The Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO) held a public information meeting on the proposed Access Management Plan for Inner Perimeter Road Tuesday evening at the Lowndes-Valdosta Civic Center.

Approximately 20 people attended, including representatives of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

“We’re looking at the future growth of Inner Perimeter Road,” said MPO Coordinator Corey Hull.

“A lot of land has been sold there recently for future development purposes. What we’re trying to do is lay out now where those future median cuts are going to be, the crossings of Inner Perimeter Road where we meet current DOT guidelines, and where we can say to developers, this is where we would like growth to occur and this is how we want to have access. None of this stuff is going to be constructed next year. It’s going to happen when development happens.”

In 2008 the local governments in Lowndes County and the Georgia Department of Transportation began to look at managing the access and maintaining the mobility of Inner Perimeter Road, according to the South Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC).

The VLMPO was brought in to educate the local officials and bring the various parties together to create a common plan that would effectively manage the rapid and anticipated development along the corridor, the Web site states.

Hull said he answered specific questions of residents regarding how the proposed Management Access Plan would affect their property along Inner Perimeter Road.

“Most of the people wanted to know what exactly was going to happen with their property. That’s why we had this open house format, so people could come in, ask their questions about their property and address their specific concerns. They wanted to know what a proposed median cut was, what that entailed, were we going to cut off access to their property. No, we’re not going to cut off access. We’re proposing where you can cross the median of Inner Perimeter Road in the future,” he said.

Valdosta City Engineer Von Shipman said, “Perimeter Road is a very important corridor. We don’t want it to become choked, and that could happen if there are too many driveways and too many median cuts that disrupt the flow of traffic. We want it to remain as it was intended, a bypass for people to drive around the city.”

Shipman commended Hull and the MPO for initiating the access plan.

“We know it’s going to develop and so working with the county and city and DOT is a great opportunity to try and plan where median cuts and future signals may be installed so that as development materializes, work can proceed according to this plan,” Shipman said.

Ralph Rigby, a general contractor with property along Inner Perimeter and Country Club Roads, said he attended the meeting for general information.

“There’s a lot of interest in what’s being done there,” Rigby said.

Rigby said he asked specifically about development occurring in the 5 Points area and was satisfied by the answers he received from Shipman and others that the plan would successfully deal with traffic issues in the area of his property.

Proposed Median Crossings include: