discussion moving!
