The Carrollton City Council on Monday discussed the possibility of creating a bike lane to run from the University of West Georgia to Adamson Square.

The proposal, made by City Manager Casey Coleman, is for a 5-foot lane to begin at the intersection of West Georgia Drive and South Street, continuing east on South Street to Burson Avenue. From there, the lane would follow South Street as it crosses Maple Street, ultimately ending at the square after South Street becomes Bradley Street.

The early estimated cost of the project is $683,000, according to Doug Crawford of Georgia and West Inc., the company hired to draft a conceptual design of the route. The most expensive portion of the project would be the widening of South Street near its intersection with Maple Street, and although there is no firm estimate on how much this portion of the project would cost, Coleman said it could be “considerable.”

As the lane would run 5 feet on both sides of the road, it would require that all parking on Bradley Street be removed, a matter of concern for some members of the council. Councilman Peter Balega suggested the possibility of only extending the lane to one side of the roadway as it runs down Bradley Street, though Crawford said safety issues would require that bikers go with the flow of traffic, therefore requiring a lane on both sides of the road. Crawford said that although it may not be convenient for those going to City Hall, there is plenty of parking in the downtown area as it stands, and the completion of the new parking garage to accompany the county justice center will only create even more spaces when it’s completed in the coming days.

An inadvertent positive to the bike lane project, Coleman said, is that it would effectively narrow some roads, and narrower roads tend to encourage slower drivers. Some residents have expressed concerns that cars on South Street often travel well above the speed limit, he said, and the narrowing of the road might just nip this problem in the bud.

Councilman Gerald Byrd said the project represents an effort on the city’s part to “go green” and, hopefully, the creation of a bike lane will be only the tip of the iceberg as far as the city’s environmentally friendly efforts go.

“I think if we can get away from burning fossil fuels, I think every little bit we do is a good thing. Maybe this bike lane will be a catalyst for other green projects in the city of Carrollton,” Byrd said. “We need to get out of that carbon box and start thinking green, and this is a step in the right direction.”

On Monday night, the council also:

• Voted to change street signs in and around the University of West Georgia to that of a wolf, the school’s mascot, accompanied by the respective street name.

• Tabled a rezoning and annexation request for property at 1321 and 1345 Lovvorn Road that is slated to be a large residential complex.