Downtown safety project temporarily derailed
Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
By Alan Mauldin
[email protected]
ALBANY — It’s back to the drawing board for a safety railing project on a stretch of sidewalk in downtown Albany where several falls have occurred, as the proposed cost exceeded available funds.
The city has placed temporary railing along part of a block on Pine Avenue until permanent barriers are erected.
“We’ve actually had to back up,” Albany Public Works Director Donald McCook said. “The project was not able to get ordered like we thought it would.”
In July, McCook discussed steel railing that was ordered for a roughly 400-foot section of sidewalk from 108 Pine Ave. to the space once used as The Albany Herald’s circulation offices. The estimated cost was $68,000 and was to be paid with special-purpose local-option sales tax money.
When McCook addressed the Downtown Development Authority in July, he said there had been at least a couple of falls, the most recent one shortly before July 4.
During a telephone interview on Monday, McCook said that he was not sure whether there had been a fall since that time.
The block where the railing is slated to go contains two popular downtown establishments.
“We’ve already had two or three falls,” McCook said. “We’re trying to limit anything else from happening.”
McCook had no estimated time frame for the placement of permanent railing. The temporary fencing will stay in place until that time.
At the moment, he said, the focus is on redesigning the project in an effort to get it within cost guidelines. Once plans are completed, the city will seek bids from contractors.
“They’re still in the process of doing the drawings to make it aesthetically pleasing,” McCook said. “We thought it was going to be completed in six to eight weeks. That’s why we had to put up some temporary stuff. We are doing it to try to limit the chance for falls.”
Author
Related Articles
Georgia’s school funding formula still ignores poverty; educators say students pay the price
During a report to the board on the outcomes of this year’s legislative session, Dyer discussed the district’s efforts to persuade lawmakers to add an “opportunity weight” to Georgia’s Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding formula — a change supporters say would provide additional state funding for students living in poverty.
Albany Commission approves $358.2 million budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
The Albany City Commission approved a $358.2 million spending plan during its final meeting of the budget year that ends on June 30.
Red light violations will bring citations at a dozen Albany intersections
“That was always the goal of the school zone cameras, to change the behavior. It’s the same with the red lights, we want to change the behavior. When you see a yellow light, you need to slow down and prepare to stop.”
