Last night marked a major moment for Tybee Island residents and businesses. The newly seated 2026 Tybee Island City Council voted unanimously to formally oppose the Georgia Department of Transportation proposal to reduce Highway 80 and Butler Avenue to one lane in each direction. This was the first resolution vote of the year, and every council member stood together in agreement. This decision sends a clear message. Tybee Island does not support lane reductions, a traffic circle at Tybrisa Street, or a dedicated bike lane on Butler Avenue.

Community Advocacy Made the Difference

This outcome was driven directly by community action. A resident-led survey and a petition with 2,473 verified signatures, including strong participation from local businesses, demonstrated overwhelming opposition to GDOT's proposed changes.

City Council listened. Data, public input, and real-world impacts mattered.

This was residents showing up.

This was data beating poor planning.

This was local voices uniting against a top-down proposal.

What the Data Actually Shows

As part of the discussion, GDOT shared crash data from Highway 80 between Lazaretto Creek and Tybrisa Street covering the years 2015 through 2024. A significant portion of serious incidents involved impaired driving:

• 50 percent of serious injury crashes involved a driver under the influence
• 31 percent of visible injury crashes involved impaired drivers
• 14 percent of all crashes involved impaired drivers
• 50 percent of severe pedestrian injury crashes involved impaired drivers
• 30 percent of head-on crashes involved impaired drivers

The City Council made it clear that impaired driving is a primary safety concern, not lane capacity.

What Tybee Supports Instead

The City of Tybee Island expressed appreciation for GDOT's intent to improve safety while firmly rejecting solutions that would reduce traffic capacity, increase congestion, and harm local businesses.

City Council supports real, targeted safety improvements, including:

• A pedestrian hybrid beacon at McKenzie Avenue and Highway 80
• Improved crosswalk safety using in-roadway warning light systems
• Acceleration lanes for safer entry onto Highway 80
• Measures to prevent head-on collisions on the causeway
• Continued use and improvement of the existing bicycle path on 2nd Avenue
• Designated Driver campaigns to address impaired driving

Council also reaffirmed that Butler Avenue is a commercial corridor and is not an appropriate place to encourage family and youth bicycle traffic when a safer residential route already exists.

The Resolution Moving Forward

hrough Resolution No. 2026-01, the City of Tybee Island formally stated its opposition to GDOT's lane reduction options presented in December 2025 and requested continued engagement, collaboration, and locally appropriate safety solutions. This vot eflects something important. Tybee Island can support safety improvements without sacrificing access, economic vitality, or common sense

Thank you to every resident, business owner, and advocate who signed, spoke, and stayed engaged. This is what effective community advocacy looks like.