By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Even if Peachtree City chooses to annex the largest “plan” for the proposed West Village, traffic won't get worse at the Highway 54 and 74 intersection, according to a traffic study commissioned by the city.

Traffic can't get much worse, either, the study also reveals. Using an A-F grading scale -- with A being the best traffic flow and F being the worst -- the area currently qualifies for an `E' grade.

That means stopped vehicles in the area experience a delay between 40 and 60 seconds. For the traffic to earn an F grade, the delay would have to roll over the 60-second period.

The E grade is comparable to the traffic seen in downtown Atlanta, said Ed Ellis of Dames and Moore, the consultants who developed the study. The results were presented to the West Village Annexation Task Force at its meeting Monday, causing a flurry of questions.

The only way the traffic caused by the annexation wouldn't reach the F level is if the development hooked up only to Hwy. 74 at the beginning, the company recommends.

That's until Hwy. 54 widens to four lanes in the area in the future, when the Hwy. 74 access for West Village residents should be shut off, the study recommends.

Currently, Hwy. 54 is nearing its maximum capacity, the study states. The proposed extension of TDK Boulevard, which would reach into Coweta County, would help reduce peak traffic on Hwy. 54 by an approximate 700 cars, the firm estimated.

“The two choke points are the 54 bridge and the 54-74 intersection,” Ellis said.

The traffic study included estimated traffic flows for other developments that have been approved but aren't yet operational. The Home Depot traffic estimates were included, but the traffic estimates for the Wal-Mart that developers want to build behind Home Depot were not included.

Task force member Phyllis Aguayo questioned if the traffic standards at the intersection “are in keeping with what we have here.”

Ellis said the consultants were trying to keep the traffic at the E level. “In my opinion, this is an attempt to make sure with future development that things don't get worse,” he said.

The Katz portion of the proposed West Village annexation area --projected for 400 homes --would be connected to Hwy. 54 at MacDuff Parkway, however, Ellis said.

If the West Village development would change the intersection to an F grade, the developers would be required to fund the traffic improvements in the area to get it back to the E level. That action would be required by the city's new traffic ordinance.