Council approves contract for traffic congestion study

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 Buston said the traffic study could take one to two years. The results of the study will be used in determining the feasibility of many development plans in the city.

“I think this particular plan is much more in-depth than the one was 12 years ago,” Buston said. “It incorporates many more thoroughfares through Auburn. … A big part of it is trying to get traffic moving through Auburn so there’s signalization at the intersections as well as pedestrian and bicycle considerations.”

The last traffic study done by the city was issued in 2005 and completed in 2007. Buston said Auburn is long overdue for an updated study due to the city’s rapid growth.

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.”

Buston said the study might reveal ways to redirect congested traffic around Auburn’s urban core after its completion.

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.

Buston said, assuming everything goes smoothly, the lot will be sold to the city on Nov. 10, and the parking deck will be completed as soon as December 2018.

Correction: A previous version of this article said the study would encompass 64 intersections. It will encompass 59 of Auburn's 64 total intersections.