Livable Centers Initiative Study

Note: The LCI has not been officially adopted at this time.

Livable Centers Initiative 5-Year Plan

The McDonough Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Study (PDF), completed in December 2004, provides an action plan for improving the quality of life in and around Downtown McDonough. The Study focuses on the link between transportation and land use to purposefully improve livability, walkability, and connectivity within McDonough, all goals of the community and its leaders.

The 2004 McDonough LCI (PDF) delineated a Study Area that includes portions of the City of McDonough and unincorporated Henry County (See Appendix - LCI Study Area Location Map). Key landmarks in the Study Area include McDonough's Historic Downtown Square, Alexander Park, Big Springs Park, and the City's gateway corridors (Jonesboro Road and Hampton Street at the railroad, Highway 42 north and south of Downtown, Lawrenceville Street at N Zack Hinton Parkway, and Highway 81 at the east-west one-way pairs). A Master Plan for Downtown McDonough was drawn, which encourages a mix of land uses, improved transportation connectivity, pedestrian "friendliness", and in-town residential development.

Specific projects to incorporate streetscapes, sidewalks, multi-purpose paths and greenways, parking, safe pedestrian crossings, gateways, street connectivity, and other land use initiatives provided an action plan for implementation.

Report of Accomplishments

The Report of Accomplishment, which provides a current inventory, assessment, and status of all projects and action items identified in the 2004 LCI Study. Of the 57 projects:

• Seventeen projects are underway;
• Four projects have been completed;
• Thirty-three projects have not started; and
• Three projects are deemed not relevant for future implementation

Accomplishments to date include:

• Acquisition of land and the completion of the Master Plan and Feasibility Study for the Alexander Park Expansion;
• Initiation of Phase I improvements in Alexander Park including new greenway trails and designs for the expanded pond, open space park, entry road, Environmental Education Center and Botanical Gardens;
• New sidewalks around schools, on Jonesboro Road, and in other areas in Downtown (with sidewalk infill still needed);
• A new parking deck at the Juvenile Court (to be constructed by Henry County); and
• Completion of LCI pre-qualification funding applications for streetscape projects along gateway corridors into Downtown and for greenway trails along Camp Creek.

Implementation Plan

The Five-Year Implementation Plan, which presents projects and detailed programming information for the next five years. Included are projects which are currently underway, projects not started and carried forward, and new projects which the City has determined are necessary and fitting with the LCI goals, including:

• Four new gateway streetscape projects for gateways to be located at Macon/Griffin Street, Hampton Street, Highway 81, and Lawrenceville Street/N Zack Hinton Parkway to complement those already planned for Highway 42 north of town, and on the east-west one-way pairs;
• Five new sidewalk infill projects to address deficiencies remaining on Jonesboro Road, Doris Road, Marians Way, Highway 155 near the east-west one-way pairs, and in other areas where existing sidewalks pose safety/liability risks;
• Five new multi-purpose path projects to strengthen the sidewalk and path network to be more destination oriented:
• To safely connect residences in the Jonesboro Road, McDonough Parkway, Bridges Road, Willow Lane, and Kelly Road area to Alexander Park and Downtown;
• To connect Downtown and residential areas to Heritage Park and Richard Craig Park; and
• To extend paths planned along the McDonough Parkway Extension north of Downtown to the Walnut Creek area;
• One new greenway initiative to develop a historical trail marker to memorialize the 1900 McDonough Train Accident at the rail site along the greenway trail network in Alexander Park;
• Two new pedestrian crossing safety projects to install countdown pedestrian signals in the Downtown Square and to realign the intersection at Bridges Road and Highway 20/81/Hampton Street; and
• Four new local projects including Phase II Alexander Park Improvements and the completion of a Downtown Development Plan, a Tourism and Hospitality Plan, and a Comprehensive Recreational and Greenspace Plan to define specific action items that will produce clear, viable projects for funding.