The Athens City Council added a new provision to an existing ordinance during its meeting June 22 that will help communities be proactive when it comes to traffic safety.

At the recommendation of City Engineer Michael Griffin and Mayor Ronnie Marks, the Council voted unanimously to put the City of Athens Traffic Calming Program into effect. Marks said the program will allow citizens to come together and voice concerns over traffic safety.

He said if residents in a neighborhood or subdivision are worried about things like speeders or illegal parking, they can voice those concerns to himself, Police Chief Floyd Johnson or the city councilman of their district.

“If 80% of citizens living in an area come to the Council, with a petition, we will look into putting a traffic calming device there,” Marks said.

Depending on the size of the road and the issue at hand, Marks said the city may put in a small roundabout, a speed bump, rumble strips, “No Parking” signs or other similar measures to help ease the situation. Petitions that are deemed to have merit and require city expenditure will be brought before the City Council as a recommendation for a vote.

Marks said this program imbues some ownership on the residents of an area and will allow them to “voice their concerns in a loud way.”

“I think it’s a really good move,” Marks said. “Our city engineer looked at other cities with similar ordinances, and we did our research on what they have implemented.”

He said the program will also allow the Council to hear about and help deal with problems that might not otherwise be on their radar.

“We are trying to do everything we can to ensure the safety or our residents,” Marks said. “Public safety is our priority.”