The Auburn City Council approved a year-long, city-wide traffic study valued at $483,934 at their meeting Tuesday night.
Public Works Director and City Engineer Jeffery Ramsey said the study will not only cover automotive traffic but bicycle and pedestrian traffic as well.
“It really does give us a plan for the next 10 to 15 years in the areas we need to be looking at to make improvements to our roadway infrastructure,” Ramsey said.
City Manager Jim
“I think this particular plan is much more in-depth than the one was 12 years ago,”
The last traffic study done by the city was issued in 2005 and completed in 2007.
The study will encompass 59 intersections, almost every intersection within Auburn’s city limits, and will be completed by Skipper Consulting, a third-party firm based out of Birmingham.
Ward 5 Councilwoman Lynda Tremaine supported the traffic study but said the city didn’t need one to realize there were congestion problems downtown.
“I’ll admit that when I saw it was almost $500,000 I thought, ‘Is it worth it?’” Tremaine said. “Then I started reading what was done 10 years ago, and it’s certainly in-depth. … We know that there is a traffic problem in Auburn.”
Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Witten spoke in favor of the resolution.
“I too am a little leery of the price tag on this, but after some conversation and more studying it does make sense that we are trying to be more comprehensive,” Witten said.
The council also passed a resolution authorizing the city to make certain expenditures related to the proposed parking deck on Wright Street.
The expenditures will go towards the city’s efforts to locate a design firm for the project as well as acquisition costs before construction begins.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the study would encompass 64 intersections. It will encompass 59 of Auburn's 64 total intersections.
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