Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — A traffic study of Downtown Natchez was officially presented to the Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Tuesday.

Bert Kuyrkendall of TSW Design, who was hired by the city to conduct the study, presented it virtually.

Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson provided background prior to the presentation. He said the study came about because the city planned a microseal project downtown that would have required striping the streets afterward. However, that project did not take place, thus the traffic study became no longer a priority, Gibson said.

Kuyrkendall said the study prioritized slowing down traffic downtown in order to make it safer for those traveling in cars and walking.

“We used traffic safety data from the police department and were surprised with the high number of crashes happening downtown,” Kuyrkendall said.

He said the volume of traffic is low on all downtown streets and not an issue on any street except Canal, which has moderate traffic. However, significant speeding downtown is an issue.

Further, the study concludes the volume of traffic does not warrant the use of traffic signals at downtown intersections. All-way stops are better suited to the existing traffic volume downtown, which the study determines is better for pedestrian safety.

Kuyrkendall said the current one-way configuration of downtown streets is a detriment to walking and bike safety.

The study recommends the conversion of all two-lane, one-way streets to two-way streets — Franklin, Main, Commerce and Pearl streets. It also recommends:

– No conversion of one-lane one-way streets except Broadway.

– Conversion of 10 traffic signal intersections to all-way stops.

– Develop landscaped medians on all three-lane streets, Canal and Martin Luther King.

– Trail extensions and bike lanes to connect downtown to neighborhoods, hotels and the Natchez Trace.

The study also recommends lowering the speed limit on downtown streets from 25 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour.

Ward 2 Alderman Billie Joe Frazier said the study recommends “going back to the old ways. We have to look out for the merchants. We had problems with parking and with business unloading.”

Frazier urged a town hall meeting to gather public input on the study.

Gibson said citizens have been “wearing me out in the last few weeks,” with their opinions on the study.

“I think the study made some great recommendations, but we have to see what the public says,” Gibson said.

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Carter Smith asked people to be open-minded.

“Any change is hard…We’ve got to do something. It is very dangerous now downtown,” she said.

“Overall it’s a great plan and I hope we really consider it and not sit it on a shelf someplace and not think about it again,” Ward 4 Alderwoman Felicia Bridgewater Irving said.

Ward 6 Alderman Curtis Moroney said the key is “traffic calming.” Moroney said he conducted an experiment late at night on Monday — and may have violated a few traffic rules in doing so —  in order to get accurate information.

He timed how long it took to get from Rankin Street to Canal on Main Street and vice versa on Franklin Street using stoplights. Then, he timed how long it took him to stop at each intersection without regard to the color of existing traffic lights, treating each intersection as an all-way stop.

He was surprised to see that stopping at each intersection made for faster traveling than did traveling with the stop lights.

“I ran some stoplights in the process,” he said. “I started at the fire station on Main Street and treated every intersection as a four-way stop. Then, I obeyed every traffic signal.”

He said it took a minute and 49 seconds to travel that distance on Main Streets stopping at each intersection, while it took two minutes and 18 seconds to travel that distance obeying the traffic signals.

“That’s traffic calming. I knew I was going to stop at each intersection, so I didn’t have to hurry up to catch the next light. It calms you down when you know you are just going a block. You take your time.” he said.