PTC still waiting for traffic light at MacDuff

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

It's still going to be a month or two before the traffic light on Ga. Highway 54 West at Wynnmeade Parkway will be moved to the new MacDuff Parkway.

The city is withholding any more certificates of occupancy on the completed Summit Apartments until the light is moved. The hope is that restricting the number of units that can open there will encourage developers to get the matter taken care of.

Meanwhile, the lack of a traffic light at the entrance to The Avenue at Peachtree City on Hwy. 54 hasn't caused any problems, noted Jim Williams, city director of developmental services.

"My observation is that everything is working fine," Williams said, adding that he makes at least three trips a day to the area to make sure traffic is flowing smoothly. "I just don't think it has been a problem at all."

The same can't be said for the intersection of MacDuff and Hwy. 74, where the lack of a stoplight is causing problems. During periods of heavy traffic, motorists wishing to head eastbound must first go west on Hwy. 54 so they can turn around using the traffic light at Wynnmeade Parkway, Williams said.

As a result, the city has withheld several certificates of occupancy for the Summit Apartments, which are basically completed. The city has allowed 104 units to be occupied, around 25 percent of the development's total capacity of 399 units.

Developers are pressuring the city to "give them a break" on the issue, but officials believe this is too important since it has to do with public safety, Williams said.

"This is an issue that's unreasonable," Williams said. "We never intended for that (the apartments) to open without the traffic light there."

The developers are trying to argue that a clause in the development agreement allows the apartments and the under-construction Cedarcroft subdivision to open without the light being moved, Williams said.

However, that clause says that can only happen if the DOT denied the relocation of the traffic light, Williams added. The DOT has approved the project.

"The holdup is they weren't prepared to do the work," Williams said, indicating the developers were at fault. "It's a major safety problem."

The city's position is that it can withhold certificates of occupancy for those developments until the light is actually moved and operational, Williams added.

The holdup has involved the relocation of utility lines at the current light, Williams said. Power lines for Oglethorpe EMC and Georgia Power, which must be moved, can only be relocated by those companies.

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