TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. () – Backlash is growing in the form of a petition to be presented to state lawmakers with nearly a thousand signatures in response to the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) plan to restructure Highway 80 into single lanes.

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

“I’m here to serve the citizens of Tybee Island. I’m here to do what they think is best for our community,” said Mayor West. “The people who work for the state of Georgia are here to do what’s best for the state of Georgia, and in their eyes what’s best for the state of Georgia is keep everybody safe, and to have the best, safest roads in the country, and for them this is the safest way to operate in the city of 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 concerned about how they are going to have to change their business model to make that work,” he said. “I want them to stay in business, but it may cost more for passengers to make that ride.”

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.