- The city has been approved for a $175,000 "Safe Streets for All" grant.
- They are working to improve pedestrian and driver safety along West Jackson Street.
- Check out the video above to hear from a local business owner on his thoughts about the upgrades.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"This side of town— we could use some upgrades for sure," said Bill Carson, Co-owner O'Neal's Country Buffet. Carson is one of the owners at O'Neal's Country Buffet. It's a Thomaville landmark on West Jackson Street.
It's one of the areas city leaders are working to help. The city has been approved for a Safe Streets for All grant. Now, $175,000 will be invested by the Federal Highway Administration.
This money will be geared toward improving pedestrian and driver safety for the area along West Jackson. Other landmarks neighbors know are Harper Elementary School and the Imperial Hotel.
"There's a lot of energy and potential that could bring to W. Jackson to this corridor is really important," said Kenny Thompson, City Planner.
Kenny Thompson is a city planner. He tells me that money will help them study what upgrades could work best for the area.
Bike lanes, on-street parking, and crossings are just some of the ideas. "West Jackson Street has a lot of the elements of being a potentially dangerous road," said Thompson.
The number one goal? Safety.
"They have narrow sidewalks that are very close to the street, a higher volume of traffic moving at a fairly quick pace, you have children crossing the street to go to school." said Thompson.
This project is part of a bigger plan to improve the South-West side of town.
"One of the things that we're trying to do is expand some of the success that we've seen downtown down our corridor," said Thompson. Something Carson says he and other business owners alike, welcome.
"The more we can dress things up around here I think absolutely more people will come this way," said Carson. City officials tell me a road safety audit is next in the process.
That's expected to happen sometime in 2024.
