Friday, December 1, 2000
Friday, December 1, 2000 |
|
PTC wants to save trees while paving Sumner Rd.
By JOHN
MUNFORD
As one of the last unpaved roads in Peachtree City, Sumner Road is a dinosaur whose time has come. The city plans to pave the road, but to keep the road's tree-lined charm it may forego $70,000 in state funds to preserve more trees along the route. At Monday night's meeting of the Peachtree City Planning Commission, City Engineer Troy Besseche said using DOT standards to build the road would cause several large trees to be cleared. But the city could exercise some leeway on its own in the road design to save the trees, at a cost to the project since the DOT won't likely go along with the idea, Besseche said. The gravel road could be paved with less clearing on either side of the road and save more trees, Besseche said. The DOT would want to have area next to the road cleared more for safety concerns, but putting in curbs and gutters like the city plans to do would help keep vehicles from leaving the roadway, Besseche said. DOT standards call for a clear zone of 10 feet on each side of the roadway. But the city plans to reduce the clear zone to 18 inches. The Planning Commission voted to recommend to the City Council to designate Sumner Road as a scenic road and take some leeway with the design standards as Besseche recommended. One resident who lives near Sumner Road asked why the road should be paved at all since it's mostly used as a shortcut and has little traffic. Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services, said city policy is to eventually have all roads paved. Planning Commissioner Rich Schumacher said paving the road would make it easier for emergency vehicles to navigate the road. Besseche said the speed of the road should be set at 20 mph even after it is paved. The vertical alignment of the road should also be kept to create a natural traffic calming effect, he added.
|