SCHLEY COUNTY

Ellaville

Transportation: Schley County is crisscrossed by 236 miles of public roadway, 64% of

which is paved. Of total county roadway, 9% is located in the corporate limits of Ellaville.

The county’s public works department repairs pot-holes on paved county routes, and city

personnel maintain and repair city streets.

 

Recreation: Ellaville leases and maintains two public recreation sites from the Board of

Education which includes a basketball court, softball field, and two tennis courts.

 

Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities: A walking track is located at the Board of Education

in Ellaville.

 

Cultural Resources: The Schley County Courthouse in Ellaville is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Education: The Schley County Board of Education constructed an elementary school (grades PK-6) in 1993 and the  high school (7-12) in 1999 one mile south of the Ellaville city limits.

Land Use: Agriculture/Forest is by far the dominant land use in Schley County’s rural area, accounting for 97% of total acreage.

Of the four industrial sites in the unincorporated area, three are on the periphery of the Ellaville city limits.  Ellaville has significant acreage in industrial use, concentrated in the southern part of the city but including some areas on the northern city limits.

The county’s Recreational land use consists of a three acre neighborhood park (basketball court and softball field) on the city’s northern corporate limit, and Cedar Creek Country Club and Golf Course in extreme northwest Schley County.  Near the Schley County Board of Education office is a ten acre site offering two lighted tennis courts and an open field.  The county owns a basketball gym just off the town square, and there is also a baseball field in the southeast quadrant of the city.

Approximately 20% of the city’s land area is in residential development.

The Middle Flint Region is characterized by rural, agricultural counties with relatively small, compact community centers.  The region is crisscrossed by a network of federal, state, and local highways and roadways that provide access to the area’s various communities and cultural and natural resources, and good inter- and intra-regional access.  The region has an abundance of cultural resources; the Flint River and Lake Blackshear provide the area’s primary natural resource attractions.  Schools are variously located in towns or in less accessible rural locations.  Because of acreage needs, recreational facilities also tend to be developed in less accessible locations.  Existing facilities generally do not incorporate pedestrian elements.

As an agricultural region with a relatively small population base, the Middle Flint area does not suffer from traffic congestion and, therefore, pedestrian and bicycling activity are, and are likely to remain, primarily recreational and fitness activities.  Nonetheless, cycling and walking should be encouraged and developed as viable transportation alternatives for those who desire additional mobility choices.  For example, cycling and walking are sometimes the only transportation modes available to the young, the elderly, and the poor.  Beyond providing a cheap and efficient means of getting around, these transportation alternatives also provide significant health benefits.  As obesity rates continue to increase nationally and represent mounting future public health costs, cycling and walking, whether for transit or pleasure, provides important exercise activity for communities. Promoting cycling and walking will require education programs that explain both the benefits of those activities as well as safety concerns for its participants and the general public.

As much of the cycling and pedestrian activity is likely to be recreational in nature, regional partners should also encourage tourism development for riders from outside the area.  The region’s abundant cultural and natural resources provide a unique opportunity to connect a large number of resources within a relatively small area.

Generally, the region lacks significant bicycle and pedestrian programs or facilities.  The development, promotion, and implementation of any programs and projects will represent significant progress toward the meaningful inclusion of cycling and pedestrian interests in area transportation planning, recreational enhancement, and economic development.