Savannah City Council to consider project list for proposed Chatham transportation sales tax

After a contentious start to discussions earlier this year, it looks like Chatham County residents will likely have an opportunity to cast their votes on a proposed transportation penny sales tax (TSPLOST) referendum in November.

The City of Savannah, which previously backed away from supporting the tax due to the lack of a commitment to county-wide public transportation from several other municipalities, is set to vote on an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) Thursday. The agreement will allow the tax to be voted on by the public in November.

Previously reported: Savannah Mayor Johnson: No TSPLOST without countywide transportation plan

Read more: Pooler residents reject funding public transit with taxpayer dollars, but 'the need is still there'

In January Savannah Mayor Van Johnson was vocal about his opposition to TSPLOST related to other municipalities' refusal to expand public transit service to their residents. On Wednesday Johnson said it’s still a top concern for him.

"I continue to remain very concerned that in the midst of transportation, we're not talking about public transportation, we're not talking about how people are able to get from one end of our county to the other," he said.

"And that's still my personal issue that will really determine my support of (the tax)."

Known as TSPLOST, the tax is meant to serve as a revenue source for Georgia municipalities to fund various transportation-related capital improvement projects, such as roadwork, bridges, pedestrian and bike trails and public transportation.

Earlier this year all Chatham County municipalities save Savannah submitted project lists and signed agreements to participate in TSPLOST should it pass.

While the idea of taking Chatham Area Transit county-wide has been brought up a few times this year, Johnson said he hasn't heard anything to indicate there's been substantial movement on the idea.

Also: TSPLOST referendum may be pushed to November ballot after county, city officials spar

In fact, in May during the primary election, Pooler residents voted down a referendum that would have increased property taxes by 1.15 mills to help fund Chatham Area Transit CAT bus stops.

About 4,000 residents, less than 20% of eligible voters, cast a vote. 61% of them said no.

“When you're talking about transportation, the use of our roads, the traffic on our roads, the limited availability of parking, and the economic development of our community, how do people get from where they live to where they work, and how do they do that in a reliable and timely way; public transportation has to be a part of that discussion for me," he said.

City project list: Skidaway Road widening, President Street overpass, more

According to the supporting documents with the IGA, the TSPLOST revenue would provide the City of Savannah $143,500,000 to fund and execute critical transportation related projects and priorities.

Nearly $42 million would go toward a local roadway congestion mitigation program, which would include additional citywide projects that would be determined by city council. Those projects include Skidaway Road widening and intersection improvements; President Street overpass contribution with Chatham County and Louisville Street improvements.

Other projects on the list are $20 million for local roadway resurfacing and maintenance; transportation related stormwater improvement, $7 million;, transportation safety/signal program, $12 million; sidewalk expansion and maintenance, $18 million; pedestrian and bicycle safety and connectivity program, $18 million; traffic calming improvement and expansion program, $7.5 million and bridge repair program, $3 million.

Along with the local projects, there are also regional tier I projects that are projects for the use and benefit of the entire county, cross multiple jurisdictions and have been jointly identified by staff from all Chatham County jurisdictions.

Phases I and II of Benton Boulevard have been identified as regional projects and have a combined price tag of $24.5 million.

"We've been trying to do this for years, the state required that we remove a truck ban in order to get the state money, which the residents did not want, and therefore the city did not remove, but forfeited the state money to do the widening," Johnson said of past efforts.

"And so now we're going to move forward with it and hopefully it can be a TSPLOST project. If not, we'll we'll find other ways to fund fund that."

Project DeRenne

Another project on the city’s TSPLOST list is one that has haunted Savannah drivers for nearly two decades: Project Derenne.

According to the city's website, the project aimed to strike a balance between keeping neighborhoods connected while keeping traffic flowing smoothly — a difficult task for one of the most congested areas in the city.

Congestion along DeRenne was identified as one of five principal transportation issues in the Savannah area in a 2005 study by the Metropolitan Planning Commission. The city hired a consultant to study the DeRenne congestion in 2008.

The effort was funded by SPLOST VI funds from 1997. In 2010, council voted to adopt the project.

You may also like: Project DeRenne, entering its 16th year, could receive $20 million in federal funding

More: Savannah's Project DeRenne construction delayed to 2021

Project DeRenne encompasses three separate projects: a rework of the I-516 Eastern Terminus Interchange, East DeRenne Avenue Improvements and West DeRenne Avenue Improvements.

The most drastic change in the project will be the new interchange: a raised exit that runs over the corner of Hunter Army Airfield and connects with Hampstead Avenue.

The West DeRenne portion of the project will focus on improving the red light wait times at the road's intersections with Montgomery, White Bluff and Abercorn. The East DeRenne portion will focus on the intersection with Waters Avenue and develop a parallel bike lane using DeRenne Drive.

(Project Derenne) is still tied up in federal bureaucracy, however, the local money helps us provide some opportunities for us to alleviate some of the known traffic issues that we have there while we anticipate the Feds completing the work,” Johnson said.

The project itself is split into five phases. Currently, the city is still on Phase III, the description of which reads: "a complex environmental review process to better understand the related impacts that the preliminary design may have on all aspects of the project.”

In June 2021, Heath Lloyd, Savannah's assistant city manager and chief infrastructure and development officer, said Phase III is near completion, they’re just waiting on the final environmental impact statement, or EIS. Lloyd could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Then, Phase IV begins, which will likely be a relatively short process, comparatively. That’s when the final design will be submitted and approved, but with each change to the final design, the final environmental impact statement has to be updated as well. The two are intertwined.

Also: Parker's adding Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks to iconic Savannah globe site on DeRenne Ave.

Phase V, the final phase, is about right of way acquisition and construction. Before the city can start building, it’ll need to buy the land the new roadways will be on. That includes land from Hunter Army Airfield, as well as land along Hampstead Avenue for the raised interchange from 516 to Hampstead.

The acquisition could take a while: Lloyd estimated last year that construction might not begin until 2025.

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah to consider TSPLOST agreement to put tax on November ballot