Preliminary survey results show that distracted driving is a top safety concern of drivers in Northeast Alabama as work continues on a new Regional Safety Action Plan for DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and portions of Limestone and Madison counties.

“It’s been interesting to see the concerns of the people who use the roadways,” said TARCOG’s Economic Development and Planning Director Lee Terry. “Now that the surveys are completed, we can combine the public input with the statistical traffic crash data to create a realistic picture that will help guide suggestions for making our roads safer for all users.”

In recent months, along with the online and in-person surveys, TARCOG staff and the Alta Planning and Design team met with stakeholders throughout the TARCOG region as part of the Northeast Alabama Safe Streets for All project.

In person meetings were held with 36 key stakeholders in Scottsboro, Athens, Guntersville, Madison County, and Ft. Payne. During each of the meetings, the Alta team shared draft crash analysis findings and asked stakeholders for their feedback on what action items they would like to see in the Roadway Safety Action Plan.

Sara Kovachich, an ALTA planning associate, said the project team is synthesizing the survey feedback and incorporating comments that will inform the future plan. The plan is expected to be completed in late fall of this year.

There were 975 surveys collected online and in-person. As promised, participants were entered into a drawing to win a $100 Visa gift card. Because of the tremendous response, Sara said three $100 gift cards were authorized. The process of contacting the winners will begin in July and will be announced through TARCOG.

Sara said as the survey results are being finalized, some key points that stand out include distracted driving, high vehicle speeds and poorly maintained roads are at the top of driver’s safety concerns.

She said next steps include developing project lists of the top 20 high-injury corridors along Alabama Department of Transportation roadways and customized lists for each county and identifying safety improvements along those corridors.

“We’ll be creating a toolkit for safety practitioners to match safety improvements to corridors with the most significant safety concerns,” Sara said. “The plan will detail regional crash findings, project lists, public feedback, and implementation guidance and is estimated to be ready in a few months.”

The area project is funded by the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

For more information or any questions or information requests about the regional safety plan process, please contact TARCOG Economic Development & Planning Staff at 256-830-0818.

There’s a new drone and pilot available for TARCOG members in search and rescue situations, as a mapping and surveying assistant, to conduct agricultural monitoring, and even photography.

“If someone requires an eye in the sky, I’m always happy to help in any way I can, said James King, associate planner and geospatial technician.

The other part of James’ job, as a colorblind map maker, is being sensitive to making maps as user-friendly and accessible as possible.

“These are both tremendous skills on our team,” said Lee Terry, director of Economic Development and Planning.

Getting the job

James talked about the innovative ways drone technology can be used in economic development and planning during his job interview at TARCOG. That he has experience using one sealed the deal.

“I was trained on drone piloting in college and had done so recreationally from time to time, so the mention of it during my interview and eventual hiring certainly opened up possibilities for TARCOG,” he said. “I had flown drones that ranged in size from smaller than your palm to the size of a go-cart and enjoyed every moment.”

Getting the drone

James said a few months after he was hire, TARCOG acquired its current drone, the Parrot Anafi AI.

“It’s a wonderful machine. It’s basically a big grasshopper with propellers and has a whole host of features that allow it to be used as a multi-mission platform,” James said. “The day after we got it, I took and passed the FAA’s Part 107 license test, which is the industry standard for commercial drone pilots.”

FAA certified

He calls it a fairly simple test but added it requires due diligence and plenty of attention to detail. It tests your knowledge of FAA regulations, understanding airspace restrictions, and piloting basics.

“Since then, I’ve used the drone mainly for event photography and location scouting. But this only scratches the surface of what the drone can do,” James said.

Available for TARCOG members

Michelle Jordan, TARCOG’s executive director, said she’s excited to share the drone with TARCOG members in DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Marshall counties when it’s needed.

“This is an additional service we can provide for those unique situations in which a drone may be a helpful or even easier solution,” she said. “This is our way to let all of our communities know that TARCOG has this technology and a licensed pilot to help when needed.”

How to request the drone

To request the service, contact James at james.king@tarcog.us

“I’m always happy to get the drone in the air,” James said. “It’s one of the coolest things I do here at TARCOG and the part of my job I enjoy the most, I’m always excited when someone asks me to put the drone that I call the “Rising Hopper” in the air.

When he’s not flying the drone, James works on accessible maps as part of plans for various member projects.

Maps can be hard to read

Accessible maps are important to James. He explains in graduate school he went through his master’s program as part of a cohort of five geospatial scientists.

“Of the five of us, two had either dyslexia/dyscalculia which is issues with words/processing numeric-related things, and two of us were colorblind. I’m one of the colorblind ones.”

In addition, as a teacher while in college, he had students with the same type of challenges as he and his cohort.

“From my students and my cohort, we learned that maps needed to be more accessible to account for people with our challenges,” James said.

Simple changes, big difference

What he learned is that people with Dyslexia have trouble with crowded typefaces, or fonts with extra flare that adds clutter to the letters.

“Simply changing a font doesn’t cure the issues people with dyslexia have in processing words, but using fonts that are simple, clear tends to remove some strain,” he said. “I also do my best not to clutter the maps with too many numbers, or if I do, be sure that they are simple and direct in expressing their data, and also follow the same simplified typeface conventions that I use for Dyslexia.”

As a colorblind mapmaker, he overcame this challenge by using color palates that can easily be distinguished.

This can be as a simple as using colors that will easily contrast from one another, to adding textures like hatch marks or dots to various features, to even utilizing less color overall.

Trying to make it easier

“There is no simple answer to making maps for everyone,” James said. “Mapmaking is a visual art like any other, and making sure that they can be understood by our clients, my coworkers, and as many people as possible is of paramount importance to me.”

Congratulations to the Town of Elkmont on the Ribbon Cutting on its brand-new Town Hall building on June 27. It took two and half years to complete the project and the town’s operations are expected to move into the new facility in July. Helping cut the ribbon were, from left, Bethany Shockney, president and chief executive officer of the Limestone Economic Development Association, Tonya Bryant, Elkmont town clerk and treasurer, Elkmont Councilman Chris Christopher, Elkmont Mayor Tracy Compton, holding his grandson, Collier Bushey, Elkmont Council members Jack Gilbert, Bernice Lockett, Dustin Clark, and Ronald Crist, Jr., and Pammie Jimmar, president of the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce.

TARCOG was happy to be in attendance and see the new building.

Athens, Fort Payne and Gurley site assessment projects funded

TARCOG is getting ready to determine what it will take to transform areas with potential environmental concerns in Athens, Fort Payne and Gurley thanks to a $1.5 million Federal Brownfield Assessment Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Economic Development and Planning Director Lee Terry said the funding will be used to inventory, conduct environmental assessments, develop 15 cleanup plans, three revitalization plans, and support community engagement activities in each of the communities for input on redevelopment potential over the next four years.

Executive Director Michelle Jordan said she is proud of the TARCOG team that landed the grant and excited for what the funding will mean for Athens and Limestone County, as well as Gurley and Fort Payne.

“This will be the starting point for positive changes in each of these areas,” Jordan said.

Assessment activities will focus on the:

• Easy Street Corridor in the Athens’ downtown district
• Gault Avenue Corridor in Fort Payne
• Walker Street Corridor in Gurley

What is a brownfield?

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfield sites.

A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites.

Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Job Training Grants.

EPA has selected TARCOG to lead a $1.5 million Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant with coalition members from the cities of Athens and Fort Payne, and the Singing River Trail.

Athens

The Athens portion will focus on the proposed Easy Street Art Trail in Downtown Athens.

The proposed trail location is along the railroad tracks from the vacant freight depot and Alabama Veterans Museum, south to Hendricks-Patton, and west to Old Black Bear. One of TARCOG’s priority sites on the trail is the vacant Limestone County-owned L&N Freight Depot.

“Athens is extremely excited about Easy Street Art Trail and how it can honor our history, promote the arts, enhance an unattractive area, and improve walkability downtown,” Mayor Ronnie Marks said. “This is history we need to preserve, or we will lose it.”

While the grant will address different phases of the project, long range plans the city has for the site includes creating a trail that will pay homage to the history of Easy Street, which ran along the railroad tracks between Hobbs and Market streets. According to history provided in 2002 by James Croley, which was published in a booklet, Easy Street was the black-owned business area and included Bell Café, Simmons and Grigsby Barbershop, Coble Barbershop, Higgins Café and Dr. B.F. Hill’s veterinary office.

Fort Payne

Fort Payne Mayor Brian Baine said the site the city is interested in looking at is from Second Street North to Fourth Street North. It’s a 3-acre lot that houses six vacant industrial and warehouse buildings.

“It’s in the heart of our downtown and being able to revitalize and repurpose sites in this area will be huge for our downtown and businesses,” Baine said. “We want to incorporate several different things in there from shops, eating establishments, places to hang out and a stage area that can be used for our ‘Third Saturday’ concerts and to serve as an area where we can pull our community together.”

He said being able to identify what’s there and get them cleaned up will be beneficial to the city so that it can then move forward with revitalization plans.

Gurley

John Kvach, executive director of the Singing River Trail, said he sees this as another way of investing in communities and in this case, taking a space that is not helping the community in any way and helping prepare it for an educational or recreational space.

He’s talking about a 0.33-acre vacant lot that houses a 1,290-square-foot former convenience store and gas station with three above-ground storage tanks in Gurley, and the Athens corridor.

“To repurpose or reuse what they’ve had and change it to something that can be used in relation to the Singing River Trail for Athens and Gurley is exciting,” he said. “Both are trail towns working toward connecting their towns and making them more accessible.

The trail is a recreational greenway project covering more than 200 miles across the top of Alabama that will showcase towns and cities along the route.

“This is a route we’re taking in both towns and for us it’s really symbolizes how Athens and Gurley are open for business and developing around their natural resources which is exciting for us,” Kvach added.

Surveys underway, Input needed

What do you see that needs improvement when traveling in Northeast Alabama?

Sidewalks, guardrails, and wider shoulders were discussed as area roadway needs at the Northeast Alabama Safe Streets for All booth at the Jubilee Market and Art Festival in Scottsboro on March 30.

Festival participants stopped by the booth with 30 people completing printed surveys and another 100 taking postcards with the online survey link to help guide planners as they create a new Regional Safety Action Plan for DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and portions of Limestone and Madison counties.

“This is all part of our public outreach for this plan to make sure the public has a say in what the safety issues are and the areas that need focus,” said Lee Terry, director of economic development and planning.

TARCOG staff along with Alta Planning + Design consultants will be seeking input through in-person engagements at five locations throughout April to conduct surveys as part of developing the plan.

“Traffic experts and data tell one side of the story, but now it’s the drivers who travel Northeast Alabama roadways who are needed to complete the picture,” Lee said.

To encourage participation, those who fill out a survey not only are helping make their roads safer, but they also have a chance to win a $100 gift card which will be given away. Fill out the survey here.

The area project is funded by the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

For more information or any questions or information requests about this process please contact TARCOG Economic Development & Planning Staff at 256-830-0818.

Take the survey

Board President Connie Spears, Executive Director Michelle Jordan and Economic Development and Planning Director Lee Terry met with U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt in March to talk about legislation that would provide additional funding for economic growth in the TARCOG region.

During a meeting of the National Association of Development Organizations and the Development District Association of Appalachia held in Washington, D.C., Michelle and Lee participated in sessions focused on regional development, the federal landscape, and the programs and policies that matter most to regional development organizations like TARCOG and its stakeholders.

Alabama Councils Reach Out

While in the nation’s capital Michelle and Lee, along with representatives from the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments and West Alabama Regional Commission scheduled a meeting with Aderholt. During their time with Aderholt and his staff, Michelle and Lee encouraged the passage of the Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S. 3891). Lee said it is a bipartisan bill which, if passed, would modernize and update crucial elements of EDA’s statute and its investments for the first time in 20 years.

There are more than 400 Economic Development Districts (EDDs) like TARCOG in the U.S., and each one receives an annual appropriation from EDA. That’s barely enough to cover one full time staff person. Most EDDs, like TARCOG, cover numerous counties, cities and towns, so one staff person covering such a large territory is already stretched thin.

The funding supports an EDD helping:

• Stakeholders and organizations apply for EDA grants.
• Administer EDA project funding and assist with project implementation.
• EDA grantees properly administer and steward the EDQ funding they receive.
• Lead and leverage local partnerships and help identify local projects that are eligible for EDA funding.
• Develop Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, provide local planning expertise, which lays the foundation for successful project implementation.

“It’s been on the back burner for 20 years,” Lee said. “The issue with that is the funding for the Economic Development Administration has been basically at the same level from 20 years ago. With inflation along with all the infrastructure work that needs to be done, the funding hasn’t kept pace.”

He said if approved, the new authorization would increase the funding level from about $34.5 million in 2023 to $90 million in 2024, escalating to $130 million by Fiscal Year 2029.

Lee said this change would go a long way to get needed services into communities around the nation.

“By increasing the funding level, it would increase the amount of work we can do for our community partners at no or very little cost,” Lee said.

Nearly $100,000 in grant funds are going to police departments in New Hope and Triana in Madison County to help buy new, much needed equipment like body cameras, computers, and more.

TARCOG assisted both departments with applications for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, said Lee Terry, director of Economic Development and Planning.

Lee said the Town of Triana was awarded $48,650 to make purchases or upgrades to equipment like computers, body cameras, firearms and patrol car equipment, including a portable automated external defibrillator (AED) which can be used to assist with heart-related emergencies. Because of the small town’s rural location, police are often the first time-critical responder to arrive on scene’s involving medical emergencies.

Police Chief Gary Powell said the funds will help the two-officer department with two current openings keep up with the town’s population explosion. Triana grew from 496 to 4,300 residents between 2010 and 2023.

“This funding means a lot to a small department like ours,” Powell said.

Lee said The City of New Hope was awarded $41,682.32 to purchase six new body-cameras, and six hand-held tasers.

The new equipment will significantly improve the department’s ability to respond to pressing public safety concerns within New Hope and the surrounding the communities, Lee said. The town is located along US Hwy 431, a major thoroughfare between DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, and Marshall counties. The location brings a substantial influx of motorists during peak commuting hours, which often requires extensive use of New Hope’s law enforcement resources.

“We appreciate this and the help from TARCOG staff who helped us get this grant to update our cameras and tasers,” said New Hope Police Sgt. Tim Garrett. “It will assist us in our daily duties as we assist our community.”