Commission makes Byrd Road no-parking zone

It'll be no-parking along one residential street when Evans High School's students return to classes in the fall.

At Tuesday's meeting, Columbia County commissioners approved turning Byrd Road into a no-parking zone.

The street near Evans High School was being heavily used by students whose cars have torn up the right-of-way and blocked maintenance crews from getting to the median, county officials said.

School officials have said there is enough parking on Evans High's campus to accommodate the estimated 400 students with cars. But many students parking on the side street could be those who don't want to pay the school's $10 permit - which is increasing to $15 this year - or have had on-campus parking privileges suspended.

On other topics concerning neighborhood streets, commissioners decided to hold off on making a decision about future speed humps in the county.

They fielded a recommendation to eliminate the program, saying they wanted to study more options for funding.

It costs about $1,000 to install a speed hump, and some county officials and commissioners have said the program is too expensive to accommodate everyone who wants the speed deterrent.

The county now has 137 requests pending for speed humps.

"There are some options to look at," Commission Chairman Ron Cross said. "This has been tabled for a little more review."

Sheriff Clay Whittle said he supported the speed humps because they are effective in cutting down speed through subdivision roads. But he acknowledged that the county commission has a number of issues to consider when it comes to paying for the requests.

One option could be to allow subdivisions that want the speed humps to help subsidize their cost.

On 10 neighborhood streets, the county has either put down or plans to add 59 speed humps.

Commissioners will reexamine the topic during an upcoming committee meeting, where they will also hear a report about why other Georgia counties have dropped their speed hump programs.

The commissioners also did not have to vote on a temporary parking request at an Evans restaurant.

Fatz Cafe's request was not on Tuesday's agenda because officials said the owners are now looking at other ways to relieve crowding.

"They tabled it because they're trying to look at a more permanent solution," Cross said.

He said the restaurant is looking to pave a portion of land that is too close to Belair Road to be used for future building but could provide extra spaces to help relieve the restaurant's tight parking.