Toccoa Discusses Tugalo Street Sidewalk Project

Work is moving along on the Tugalo Street sidewalk after Toccoa City Commissioners help determine a path forward for one part of the project.

Monday, Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse told city commissioners that the sidewalk project is in its final leg.

However, Morse said the final leg between Boulevard and Rosedale has challenges.

He said the main problem is a steep bank that falls in what the normal path of the sidewalk would be.

“We can use a portion of the roadway to avoid the bank, but that brings up safety concerns that you might have or we can dig into the bank to keep the sidewalk of the road, but that will lead to some cost and some delays and potentially some concern with the property owners,” said Morse.

According to Morse, building the sidewalk out into the road would narrow the road from 30 feet to 25 feet, still wider than city code mandates.

Meanwhile, he said building into the bank would force the city to build and pay for a retaining wall and move five telephone poles at the city’s expense.

City Commissioner Gail Fry said she feels using the road might be the better option, adding it is still wide enough for cars to drive even if the sidewalk is built out into the road.

“I think if you put some signage and have a lot of police presence, especially some blinking lights, to let people know what is going on, it might work,” said Fry.

She also suggested a four-way stop at Tugalo and Rosedale, something Mayor Evan Hellenga says he does not think is a good idea.

Hellenga said there are safety concerns about putting the sidewalk where the road is now.

“I realize that obviously utilizing the street will speed the project along, but the issue has been raised to me about putting a sidewalk where people are used to driving an automobile,” said Hellenga.

However, Commissioner Jeanette Jamieson said using the road appears to be the more feasible and cost-efficient option.

“We add a retaining wall and add $15,600 to the project and it is going to cost something to move five telephone poles,” said Jamieson. “I can tell you right now it is not going to be chump change.”

In the end, Hellenga noted that the consensus of the commission was to build the sidewalk in what is now Tugalo Street and narrow the roadway, as staff had planned.