Augusta, GA
Parallel parking, high visibility crossings: Georgia Avenue traffic study under review
It was in November of 2022 that North Augusta started collecting input for how traffic along Georgia Avenue, from the bridge to Martintown Road, could be improved for both safety and business access.
Now, that input, plus the engineering analysis behind the full traffic calming study, has come back with a draft set of recommendations on what the city’s best options might be.
Block-by-block analysis yielded block-by-block recommendations, but the broader picture is one that takes all that angled parking and makes it parallel; adds center medians and makes pedestrian crossings high visibility.
Full implementation of these recommendations would be a $2.5 million effort.
Concerning the junction of Georgia, Carolina and Jackson avenues, recommendations in the ongoing draft of North Augusta’s Georgia Avenue traffic calming study “won’t solve for what we need,” said Mayor Briton Williams.
The city has taken no action yet on any of the recommendations, and certain of them — those for where Georgia Avenue meets with Jackson and Carolina avenues — aren’t going to cut it, officials say.
The proposed solution would cut out some of the existing pavement and curve Carolina Avenue slightly. That lessening of asphalt would result in those coming down Carolina Avenue then turning south onto Georgia Avenue before turning onto Jackson; current practice is a direct turn from Carolina onto Jackson, avoiding Georgia Avenue altogether.
“It won’t solve for what we need,” Mayor Briton Williams said.
Whether creating a roundabout for that tri-junction is an option is unclear. Georgia Avenue is a state road, and normally South Carolina Department of Transportation wouldn’t look favorably on a two-lane roundabout, said Joe Robertson, traffic engineer and project manager with Kimley-Horn.
And bringing Georgia Avenue down to one lane in either direction at that point isn’t recommended for the bottle-necking this would cause, Robertson said.
There could be more options out there, though, and the city is likely to pursue additional study of Georgia-Carolina-Jackson convergence.
That’s not to hold up implementation of other improvements.
A final report from Robertson’s group is forthcoming, and Georgia Avenue is likely to leapfrog other initiatives also being funded by the current round of the penny sales tax: North Augusta City Council has indicated it’s likely to pass the necessary resolution to do so on March 4.
The city is also looking at funding all $2.5 million of recommended improvements with the next round of the sales tax, which comes to voters in November.
If this all goes to plan, the first improvements could get underway next fall or early in 2026, with phase one centering on the stretch between Pine Grove and Spring Grove avenues.
Joe Robertson, traffic engineer with Kimley-Horn, gave an update Feb. 21 on North Augusta’s Georgia Avenue traffic calming study, here outlining the $1.19 million in recommended improvements for the stretch between Pine Grove and Spring Grove avenues. In foreground are, from left, Councilman David Buck, city attorney Kelly Zier and Mayor Briton Williams.
These improvements, as now drafted, are estimated at $1.19 million and would convert all angled parking in that block to parallel parking and narrow each of the drive lanes to 11 feet. With the extra space these changes would create, the idea is to install a 12-foot-wide central median — not just a striped median but the kind that’s got dimension to it.
High visibility crossings at both intersections, and for all four crossings at each, are also part of the recommendations.
Business, walkability in downtown
The Georgia Avenue traffic study was commissioned with the goal of creating a downtown corridor that promotes business and walkability.
“What we want is to have things here [on Georgia Avenue] to where it’s not your thoroughfare anymore. It can be, but in the meantime, I’m also stopping here and here and here,” Mayor Williams had said during those public input sessions of 18 months ago.
Councilwoman Jenafer McCauley had said then that figuring out Georgia Avenue was “one piece to the whole vision of downtown.”
Kimley-Horn’s Robertson said it’s estimated that Georgia Avenue, 10 years hence, could see its vehicle traffic increase by up to 70%, at least at its lower end, between Center Street and Buena Vista Avenue.
This section of Georgia Avenue sees about 25,000 vehicles a day, according to traffic counts taken in August of 2022. By 2032, that could be closer to 43,000 vehicles at Center Street and 34,500 at Buena Vista.
Which would make “stopping here and here and here,” per Williams’ comment, trickier for pedestrians unless improvements are made to accommodate the additional vehicles — and new development going up nearby, namely Beacon Bluff at Georgia Avenue and Center Street, but also possible new construction in Riverside Village.
Few changes to this lower section of Georgia Avenue, though, are recommended in the draft reviewed by Council last month, and officials indicated they’d like to build in the pedestrian crossings, particularly at East Clifton, that could catch the spill from new development and from the future downtown Greeneway connector.
Two Augusta-area Walmarts are among 13 Georgia locations that the retail giant plans to remodel and modernize in 2026.
In the past five years, the company said it has spent $961.5 million to upgrade its stores statewide.
Now, the company plans to change store layouts and services in its Augusta and Grovetown locations to make shopping faster and more convenient.
The locations are the Augusta Walmart Supercenter at 3338 Wrightsboro Road, near Augusta Mall, and the Grovetown Walmart Neighborhood Market at 5303-A Wrightsboro Road, where Wrightsboro and Harlem-Grovetown roads meet.
The Augusta location has been undergoing renovations since last fall.
The stores, when completely renovated, will include updated pharmacies offering vaccines, free delivery and clinical services such as basic health screenings and same-day testing for strep, the flu and COVID-19. Vision Centers also will be redesigned for improved privacy.
Also, computer apps will help customers better navigate stores, scan products’ prices and find exclusive app-only shopping deals.
Augusta, GA – Entered into rest Sunday, April 19, 2026. Mr. James Byron Duncan, 80, was the loving husband of Estelle Mulherin Duncan as well as devoted father, doting grandfather, and lifelong friend to many.
Byron was born and raised in Augusta, GA, the son of W.B. and Kathleen Duncan. After graduating from Butler High School in 1965, Byron’s kind heart called him into Social Work. He earned his Bachelor of Sociology from Augusta College in 1969. After 34 years of dedicated service to the State of Georgia, Byron retired in 2003 as Director of Jefferson County Family and Children Services. He devoted his life wholeheartedly to both service to others and dedication to his family, working in the tough field of social work while remaining a fiercely loving, spirited and unwaveringly passionate man.
His deepest commitments were to his wife, children, granddaughters, siblings, church, the Knights of Columbus and the Georgia Bulldogs.
Byron was deeply rooted in his faith and community. He was an active member of St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church, where he had served as an usher, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and finance committee member. He was also a proud member of the Knights of Columbus, Patrick Walsh Council 677 and Assembly 174, the Irish American Heritage Society and the Rotary Club of Louisville, GA. A true Georgia Bulldog at heart, Byron never missed an opportunity to cheer for his Dawgs, whether they were playing football, basketball, baseball or any other sport. He loved the simple joys of life – days at the beach, Jimmy Buffett, beach music and shagging, and a house full of family and friends. For many years, Byron delighted young and old alike by donning the red suit and playing Santa Claus at various events as well as visiting the classrooms at St. Mary on the Hill Catholic School as St. Nicholas.
Byron possessed the gift of gab! He never met a stranger and could often be observed enthusiastically carrying on a deep conversation with old friends or a stranger he just met on the street. No conversation with him was brief!
Family meant everything to him. He is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Estelle Mulherin Duncan; his children Sean M. Duncan (Jennifer), Matthew M. Duncan and Megan E. Duncan; his bonus daughter, Allison Crow (Joe), and his treasured grandchildren Riley, Emma and Harper Duncan, who brought him endless joy. He is also survived by his brother Keith Duncan; sisters Sheryl Werrick and Marcia Golden; brothers-in-law Dr. Joe Mulherin, Robert Gibson and Tom King; sister-in-law Janet M. Gibson; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 1:00 P.M. at St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church with Fr. Mark Ross as celebrant. Interment will follow at Westover Memorial Park. A Rosary service will be held Thursday evening at 6:00 P.M., followed by visitation from 6:30 until 8:00 P.M. at Thomas Poteet & Son.
Memorial contributions may be made to Aquinas High School, 1920 Highland Ave., Augusta, GA 30904 or St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church, 1420 Monte Sano Ave., Augusta, GA 30904 for the Our Faith Our Future Capital Campaign.
Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Road, Augusta, GA 30907, (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at thomaspoteet.com
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Georgia Gubernational candidate Geoff Duncan made another appearance in Augusta on Monday, speaking at the IBEW Local 1579 on Reynolds Street.
Duncan is one of the three candidates vying for the Democratic nomination. Duncan said when he served as lieutenant governor of the state, he fought to expand access to health care in rural communities. He said if he’s elected, he’ll focus on lowering costs in other areas.
Duncan stopped by NewsChannel 6 ahead of the campaign stop to speak about his plans.
“Look, 90% of Georgians know what they’re talking about when they want to pass commonsense gun legislation like universal background checks, red flag laws, and in-home safe storage laws. As governor, I want to lead the charge, and I want to give political cover to those Republicans that want to do the right thing, build those consensus around those bills,” Duncan said. “I hope to get some of them the cosign that legislation. Because it meets people where they’re at. It’s common sense. Look, I don’t want anybody to ever walk by a television screen and make another excuse for a mass shooting when it could have been stopped. With just common sense laws that are on the books.”
Photojournalist credit: Regynal McKie
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