Friday, September 22, 2000
Friday, September 22, 2000 |
| Traffic figures
for Wal-Mart in question
By JOHN MUNFORD Though both sides have met, the dispute surrounding the estimated traffic created by the possible location of a Wal-Mart Superstore in Peachtree City still hasn't been settled. The City Council will eventually decide whether to approve a conceptual site plan for the Wal-Mart, which was turned down by the Peachtree City Planning Commission. The city has taken the stance that the traffic created by the Wal-Mart would cause it to violate the city's traffic ordinance, at least until Ga. Highway 54 is widened from Ga. Highway 74 to the Coweta County line, which is several years down the road. Both the city and Ram Development, which submitted the concept plan, performed separate traffic studies on how Wal-Mart would affect traffic in the area. Ram's study shows that the Wal-Mart wouldn't adversely affect the traffic. A meeting was conducted several weeks ago between attorneys and traffic engineers for both sides. At the meeting, the city agreed to have its traffic engineers check their figures, City Attorney Rick Lindsey said. Lindsey said Tuesday that he hasn't heard back from the traffic engineering firm of Dames and Moore, which performed the traffic study for the city. Last December, the City Council approved a site plan for Home Depot, which would be across Hwy. 54 from the Planterra Ridge subdivision. The proposed Wal-Mart super store would be on the same site as the Home Depot. Meanwhile, traffic is expected to get worse somewhat with more new retail development near the Hwy. 54-74 intersection. The Avenue retail center, expected to fully open early next year, will require a traffic light to be erected on Hwy. 54 at the entrance to Marketplace, next to Don Pablo's mexican restaurant. Though a traffic light won't be required for Home Depot to be on-line, the relocation of a traffic light to the new Line Creek (MacDuff) Parkway will help feed motorists to the Home Depot site.
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