Tucker council approves gateway sign; ponders sidewalk, bike mobility plans

Rendering of new city of Tucker sign that will be constructed on Lawrenceville Highway. (Courtesy of City of Tucker) Tucker’s name will soon be in lights after a unanimous vote by city council during its Nov. 24 meeting. The city council approved a contract for the construction of gateway signage, which will be built by Hasbun Construction. The city’s first such signage will be placed at 2949 Lawrenceville Hwy., which is near the entrance to Interstate 285. The two-sided, metal sign will have up-lights and landscaping, including a flower bed. The gateway signage and construction will cost $261,560.81, according to a presentation from Ishri Sankar, Tucker’s public works director. Sankar told council he expects work to begin quickly, and the sign could be finished as early as April. During Monday’s meeting, council members also listened to final recommendations for the Tucker Connects and Revive L29 Lawrenceville Highway projects. The plans for the two concurring projects are broken up into short, medium and long-term projects, which was explained by Kat Onore, planning operations director for Pond, the engineering and architecture firm behind the plan. The short-term projects are plans that could happen in the next year. The local funding for the short-term projects recommended, including sidewalk and roadway improvements, trails, and maintenance, would be around $70 million. A map of the project recommendations for sidewalk development throughout Tucker. (Courtesy of Pond) Both District 2’s Cara Schroeder and District 1’s Virginia Rece posed questions about the off-street and on-street recommendations based on safety and cost effectiveness.  “We’re very feasibility-driven, so [we] really focus on how feasible it is, and then also how cost-effective it is in terms of actually connecting to your destinations,” Onore said. “We did hear from the community that they really prefer an off-street experience in terms of enabling mobility for all ages, all users, all abilities.” Related story:• Residents take final look at plans to improve Tucker walkability, safety For L29, the top priorities were making improvements to neighborhood roads intersecting with Lawrenceville Highway, including Woodbriar Circle, Zemory Drive, Brockett Road, and Hebron Hills, with Onore noting that the emphasis was placed on sidewalk gap filling, crossings, and shared-use paths. The short-term projects recommended for L29 could be completed in the next two years, and will total about $2.6 million Project map recommendations for Lawrenceville Highway. (Courtesy of Pond) When reviewing both projects, District 3’s Alexis Weaver still had lingering concerns about whether these improvements would aid the Tucker residents who primarily walk or bike. She also questioned whether the hope for the roadway and trail plans to spur economic impact was centered in the studies. Onore advised that feasibility was the primary assessment, but there are some economic factors considered. “Connections to destinations and job centers is something that was included in the prioritization, and then crash history,” Onore said. “So places that have a high crash history can tend to get a higher economic impact assessment. Both of those things have been baked in here.” Review the full list of project recommendations below. TuckerConnectsL29RecommendationsDownload The project plans must go before the planning commission early next year prior to a final public hearing and two readings by city council. The post Tucker council approves gateway sign; ponders sidewalk, bike mobility plans appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.