Some motorists are irritated by the new corners being created in downtown Athens.

District 2 City Councilman Harold Wales raised the issue a few weeks ago during a City Council meeting and asked what could be done about it.

At issue are the curb extensions, also known as bulb-outs, that have been installed at some of the corners around the Limestone County Courthouse Square.

A bulb-out is a traffic-calming measure used to extend the sidewalk, which reduces the crossing distance and allows pedestrians and approaching motorists to see each other when vehicles parked in a parking lane would otherwise block their visibility.

The plan is for all of the corners downtown to have a bulb-out with an electric box, added green space, new striping, landscaping, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, new lighting and corrected turning radiuses.

Wales said he has heard from numerous residents who say the curbing juts out too far, causing them to to either strike the curb with their tire or drive onto the grass above the curb. He asked whether the city could minimize how far future curb extensions jut out into the traffic lane.

Mayor Ronnie Marks, who was absent due to illness Monday, told council members at the last meeting the city could look at modifying the height of the curbs in the bulb-outs to make navigating them easier on vehicles.

On Monday, Taz Morell with Morell Engineering made a presentation to the council, which covered the overall design of the downtown traffic improvement plan, how the curb extensions work and how the correct striping will eventually remedy the problem of incorrectly stopped vehicles from blocking the turning radius of very large trucks or very large buses.

District 1 Councilman Chris Seibert suggested Morell install graduated curbs (curbs that gradually increase in height).

Morell said if they used graduated curbs, motorists would drive up onto the sod and the city would have to replace the sod. He said the city could install an apron around the apex of current and future bulb-outs so motorists would not strike any curbing. He said the roundabout at Forrest Street and Lindsay Lane has such an apron. He said the city could slope the curb down to nothing on either side.

Public Works Director James Rich said council members the curbing on future bulb-outs could be graduated from 2 inches up to 6 inches rather than simply installing a 6-inch curb. He said the width of the concrete apron in front of the curb could also be widened to make it easier for motorists to navigate around a corner.

Rich said there are two ways to think about the issue. One is to correct what you perceive as the problem and the other is to leave the curbing the way it is to study where people drive and see where a problem arises. Then, address the problem area with what he called “mountable curb,” or curb that lays back a little, and apron.

“You define problem areas and then put in a little concrete apron,” Rich said, noting city crews could do the work.

He also said when all of the bulb-outs are in place, the streets around the courthouse will be re-striped. During that process, new stop bars will be painted on the streets to show motorists where they should stop to let pedestrians pass. Currently, those stop bars are in the wrong place. They are located in front of the place where pedestrians pass instead of behind where they must pass.

Rich said this will eliminate the issue where a large truck or bus trying to turn right around a bulb-out cannot make the turn because a motorist has pulled up too far in the opposite lane simply because the stop bar needs to be relocated. Wales raised that issue, saying he was worried a car could be struck by a turning truck or bus.

Rich said remaining work would not begin until after the first of the year, after the holiday shopping period has passed. Morell said the city hopes to have all but the electrical work completed by summer 2018. Athens Utilities would install lighting and light poles a little behind that.

The entire project cost is $488,500, which will be covered largely by a TAP grant but also with matching funds from the city, Limestone County, Athens Main Street, Athens Rotary and Athens-Limestone County Tourism.