Safety to Improve on Highway 49?
Unmarked Patrol Vehicles Monitoring Gulfport City Streets
Highway 49 has always been a busy roadway in South Mississippi, and according to police, accidents there have increased substantially since last year. So Gulfport police have launched a new program - called Reckless and Aggressive Driving Enforcement or RADE. Their goal is to curb accidents.
Improper lane use and failure to wear a seatbelt are just two of the traffic viloations Sgt. Damon McDaniel and other members of the RADE squad are looking out for.
Members of the RADE patrol squad blend in with other traffic in their unmarked vehicles. This new method of patrolling appears to be effective.
"Today (Monday) is our first major day of operation, using the entire traffic divison. I must say, it's going pretty well. We've had a lot of traffic stops using both the unmarked and marked vehicles both north and south of the interstate," Sgt. McDanield said.
Patrols are concentrated along Highway 49 because of the increase of wrecks on the highway. This year, Gulfport police have investigated 1,835 wrecks. That's compared to 1,470 wrecks for the same period in 2005. Police hope the new RADE patrol program will help reduce the number of accidents in the city.
"Highway 49, like I said, has been leading the city of Gulfport in the number of crashes that have been happening. So we're starting off with Highway 49 from at least Polk Street all the way to the northern city limits," Sgt. McDaniel siad.
Sgt. McDaniel says he expects the RADE patrols to branch off to roadways to the east and west of Highway 90 sometime in the near future. In all, 219 tickets were issued Monday.
Police stress since RADE patrols are in unmarked vehicles, if you're pulled over at night, you should drive to a well-lit area and ask police officers for identification.
Connie Rockco
Wayne and Steve met with Connie on Tuesday 2nd May
Connie is unbelievably busy these days. Since Katrina hit last year, the local and state governments have been inundated with work. Sadly the huge loss in local tax revenue means that the local government has had to tighten its budget and put a freeze on hiring staff, but the workload they have is greater than ever.
Connie was kind enough to take an hour out of her day to discuss the Saucier Community Plan with Wayn Jones and Steve Howard. Connie is very excited about the plan which, we hope, will be adopted by the county in the next month or so. At the time of writing a date has not yet been set for formally presenting the Plan to the Board of Supervisors for adoption, but the SIA ia confident of their support.
We discussed numerous aspects of the plan and the work that we have been doing in Saucier over the last few months. Of greatest short-term interest are the Town Meeting we have had with MDOT, and current plans for the Farmers Market. Connie offfered us lots of help and advice, which we are putting to great use. If things go according to plan the County will be supporting the Farmers Market when it starts in a few weeks time.
Connie also offered to meet with us again in Saucier over the next week or two. It is hoped that we will have more concrete information to share about that meeting once it happens. Meantime, we want to express hearfelt thanks and appreciation for the help Connie has given us already.
Proposed Highway 601 Routes
Feedback from Saucier residents
This is an open letter of feedback to MDOT from the residents of Saucier
The purpose of this letter is to bring to MDOT a unified community viewpoint so that MDOT can easily understand the views of the residents of Saucier and how they think the proposed routes of Highway 601 may impact the community as it passes through Saucier.
Introduction
The Saucier Improvement Association (SIA) was formed on April 4th, 2006 to represent the Saucier community as it grows and develops in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The SIA was formed out of a Steering Committee appointed by the Harrison County Board of Supervisors to explore and plan the future growth and development of unincorporated areas of Harrison County. Citizens of Saucier voted members onto the SIA board when the initial planning phase ended, creating a new community voice with the strong support of the citizens and the Board of Supervisors.
Saucier discusses Highway 601
Over the last several weeks, the SIA has organized a number of meetings inviting the citizens of Saucier to discuss Highway 601. On April 14th, MDOT was kind enough to send their representatives to explain the current situation and planned development process for Highway 601, and the proposed routes under consideration. Following that meeting, the SIA arranged a further public meeting where the citizens were invited to give their opinions on the route options and offer suggestions for alternative routes. Following is a summary of the feedback gleaned from that meeting, held on Monday April 24th 2006.
Vote on existing route proposals.
Approximately 130 people attended the meeting. Attendees were asked to vote on three options:-
Option 1 – H601 merges with H49 At a point between Jim Lee Road and West Wortham Road.
Option 2 – H601 merges with H49 approximately 0.5 miles south of the Saucier Town Center.
Option 3 – H601 merges with H49 approximately 1 mile south of Wiggins.
The vast majority voted for Option 1, with only a handful voting for Options 2 and 3.
Citizens were than asked to vote between option 1, Jim Lee Road, and Option 1a, West Wortham Road, with
the majority selecting the more southerly route.
This gives an overwhelming preference for the proposed H601 merging with H49 as far south of Saucier as possible.
Alternative Route Suggestions
Several different alternative route suggestions have been proposed. These are summarized briefly here.
1, A more easterly road, merging with H15
2, 601 travels north to H53, then follows H53 north-west to merge with H59, eventually meeting H49 at Hattisburg
3, An other route that is significantly more westerly than Option 3 above.
A vote was taken, and an
overwhelming majority of attendees were in favor of
any route that is more westerly than any route currently under consideration. It should be stressed that no-one voiced support for any of these alternatives to take precedence over upgrading 49.
General comments
Following are specific written comments given to the SIA
1. “#3 would be okay. #1 and #2 would make 49 worse. #3 would take my house, but that is okay because Saucier has to grow.”
2. “Extend Canal Rd to 49 and 67 then widen 49 to 6-lane each way. Hwy 49 needed to be a 6-lane hwy to start with.”
3. “We live in the country for a reason. We do not want this road happening in our community. Fix the problems or issues with Hwy 49!”
4. “Use #3.”
5. We don’t like Phase #3 at Saucier Lizana Road. Hwy too close to Hwy 49 ad to close to a lot of old homes and people that have been here a long time.”
Other comments have come out of discussions:-
1. Highway 49 is very dangerous right now. As traffic volumes increase, it will only get worse. 49 should be upgraded and improved as a matter of priority for safety reasons.
2. The community has long expected 49 to be further upgraded. It is sad for those who would be directly disturbed by any upgrades, but the community feels fewer people in the community would be pushed out of their homes by 49 upgrades than by an entirely new highway cutting a swathe through the heart of Saucier.
3. The intersection of Saucier Lizana and H601 would threaten to take out several local businesses (Herrin’s Short Stop, West End Superette Cherokee Kennels, and others).
4. The Saucier-Lizana entersection would split the community into two.
5. Option 3 would threaten to damage our planned new Town Center development.
6. The SIA wishes to consult with MDOT over the best location for intersections, overpasses, underpasses etc around the Saucier Town Center development.
7. Plans to upgrade H49 to 6 lanes from Orange Grove north almost to Jim Lee Road begs for 49 upgrades to continue north to Saucier and beyond.
8. Concerns have been raised by the local volunteer fire department that upgrades to 49 to limited access would hamper access to many locations along 49.
9. Concerns have been raised about the schools in Saucier if 49 is upgraded – would the schools have to be relocated?
10. Upgrades to 49 could impact the new Town Center plans. Please consult with SIA in order to limit any impact to the Town Center.
11. Joe May reports that he lives on an Indian Mound. His location is in the path of Option 3. Contact details are available should you wish to confer with him.
12. A more westerly route would give better access to the western part of the south of the state for evacuation and safety (fire, ambulance, police) access.
Thank you for taking the time to consider these comments, which directly represent the views of several hundred Saucier residents over a number of meetings here in Saucier.
The SIA endorses the selection of upgrading H49 on safety and community viability grounds. We feel that this is the best solution for the future of our community, and we are confident that this is the overwhelming opinion of the residents.
Yours sincerely,
Steve Howard
Vice President
Saucier Community Improvement Association
Saucier, Mississippi
SIA Town Meeting, April 24th
The SIA invited the community to the Community Center to discuss MDOTs plans for Highway 601
After the success of the meeting with MDOT on April 11th,
reported in this blog post, the SIA invited the community to discuss the road updates openly. After some frank discussion, the meeting was asked to vote on what they thought would be the best road solution for Saucier and the community.
A majority of the meeting attendees voted in favour of a route that travels north from I10 at Canal Road, and merges with Highway 49 as far south of Saucier as possible.
When asked about alternative routes, the overwhelming majority expressed preference for alternative routes that are parallel, but much further West of H49 than the current 'Option 3' route that passes across Saucier Lizana Road approximately 1 - 1.5 miles West of Highway 49.
A letter was emailed to MDOT the following day describing the results of the meeting. In that letter, the SIA endorses the community preference of a route that merges with Highway 49 as far south of Saucier as possible. A copy of that letter will be posted to this web site shortly.
SCIA meeting Monday April 17th 2006
Meeting minutes
Introduction
Following are minutes from the first SCIA board meeting. I took no formal or informal notes, so the following is from memory only.
Attendees
Present
Wayne Jones
Steve Howard
Sarajane Smith
Pascal Gill
Ron Dougherty
Ron Corder
Eli Sauls
Absent, with prior apology
Wanda Pate
Absent without apology
Winfred Quarles
Glenn Hickman
Minutes
Dalton McGuire meeting
Wayne and Steve met with Dalton McGuire today to discuss the land he plans to develop for the town center and implementation of the Farmer’s Market. Dalton again stated “tell me what to do and I will do it”. He intends to handle the development himself, and looks forward to meeting with the student teams when the time comes. He supports the farmer’s market fully, and has given the SCIA permission to go ahead, subject to legal and other issues. He already has liability insurance, but may need to modify it. He suggests we get vendors to sign an appropriate disclaimer to reduce liability claims. Steve to speak to Bill Pate for initial legal advice
Steve to speak to Patrick Bonck to obtain appropriate permit etc
Email and electronic documents
There was some extensive discussion throughout the meeting about the use of the internet and email. Ron Corder has expressed reluctance at spending a large amount of time on email etc. and reading documents on-screen. In order to be able to keep up with communications within the SCIA and with other organisations, and in order to have a recorded paper trail, we need to be able to use email to communicate with the entire board wherever possible.
Farmers market - progress
Steve reported on discussions with the Chnaro garden center, who is interested in supporting the farmer’s market if possible, although they normally sell commercial/wholesale rather to consumers. Wayne and Steve to view Dalton’s land on Tuesday to see how best to utilise it for the initial market.
Saucier Community blog
Steve reported the new Saucier Community Blog is published and live on the Internet. All board members (with email addresses) have been invited to be able to post to the blog. So far only Lori Sauls has responded … and she is not a board member, but a very helpful and active volunteer.
New Community Plan
A new, updated version of the Community Plan was posted on April 15th. All board members have been encouraged to read this. A copy can be downloaded
from the Harrison County websiteBoard member responsibilities
An action from last week was for all the board members to review the Plan and list their view of their own roles and responsibilities based on that plan. Pascal and Wanda were to share Health and Welfare, and did a good job of extracting the appropriate information for their ‘department’. They also suggested a number of sub-committees that should meet under their general section heading.
Other board members voiced surprise that this was an action from the previous week, although it was discussed extensively and agreed at the meeting. A new action was agreed for the next meeting:-
- Board to review the updated Community Plan and take on their own roles and responsibilities from the revised plan. Some overlap may occur between ‘departments’, so these will require discussion and negotiation at the next meeting.Change to the board
Eli Sauls has joined the board, responsible for Environmental Issues.
Architectural plan, Andrews University
Andrews University plans to come to Saucier around September for the initial architectural study. They have accepted the SIA’s invitation, subject to funding etc, and have also received invitations from Pat Bonck and Jennifer Evans-Cowley.
Andrew von Maur - the Andrew’s professor who we are in contact with – has expressed support for our request that the process his school takes part in will recognise that they were invited to come here and work for us, thus heading-off complaints of “outsiders coming here and telling us what to do”.
Andrew asks if we could assist in housing the students when they are here, as they are going to be on a tight budget. He will be bringing up to 20 students for a week around September. The SIA board agreed we should be able to organise volunteers to house them.
New Name
After considerable debate, we agreed upon Saucier Improvement Association (SIA) for the new name of the association.
Development Commission
Apparently the Development Commission is promoting northern Harrison county to businesses as a location they can move to while heading north away from possible hurricane damage. The SIA needs to be sure that the Development Commission is working in a way that is sympathetic to the work of the SIA and the community. Thus we need to have a good working relationship with them. Ron Dougherty to make contact with the development commission, introduce the SIA and our work to them so we can begin working together.
DeSoto land sales
Apparently at least one ‘national homebuilder’ is exploring purchasing land from the DeSoto National Forest. We need to know why, what etc, if at all possible, and we need to create a working relationship with DeSoto and any land purchasers so that they can work in a way that is sympathetic to the work of the SIA and the community. Eli Sauls agreed to open communications
Progress on last week’s actions
Below is a summary on the actions from last week. Some have already been reported in detail above.
Meeting with MDOT set up for Tuesday 11th April.
Wayne and Steve to introduce the meeting and MDOT. Steve to do brief presentation. Meeting very successful – over 200 attended! Radio, tv and newspaper coverage has been very posotive too.
Lori Sauls has agreed to do information and sign-up sheets
Good job! Thanks to Lori for also collating and typing up sign-up sheets etc.
Winfred to produce leaflet for Tuesday's Meeting
Good job! The advertising clearly worked well!!
Wayne + Steve to arrange to meet with Dalton McGuire ASAP to see what he has in mind for the Town Center meeting and for the Farmer’s Market
See notes above.
Ron Corder offered to prepare a sign to advertise "Future Home of Saucier Farmer's Market"
Sign is made. We need to get permission from Dalton to put up the sign. Do we also need County permission?
Steve to take charge of Farmer's Market
See above.
Wayne proposed Steve to start the Blog
See above.
Steve to draft official invitation to Andrew's University to do architectural study
See above.
Members to research needs, requirements, gaps etc.
See above.
Next Meeting
No arrangements were made for the next meeting. Suggest Monday May 1st, 5:30, Wayne’s office.
SCIA meeting Monday April 10th 2006
Minutes of the first SCIA board meeting
Introduction
Following are minutes from the first SCIA board meeting. I didn’t take formal minutes, so the following is based on some brief notes I took.
Attendees
The full Board attended this first meeting.
Minutes
We discussed the meeting with MDOT set up for Tuesday 11th April. Wayne and Steve to introduce the meeting and MDOT. Steve to do brief presentation. Remember to stress that the SCIA invited MDOT to come along,
Will we offer Refreshments? No. Past Town meetings show any break is used by the impatient to decide the meeting is over, so they leave and miss some of the most useful stuff.
Ask for more volunteers. Use Sign-up Sheet. Lori Sauls has agreed to do information and sign-up sheets – top half lists SCIA Board members, bottom is a volunteer sign-up sheet with room for feedback/comment. Winfred to produce leaflet for Tuesday's Meeting.
Big thanks to Lori, Lisa and Winfred for the great job they did advertising the meeting!!!
We want to make a Big Push for Farmer's Market at Yard Sale – let everyone know where it will be etc.
Question from Steve – is there a GARDEN CLUB in Saucier? Apparently not. Amy wants to see what we can do to start one.
Wayne + Steve to arrange to meet with Dalton McGuire ASAP to see what he has in mind for the Town Center meeting and for the Farmer’s Market.
Ron Corder offered to prepare a sign to advertise "Future Home of Saucier Farmer's Market"
Wayne proposed Steve to take charge of Farmer's Market. Seconded and voted by all attending.
Marketing the SCIA. Ron Corder suggested we should be advertising/marketing the SCIA like we would a professional organisation. This means we need a SCIA Logo, letter head etc. We could use the Student's Award as proof of the quality of our planning. General agreement. No action set for this yet.
Out of discussion, we have a slogan "One Community, One voice."
Steve mentioned creating a SCIA Blog ... Not everyone present knew what one ws, seceral thinking it was an ‘internet chat room’. It’s a Web Log – or Web Diary, where news and articles can be posted. Wayne proposed Steve to start the Blog.
Andrew's University. SCIA to take proactive role --- involve us and locals in the study. Steve to draft official invitation.
Board responsabilities
Wayne Jones – President
wayne@gulfofficesystems.com
228-832-1199
Steve Howard – Vice President
steve@magnoliamultimedia.com
228 832 5570
Winfred Quarles – Secretary/Treasurer
quarl63@wmconnect.com
228 326 1396
Sarajane Smith – Education
pawjack2@bellsouth.net
228 832 2175
Wanda Pate – Health and Welfare
wanpate@aol.com
228 832 6338
Ron Dougherty – Business
beaconpower@aol.com
228 832 9500
Glenn Hickman – Parks, Recreation and Sport
228 832 8509
Ron Corder – Architecture and Beautification
228 831 8782
Pascal Gill – Member At Large
PBGILL@southernco.com 228-832-4937
Members to research needs, requirements, gaps etc.
We discussed changing the name of the SCIA, as no-one seems to like it. Numerous suggestions were put forward, but nothing was agreed.
Next meeting
The next meeting is Monday, April 17th and 5:30, in Wayne’s office.
