Plans unveiled for DeRenne Avenue

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By Melanie Ruberti - bio | email

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - If you live in Savannah long enough, you're sure to travel down busy DeRenne Avenue. Homeowner, John Shellman, remembers when there was very little traffic on the road. "I used to cross the street and go to the bakery," he said. "Now I can't. I have to walk down to the red light. There's been a lot of changes."

John has owned his home for 18 years. His front yard sits just feet away from DeRenne Avenue. "I hear the sirens from ambulances and the traffic at 5pm or 6pm in the afternoon," John explained. "And people try to go around traffic and cut through DeRenne. It's nothing like it used to be."

Change is coming, according to Rob Hume, one of the project managers with Project DeRenne. He believes they have found a solution to alleviate some of John's traffic tie ups. "White Bluff would be a roadway that would be continuous with a boulevard following Hampstead Boulevard," he explained as he showed us sketches of the proposal. "This would essentially tie in to Interstate 516. So you'd create a new connection so you could split 55,000 vehicles, vehicles going south can use the new roadway and let the other vehicles that want to use DeRenne, use DeRenne."

The Fly over would pass right by the gates of Hunter Army Airfield and dump out onto White Bluff Road. That news has mixed emotions with homeowners. "If they do it by Hunter, to alleviate traffic, it's a good idea," said homeowner Stanley Rosenberg. "If they want to do something farther down DeRenne, towards the Truman, let us know. Where do we stand with our homes? That's our main concern."

Hume says they have no plans to disturb any of the homes on DeRenne. They're also not going to widen the road. "We've created a center median that can facilitate tree lining, like Oglethorpe Avenue and Victory Drive," explained Hume. "We've added additional width on the outside edges to make the pedestrian zone a more friendly place to walk. We've created an accommodation for bicycles that would allow you to get from the Truman Parkway to Abercorn Street. DeRenne becomes a low traffic volume street."

With the plans unveiled, now residents can discuss the proposals with their homeowners associations. They'll meet again with the Project DeRenne managers, then, hopefully, the plans will move on to Savannah's City Council for approval.