Decatur manager favors ‘urban classification’ for some state highways

Peggy Merriss is in her final month as Decatur city manager. Merriss, who has overseen two community transporation plans during her 35 years with the city, would like to see an “urban classification” for select state highways. AJC file photo

Peggy Merriss is in her final month as Decatur city manager. Merriss, who has overseen two community transporation plans during her 35 years with the city, would like to see an “urban classification” for select state highways. AJC file photo

Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss has been a longtime advocate for giving what she calls an “urban classification” to select state highways. This idea resurfaced again this month when a group calling itself “Calm Candler” submitted a petition to city commissioners asking for safety improvements on South Candler Street.

Decatur has five roads assimilated into various state routes, including South Candler, which became particularly visible in recent months with a number of automobile accidents and two fatalities (although neither of those were speed related).

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with local state highways,” Merriss said. “But we’re just treating them all alike. A four-lane state highway in South Georgia is not the same as a four- or two-lane state route through a densely populated area with neighborhoods, churches and colleges.”

Merriss is entering the final month of her 35-year career in Decatur, the last 25½ as city manager. One of her enduring committments over the past 20 years has been narrowing roads, adding bike lanes and widening sidewalks while studying the negative health impact of automobiles. She has overseen two community transportation plans, with the latest approved by commissioners earlier this year.

The byproduct of these two plans has led to increased numbers of pedestrians and cyclists, including many children. This has led in turn to a more intense focus on the city’s state roads, which have the most and fastest automobile traffic.

“We have a good working relationship [with the Georgia Department of Transportation, which owns the state highways],” Merriss said. “They’ve made a lot of progress. There’s no golden solution out there. But there’s got to be a combination of [increased] enforcement and education along with engineering.”