A new transportation safety study for the City of Athens is shining a spotlight on one of the city’s most problematic intersections while opening the door for residents to weigh in on how streets can be made safer.
The draft Safe Streets for All transportation plan provided data on the intersection of U.S. 72 and French Farms Boulevard near Walmart as a key area of concern.
A 48-hour near-miss study conducted as part of the plan recorded more than 40 conflicts involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, along with multiple traffic violations, underscoring the need for improvements.
“The City of Athens has discussed this area with ALDOT, and this report further strengthens our position that improvements must be made at this intersection,” Mayor Ronnie Marks said.
Police Chief Anthony Pressnell said the plan will also help guide enforcement efforts.
“We have more bike riders and walkers using our streets and state routes,” Pressnell said. “This gives us critical information about where we need to focus enforcement and pursue safety improvements.”
In addition to providing traffic data, the new draft transportation plan was shaped by input from more than 1,400 residents and is now available for public review, marking the next step in the City of Athens’ effort to improve traffic safety and reduce serious crashes.
The plan can be viewed online through the City of Athens website, with a public comment period open through Feb. 23.
Work on the plan began in 2023 after Athens received a $240,000 Safe Streets for All grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of the city’s Vision Zero Initiative, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2040. The city provided a $60,000 local match and hired Sain Associates to oversee development of the plan.
City Planner Erin Tidwell said the city pursued the grant after completing the goals outlined in Athens’ 2015 transportation plan.
“Sain Associates worked with other communities in Alabama and other states to do similar projects, and the City of Athens had more survey responses than much larger communities, including Memphis,” Tidwell said. “We look forward to citizens reviewing a plan we worked together to create and providing comments. After the comment period, we will move toward a finalized version to present to our City Council.”
Along with survey feedback, the draft plan relied on crash data and U.S. Census information to identify trends and risk factors. Among the findings, the data showed higher crash involvement among both older and younger drivers and revealed that nearly half of fatal or serious injury crashes occurred at night.
The plan identifies six major crash trends in Athens, including side impact crashes at intersections and driveways. To address those concerns, the draft recommends a range of potential countermeasures, such as enhanced stop ahead signage, retroreflective signposts, removal of sight obstructions, hazard boards at T intersections, overhead street name signs, raised medians, reduced conflict U-turns and the use of roundabouts.
The document also outlines potential city-led projects on streets such as Jefferson, Hine, Market and Forrest streets, while providing data to support discussions with the Alabama Department of Transportation on state routes including U.S. 72, U.S. 31, Alabama 127, Alabama 99, Alabama 251 and Huntsville Browns Ferry Road.
Residents can review the draft plan and submit comments at https://www.athensalabama.us/489/Athens-SS4A-Safe-Streets-and-Roads-for-A.
