Members of the Holly Grove AME Church in Peachtree City and residents of a neighborhood next door have reached an agreement on the use of the road that connects those areas.

Holly Grove Church Road, one of the few remaining unpaved roads in the city, runs from Robinson Road past the church and through The Preserve subdivision to Redwine Road. Residents of The Preserve have been concerned about motorists using the road as a cut-through and driving too fast through their neighborhood.

Those worries have increased with news of a proposed development that would include extending Holly Grove Road, on the other side of Robinson Road, all the way to Ga. Highway 74. Negotiations have been ongoing with the residents, the church, the city and Pathway Communities about what to do with Holly Grove Church Road, including the possibility of closing the road to through traffic.

That option apparently will come to pass, as the Planning Commission Monday night approved a plan agreed upon by all parties just moments before. The final meeting to hammer out the agreement began before the Planning Commission meeting and carried over until the commission was forced to rearrange its agenda and conduct the public hearing on the issue later in the evening.

Under the agreement, a 20-foot asphalt drive will replace the dirt road leading from Robinson Road to the church. That portion of the road will be deeded to the church and become private property, with an entrance constructed at Robinson Road to include columns and an iron gate. Signs will be erected indicating that the road is private property and through traffic is prohibited.

Motorists determined to use the church as an alternate route will find the task more difficult when the project is completed, as the stretch of road directly in front of the church will become a park, with landscaping placed in the original path of the road. The new road will turn directly into the church parking lot, and an asphalt drive will extend from the other side of the parking lot into The Preserve.

The pastor of the church and the president of The Preserve's homeowners association each spoke at the meeting and went on the record in favor of the plan. A member of the Planning Commission pointed out that residents of The Preserve could be tempted to continue using the cut-through, but the neighborhood representative said that all residents understood the new plan and the possibility of being ticketed for driving on private property if they attempted that.

City development director Jim Williams said that the project would likely need about three months to complete, and it would cost slightly less than simply making it a paved street as it is now configured.

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