Royston Says ‘No’ To Closing Railroad Crossings

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

The City of Royston is saying, “no” to a demand by Hartwell Railroad officials to close four railroad crossings through the center of town.

Hartwell Railroad wants to close the crossings at SR17/Lee St., Bowers St., Carlton St. and Tony Jones St. All four crossings run through the center of town along SR 17.

At a called meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Royston City Council and Mayor David Jordan heard from city attorney Andrea Grant. Grant reported on findings she gathered from a public hearing on May 12th.

Among her findings:

The Hartwell Railroad did not provide any proof that the closings of the four crossings are necessary nor were they willing to work with the City to provide alternative solutions so as not to hinder public safety and economic growth.

Additionally, Grant said the closings thwarts the Royston’s long standing plan to alleviate traffic congestion through the center of town.

“The closings of the crossings would actually cause more frequent and more dangerous traffic situations, over and above any potential railroad crossing accidents,” she said. “Next, closing the crossings threatens the continued viability of local businesses and potential economic growth. Closing of the crossings threatens the growth of the recently designated Opportunity Zone. Finally, any alleged safety issues or concerns have actually been created by the (Hartwell) Railroad itself.”

After reading her findings Grant then asked the City Council to vote on the closing of each of the four crossings individually. In all four cases, the Council voted unanimously to deny Hartwell Railroad’s demands to close the crossing.

City Manager Ed Andrews then asked the Council to give Hartwell Railroad one more chance to negotiate.

“I would like to go back to the Railroad and look over options again, based on some of the Georgia Department of Transportation information needed and look at all the closures one more time. I’d like to have the Railroad representatives actually come and sit and go over those options again.”

Andrews said the City plans to file the results of their findings with the State by next week. Hartwell Railroad has until then to meet one last time with Andrews and the City’s Transportation Committee.

Once the findings are submitted to the State, Hartwell Railroad has 30 days to file an appeal.