Bridges removed from Northern Connector plan

GAINESVILLE - Plans for new bridges along the proposed Northern Connector corridor were struck down by the Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization Tuesday, with the help of a large, vocal group.

Well over 100 people showed up at the Georgia Mountain Center for Tuesday's meeting. They wore red stickers that simply said, "STOP," and brought with them a petition, signed by more than 1,400 people against the plans.

President of the Lake Lanier Community Preservation Association, Debbie Lawson Davis, spoke for the crowd.

"You should understand that, even in concept, these lines on a map do in fact have very real consequences for those who own property underneath those lines," said Davis.

The board voted 3-2 to reject the plans of building new bridges across Lake Lanier. Now the Northern Corridor's plan involves mostly existing roads in the area.

A round of applause came from the crowd when Gainesville Mayor Myrtle Figueras announced the vote.

But she also had a warning for the crowd.

"I believe that the county commission did a premature vote, and I think we have done a premature vote here," said Figueras. "Because if we don't plan for the future, the future will simply happen to us."

There were two different possible routes in the plan. One ran farther north, impacting more wetlands and vacant pieces of land. The other would have been shorter, impacting more residential parcels of land.

Both involved building bridges across the lake, and some residents told the board that either plan could impact their land and land value.