TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. – There’s a growing protest represented by a petition which almost a thousand people have signed, aimed at state legislators in opposition to the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) proposal to convert Highway 80 into a single-lane road.

Now Tybee Island Mayor Brian West has responded, and told the city does not have an official stance but is balancing both sides.

“My role is to serve the residents of Tybee Island and act in the best interests of our community,” stated Mayor West. “State employees are tasked with prioritizing the welfare of Georgia. Their goal is to ensure everyone’s safety and to maintain the most secure and efficient roads in the nation. For them, this is the most secure approach for Tybee Island.”

The safety aspects include the probability of less accidents.

Mayor West said he hears and agrees with some of the pleas of the public.

“I don’t like that it is going slow us down and make it more difficult for people to get places more quickly, so that is a concern,” said West.

He also said he sympathizes with business owners, specifically cab service owners, who told their concerns about easy access to the roads.

“I’m worried about the implications for local businesses and how they’ll need to adjust their operations under this plan,” he expressed. “I wish for them to continue thriving, but it might result in higher costs for commuters using this route.”

He also said if the plan goes through and is unsatisfactory it could be reversible.

“If it causes more problems that it did before, we will have evidence of that, because the state is tracking this as well,” said the mayor. “We can go back to the state and say this is obviously no working this is a disaster, and we want it back the way it was, and they will have to agree with us at that point because we’ll have the evidence.”

West said the next forum for the public to meet with GDOT about the project is Thursday, July 24 at the guardhouse.