Atlanta

Atlanta official pushes to stop city crews from blocking lanes during rush hour

A local leader wants to stop city crews from blocking traffic lanes during rush hour.
You see it all over the city -- crews blocking traffic lanes to work on road repairs or a construction project.
Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook told Channel 2's Dave Huddleston he wants to stop the city's public works department from issuing weekday lane closure permits from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
"It is really devastating to take a lane out of service, especially on an arterial," Shook said. "Traffic is murder in Buckhead as it is in other parts of the city."

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Drivers like Lawanda Pargo say there's nothing worse than lane closures.
"It is very inconvenient, especially when I am trying to get some place I gotta be it's like,'Wow, why now?'" Pargo said. "We just can't be giving up lanes."
Some drivers like the councilman's idea but Huddleston talked to administrators about why it may be hard to pull off.
Mayor Kasim issued a similar mandate during the Interstate 85 bridge collapse. The only problem is that Shook's proposal is non-binding. Meaning, he would have to get the mayor or public works commissioner to go along with the idea.
"City council cannot directly connect operating documents," Kasim said. "Only the mayor can."
The proposal will most likely pass full council. The public works commissioner says the department would have to study the idea more and consider drivers' inconvenience versus city repairs and economic progress.