The first phase of the plan is a "road diet" that reduced Augusta Street from four lanes of traffic to three between Augusta Place and Crystal Avenue. Crews re-striped the roadway to create one lane of travel in each direction and a center turn lane. The center lane will allow vehicles to make a left turn without blocking traffic.
In addition to the turn lane, the City has installed a dedicated turn signal for cars turning left from Augusta Street onto Old Augusta/Blythe Drive.
The new traffic pattern should have minimal impact on commute times, but the Greenville Police Department will have additional officers in the area to monitor and assist with traffic flow if needed.
The road diet solution, implemented along the residential section of Augusta inside the city limits, follows a months long study of pedestrian, bicycle and traffic safety conducted by the city and two consulting firms that specialize in urban planning and transportation engineering. The work included a road safety audit, neighborhood meetings and public engagement surveys to gather data about possible solutions. A road diet was overwhelmingly favored by survey participants and meeting attendees.
Learn more about the study at https://www.greenvillesc.gov/Augusta.
Traffic safety assessments will continue once the re-striping is complete. Please let us know what you think about the road diet. The City welcomes feedback on the project at https://publicinput.com/P3072 or 864-232-CARE(2273).