Duluth votes Monday on a push-button flashing beacon for the West Lawrenceville Street crosswalk. A River Green medical office also gets a public hearing.
The downtown crosswalk on West Lawrenceville Street is set to get flashing lights. The Duluth City Council votes Monday on a $42,460 contract for a push-button beacon at the crossing between Maple Street Biscuit Company and the top of the Town Green.
The item is on the consent agenda for the council’s 6 p.m. meeting Monday, Nov. 9, at City Hall, 3167 Main St. The details are in the city’s Nov. 9 agenda packet.
The same meeting holds a public hearing on a medical office in the River Green business park. City staff back it. The Planning Commission voted against it.
The crosswalk beacon
The city calls the device a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon. A pedestrian presses a button and yellow lights flash on each side of the road to stop drivers. The packet says the new crossing will work like the one on Georgia 120 between Coleman Middle School and the Dreamland parking lot.
The plan also adds raised medians at the West Lawrenceville crossing to mark out the traffic lanes. The city said the aim is “to facilitate safer pedestrian operations in the downtown.”
Three companies bid for the work:
| Bidder | Bid |
|---|---|
| Riverside Traffic Solutions | $42,460 |
| IP Construction | $57,500 |
| Ryals Brothers | $67,815 |
Staff recommend Riverside, the lowest bidder. The full project budget is $61,575:
- the $42,460 contract
- a $10,615 contingency, set at 25% because the packet calls it a “high utility area”
- $4,250 for materials testing
- $4,250 for engineering oversight
The money comes from the 2017 SPLOST, the county sales tax voters approved for transportation and other projects. The packet does not give a start date or how long the work will take.
A medical office in River Green
The public hearing is case SU2026-003. Excelsior Healthcare wants a special use permit to run a medical office at 4400 River Green Parkway. The 5.29-acre site is zoned M-1 Light Industrial, where a medical office needs council approval.
The city’s staff report recommends approval. It says the office would be outpatient and by appointment only, with no overnight stays, emergency care or surgery. Staff said they do not expect it to add traffic, and that there is “plenty of parking” even though the building is shared with a charter school.
The Planning Commission recommended denial on Oct. 5, by 3-2. Its draft minutes say members discussed that a medical office is allowed by right in other zoning districts, and whether the use fits the property. No member of the public spoke.
The staff report says River Green, about 290 acres, already has 11 conditional or special uses, including schools, an event space and a behavioral center for preschool children with autism. It names school traffic as the park’s biggest problem, at 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The council approved a similar medical office on Abbotts Bridge Road, next to River Green, in June.
Also on Monday’s agenda
- Speed and traffic data. A two-year contract with Urban SDK for software that measures traffic volume and speed, at $37,534.82 in total. Staff said it would let them check complaints about speeding quickly.
- Create Gwinnett. A one-year, $5,000 membership in the countywide arts nonprofit, paid from the public art budget. The Duluth Public Art Commission recommended it. Lawrenceville, Suwanee, Peachtree Corners and Gwinnett County are already members.
- Naloxone for police cars. $400 more from the city’s opioid settlement money to replace the Narcan nasal spray in patrol cars and city buildings. The stock bought in June 2024 is reaching the end of its three-year shelf life, and new stock costs $2,400.
- Booster pump station. A $197,820 contract with BG Construction Group, the low bidder of four, to gut and rebuild the inside of the city’s booster pump station, with $350,000 added from the 2023 SPLOST.
- Zoning Board of Appeals. An appointment to fill a seat that falls vacant Nov. 18, when the current member moves outside the city.
The financial software contracts and the Veterans Marker Committee change, previewed in our story on the data center vote, are also on the consent agenda. Consent items are usually approved together in one vote unless a council member asks to pull one out.
What it means for you
- If you walk between the Town Green and the shops on West Lawrenceville Street, the crossing should get flashing lights once the work is done. Expect some lane changes while the medians go in; our road construction and closures page will carry the dates when the city posts them.
- If you live or work near River Green Parkway, you can speak at Monday’s public hearing on the medical office.
- If speeding is a problem on your street, the city says the new data tool is meant to answer those complaints. Our who to call at City Hall page has the contacts.
- The council meets at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall. Every regular meeting has time for comments from the public. More on the area around the crossing is on our downtown Duluth page.
Have your say