Wednesday, November 15, 2000
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Wednesday, November 15, 2000 |
| Wal-Mart traffic
plan was back-room deal; DOT should reject it
It is truly amazing how many people want to preserve the quality of life in Fayette County. I am proud to live in a community where people are willing to fight for what they believe is just and lawful. The secret deal approving the Wal-Mart that our city attorney conceived outside the public forum is still for the most part a secret. Planning Commission member Robert Ames has stated for the record that he believes that the official city protocol was not followed in the Wal-Mart affair, and many of us agree. It is one thing to support a Wal-Mart development in our community; however, to literally sneak such a development by the citizens through a series of covert actions is a disgrace. Mayor Lenox had presented the shrouded traffic mitigation plan to the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT). It is an embarrassment that he failed to present it to some of the other council members and the citizens at large. As if the secretive back-room process did not taint our governing process enough, the plan has been presented to the Department of Transportation as though we are in favor of both the mitigation and the development. You are probably aware that the state lost its federal highway funding as a result of poor air quality. As part of a settlement of the lawsuit that strangled the funds, the state (via the ARC) agreed to not allow projects that add automotive capacity to our highways. The Wal-Mart mitigation plan contains a "through lane" and most certainly increases capacity to Ga. Highway 34 [sic]. Is this a direct violation to the legal settlement? To make matters worse, the surreptitious Wal-Mart traffic mitigation plan most likely does not allow for "regional traffic" factors. In other words it assumes that only people from Peachtree City will be using the Big Boxes thus lowering the traffic volume figures. We need each person to call Commissioner Tom Coleman of the Georgia Department of Transportation at 404-656-5206 and express your concern that the DOT should not approve this the Wal-Mart mitigation plan. Let him know why you moved to Peachtree City and that the mitigation plan threatens our health, safety and welfare because of the narrow railroad bridge. Let him know that the mitigation plan adds automotive capacity and that he should not approve the plan. The DOT might try to forward your call to someone else or have you leave a message for the commissioner. Try calling him back later to see if he received your message. We need to speak to him in person. Our mayor and several council members have turned their backs on us, so we must make our appeal to the DOT. Your response can make a difference. Get every family member to call. Steve Brown Peachtree City Steve_ptc@juno.com
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