The planning consultant firm Goodwyn Mills Cawood, or GMC, and Statesboro city engineers recently held the public input kickoff meeting for their Brannen Street Corridor study, a supplement to the Statesboro-Bulloch County Long-Range Transportation Plan.
City staff members, including Public Works and Engineering Director John Washington and Assistant City Engineer David Moyer, and GMC Project Manager Glenn Coyne hosted the meeting late afternoon Sept. 26 in a community room at the Statesboro Family YMCA on Clairborne Street at Brannen. Even though Hurricane Helene blasted through later that night, only a breeze and mists of rain had arrived at meeting time when at least a dozen interested citizens signed in, not counting the city and GMC personnel and two reporters.
Brannen Street extends about two miles, from South College Street on its west end, across South Main Street and South Zetterower Avenue and then southeast, first through residential neighborhoods and then behind the Statesboro Mall and Walmart Supercenter, in front of the Statesboro Crossing Shopping Center, and across the bypass behind Lowe's to Cawana Road.
This passage through residential and commercial areas and even near an industry — namely the Claude Howard Lumber sawmill — raises concerns about a mix of traffic types. That, and further residential growth on side streets that connect to it, make Brannen an appropriate subject for special planning, Washington said.
"You're one of the stakeholders if you live or work along that corridor," he told those who attended. "So this is why we're here; your input's valuable."
For purposes of the study and presentation, the consultants divided the corridor area into five segments and produced colorful, schematic maps of each, reflecting the fact that "the personality of the road changes so much," Coyne said.
Segment 1, considered a "minor collector" road, extends from South College to South Zetterower across some major intersections. It consists of just two 10-foot traffic lanes in opposing directions, with no "pedestrian infrastructure" such and sidewalks and no "bike infrastructure," or bicycle lanes.
"You know what that intersection looks like, at Brannen and Zetterower," Washington commented to the group. "Would a turn lane be something that you would like to see there, a dedicated turn lane? These are just thoughts. I'm not saying that's what we're looking to do, but it might help with the traffic flow."
Participants in the kickoff meeting were asked to submit comments about concerns and ideas of their own. The segment maps can be found online at https://brannenstcorridor.com, and the city's two-question survey remains available through a "Take Survey" button at www.statesboroga.gov/brannen .
Segment 2, identified as a "local street" through a residential and community-use area, consists of two 11-foot-wide traffic lanes with no bike lanes or sidewalk from South Zetterower to Gentilly Road. The one "traffic generator" other than homes is the Statesboro Family YMCA.
Bill Broucek, a resident of Granade Street in this area, asked if the city plans to widen the traffic lanes at all.
"Not at this time," Washington said. "There would be road improvements as determined from our study and data collection, to make sure they're proper width, striping and everything else, the industry standard, so there's not any deficiencies."
The city's engineers and consultants are not intending to widen the roadway to include a center turn lane, but if residents said a turn lane is needed, "then we'll take that input and see if a turn lane would fit in that corridor," he said.
Broucek said he was at first concerned that the maps showed dotted lines around the corridor "two lots deep." This was only a feature of the concept map, intended to identify the immediate neighborhood around the street, not a planned project. The city government intends to confine any improvements to the existing right of way if possible and wants to preserve the residential character of existing neighborhoods, Washington said.
"That was the big concern that I had," Broucek said. "Now what we're down to is they're saying, essentially, no changes to right of way but 'we are going to use the right of way that we have.'"
But that leaves him concerned about the fate of trees now 60 to 80 years old and other landscaping around homes that were built in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, he said. Homeowners back then planted and sometimes built structures out to the curb with no regard for the public right of way, Broucek noted, and said he doesn't want the city to remove legacy trees just to make way for sidewalks.
A woman who lives in one of the residential segments also spoke up to say trash from fast food restaurants already accumulates in her side yard and she doesn't want a sidewalk or bike lane to bring more of it.
In Segment 3, from Gentilly Road to Lovett Road behind the mall, Brannen becomes a "minor arterial" road with two 12-foot travel lanes and a 14-foot center turn lane. It has a 5.5-foot sidewalk only along the south side of the street. Besides Gentilly Square Shopping Center and the YMCA, "nearby traffic generators" include a 300-unit apartment complex under construction on Lovett Road, but surrounding land uses are commercial or vacant.
Segment 4, from Lovett Road to Veterans Memorial Parkway, becomes a "major arterial" with two 11-foot travel lanes, a concrete and grass median and an 11-foot left-turn lane. There is a 5.5-foot sidewalk on both sides, past Walmart, Statesboro Crossing and Statesboro Mall.
Segment 5, across Veterans Memorial Parkway, reverts to a "minor collector" road with two 10-foot travel lanes and a 12.5-foot center turn lane, also with a sidewalk on both sides. Besides Lowe's, the Social Security office and Statesboro Crossing, potential traffic generators include proposed Statesboro Fire Department Station 3.
Concerned citizens
Another citizen participating in the kickoff meeting was Cathy Dixon, a Clairborne Avenue resident and retired transportation director for Bulloch County Schools. She has also participated in community meetings for the larger Statesboro-Bulloch County Long-Range Transportation Plan.
"I live across the street, but we deal with the traffic on Brannen, and I'm just concerned about the city and the growth and the traffic situation all the way through," Dixon said. "I feel like we're not moving forward with traffic, we're kind of in a bubble, and we've got to burst out of the bubble and move forward a little bit."
Charlie Collins owns rental property along the corridor.
"I want to see a good flow of traffic and make sure that people like cyclists and people who like to walk are accommodated, but not at the sacrifice of other people's properties," he said.
Cost of studies
In summer 2023, the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners and Statesboro City Council agreed to have the county and city each pay half of the up to $380,000 in fees GMC is charging to complete the shared, city and county-wide Long-Range Transportation Plan update.
In May, City Council awarded GMC a $125,000 supplemental contract for the Brannen Street Corridor study.
After presenting the draft of the Long-Range Transportation Plan at a Sept. 19 community meeting, the consultants are now receiving comments from the city and county before releasing the finished plan in November, Coyne said. But the Brannen Street Corridor study will not be completed then.
"We're at the very beginning phases. This is just the kickoff public meeting for that," he said Sept. 26.
The study will also require further public meetings, with the next to be held in the spring at the earliest, Washington said. Traffic counts using special cameras will be part of the study, and pedestrian counts for sidewalk projects are also possible, he said.