MONTGOMERY – A Wares Ferry Road property owner told the Montgomery County Commission that the Alabama Department of Transportation should seek citizen input before building an exit in the area.
Dr. J.R. Brown told the county commission at their Jan. 7 meeting that she objected to a study for the proposed interchange at Wares Ferry Road. The county commission agreed to cover $100,000 of the $300,000 study.
“I’m just very disappointed that input from taxpaying citizens such as myself were not included in that decision to give $100,000 to fund another study that will affect this predominantly rural, lower-income people of color and myself,” Brown said. “Particularly as the interchange will go through two of my properties on either side of the interstate.”
The area being considered – Mount Meggs, Pike Road and Cecil – is historic and valuable because it goes back more than 200 years, according to Brown.
“It’s really economic injustice and civil rights infringement,” she said. The first phase of the outer loop of Interstate 85 caused homes and “valuable” property to be destroyed and increased traffic congestion, Brown said.
Commissioner Doug Singleton told Brown that ALDOT approached the commission with the project study. He also said that the studies were largely an effort to relieve traffic congestion from other parts of Montgomery, particularly from the industrial park area, though he recognized that the outer loop did create some traffic issues itself and agreed that it should be addressed.
Brown asked why funding is not being used for the loop instead of a potential project for another interchange, but Singleton said that the study is a construction project of ALDOT, not the commission.
Brown again voiced her concern about the lack of public participation, a point that Commissioner Isiah Sankey sympathized with, saying that the Federal Highway Administration examines the Montgomery Metropolitan Planning Organization and reportedly found faults.
“The Federal Highway Administration is concerned about that as well,” Sankey said. “They even cited the Montgomery Metropolitan Planning Organization as being deficient when it comes to public participation, so you raise a good point, and I think we need to continue to talk about that, because the public should be engaged.”
Brown had suggestions about improving the traffic situation in her area, including installing lights at intersections and putting cameras and signage at intersections and roadways.
She also suggested installing speed bumps and lowering speed limits with an emphasis on descending bridges and curves.
Brown also accused the town of Pike Road of “taking more and more” of the community through annexations without the consent of citizens.
The Montgomery County Commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 101 South Lawrence Street. Information sessions begin at 10 a.m. followed by the formal meeting.
Livestreamed meetings can be seen on the commission’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Agendas with additional details can be found at the commission’s documents section of the website.
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