Business owners oppose GDOT plan

A room full of local business owners met Monday at city hall with representatives of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). And once again the group left no doubt that there was unanimous opposition to GDOT’s plans to make changes to Coffee and Jarman streets through Hazlehurst.
After a GDOT representative went over the history of the evolution of the project, those gathered at city hall peppered the group of a half dozen representatives with questions and comments objecting to the plans.
Of primary concern to the group were plans to narrow the roadway from four to two lanes along part of the route, barriers that prohibited cross traffic at some points, and closing the block-long portion of Coffee Street between First Baptist Church and the church’s parking lot across Coffee from the church. Several objections were voiced concerning the changes to Coffee Street in the area of Village Pizza, Dick’s Wings, Captain D’s and Yellow Jacket Car Wash.
The project begins at L Street on Jarman Street and continues onto Coffee Street to North Williams Street.
Hazlehurst Police Chief James Mock expressed his concerns that the GDOT proposal would cause his department problems because the changes would make the route more dangerous, resulting in more work for his department. Fire Chief Charles Wasdin also expressed concerns over how the changes might make it more difficult for fire trucks to respond to fires that called for fire trucks to cross or travel along the route.
When Chief Mock questioned how the plan originated, the GDOT officials explained; that “the former mayor” — Bayne Stone — had contacted GDOT officials requesting a traffic light be placed at the intersection of Gill and Jarman streets. A district-wide study of safety issues identified the Coffee/Jarman portion of Highway 341 as having a high-accident rate, which led to efforts to make changes along the route to improve safety. The initial resulting plan was presented to then-Mayor Stone, the officials said, and he okayed the idea so GDOT proceeded with the project.
When Hazlehurst City Clerk Vernice Thompson said that the plan was never approved by the City Council, a representative replied that the standard procedures was for GDOT officials to go to mayors or county commission chairs rather than the full governing boards.
As meetings were held over the last year with local officials and citizens, including current Mayor John Ramay, objections to the plan were voiced. As a result of those later meetings, changes were made in the plan to address local concerns.
When asked if the plan was “a done deal” that would be implemented despite local objections, the GDOT officials said no. “We’re not saying this is a done deal,” one official said.
Members of the local opposition were encouraged to attend the next meeting of the Hazlehurst City Council to share their concerns about the proposal.