City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to ask the State to consider reducing the speed limit on three more roads, in addition to expanding and lowering maximum speeds in a school zone.

In recent years, the City has conducted extensive studies in line with recommendations in Milton’s Strategic Plan and Local Road Safety Plan as part of its efforts to find opportunities to enhance transportation safety and efficiency. Two other rounds of speed limit reductions have already taken effect.

Those up for consideration Wednesday proposed 40 mph speed limits (down from 45 mph) on the entirety of New Providence Road, Bethany Bend (between Hopewell Road and Highway 9), and Thompson Road (from Redd Road to Hopewell Road). In addition, it called for expanding the Cogburn Road/Bethany Bend school zone westward to include outside King’s Ridge Christian School, as well as dropping the speed limit from 35 mph to 30 mph along that stretch.

Several data points went into the City’s recommendations such as speeds, sight distance, curves, different uses along roadways, the presence of cyclists and pedestrians, as well as the number and location of driveways (with some fearful leaving their driveways because of fast-moving vehicles).

During the pre-vote discussion, Mayor Peyton Jamison noted that current speed limits date to when Milton had a far smaller population and less traffic.  He characterized strategically lowering speed limits as a valuable, proactive, safety-minded measure. Another rationale, as Councilmember Phil Cranmer noted, is providing greater consistency along corridors (rather than changing speed limits).

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will now review the submitted speed limit change proposal, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Public Safety. These agencies must approve speed limit changes to public roads statewide before they can be incorporated into the “radar permit” (which makes the new figures enforceable).

Leaders said that this review could take a few months. The Council would then have the opportunity to accept whatever the State agencies approve; only after that happens could any changes go into effect.

GDOT AGREEMENTS ON 2 BIRMINGHAM HIGHWAY INTERSECTION PROJECTS

The Council began Wednesday’s meeting by unanimously approving a Consent Agenda that included agreements with:

• Bridgeport Carpets to renovate the bathrooms at Legacy Park, the City’s athletic complex off Cox Road, specifically by installing tankless water heaters, applying a new epoxy coating to floors, replacing doors and stall partitions, as well as painting walls and ceilings
• Music Milton so that new nonprofit, which is dedicated to promoting music education and bringing world-class musicians to our area, can use City facilities on September 19 for its inaugural concert
• MXI Environmental to collect, handle, pack, transport, and then recycle, reuse, and/or dispose of chemicals, cleaning products, fluorescent bulbs, automotive liquids, and other material gathered at the City’s annual household hazardous waste collection events
• Buckeye Land Management to repair stormwater infrastructure at multiple locations around Milton such as by installing pipes, adding headwalls, rehabilitating ditches, and putting in rip rap stone
• International Cybernetics Company to conduct a final pavement condition survey for all City streets to inform Milton’s five-year paving plan
• Keck and Wood to provide a final engineering design for a new traffic signal at the intersection of Arnold Mill Road/State Route 140 and Green Road

The same Consent Agenda included a pair of framework agreements between the City and Georgia Department of Transportation related to future improvement projects along State Route 372/Birmingham Highway. GDOT controls any changes to state routes, though the City of Milton actively engages with this State agency to promote safe and efficient travel upgrades.

One of those agreements will give the City the go-ahead to hire a consultant to study and design improvements at Birmingham Highway and Batesville Road, with the potential for a new roundabout at that intersection. This effort will be supported by $400,000 in federal funding.

The other agreement relates to New Bullpen Road and Birmingham Highway, just north of Birmingham Crossroads. It sets the stage for a project, in this case utilizing $200,000 in federal funding, by hiring a consultant who will explore ways to improve this intersection.

THREE MEANINGFUL PROCLAMATIONS

This was followed by three proclamations read by Mayor Jamison, each meaningful in their own way.

The first recognized Cambridge Youth Track, which has “grown into something truly special” since launching four years ago, according to the Mayor.

Based out of the Cambridge High School track complex, this program has given dozens of children the opportunity to grow and excel as athletes and people under the tutelage of an accomplished, caring group of coaches.

The next proclamation recognized September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. It shined a spotlight on the fact cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for younger people, as well as the need for support for research as well as for struggling families.

Representatives from the Mighty Mille Foundation, a metro Atlanta non-profit dedicated to providing such support, were on-hand in Council Chambers to accept the proclamation.

Lastly, a proclamation highlighted the importance of sharing resources, providing insights, and reducing stigmas related to mental health. As Jamison noted, “Too often people suffer in silence” – with Milton committed to doing what it can to raise awareness, encourage conversation, and provide support.

Two Milton events are coming up along these lines. The annual Milton Mental Wellness Webinar, again in partnership with the LRJ Foundation, will take place September 16 with a theme of “From Heartache to Growth: Understanding Trauma, Grief, and the Power of Support.” Those who’d like to attend can register at www.miltonga.gov/TraumaAndGrief. The webinar will later be posted, along with a host of other valuable tips and resources, at www.miltonga.gov/MentalWellness. And on October 25, JCAC counseling will conduct a special free interactive workshop focused on suicide prevention at Milton City Park and Preserve’s Community Center. 

The City Council itself will next convene the evening of Monday, September 8. This will be a Special Called Meeting in lieu of a previously scheduled Work Session, including a Public Hearing on the City’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget (as well as amendments to Milton’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget).