Wednesday, March 20, 2002
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Wednesday, March 20, 2002 |
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PTC Council hears plan to study streets to slow, cut down traffic By JOHN
MUNFORD
In the view of many Golf View Drive residents, the Peachtree City street has become a race track. A group of citizens, mostly from Golf View, gave the City Council an earful at council's retreat Friday, saying they wanted the city to do something to slow traffic down. One man claimed his wife has had to dive out of the way of oncoming cars several times while she worked in the yard. The comments came after City Engineer Troy Besseche explained a proposal to study Golf View and 13 other streets in the city to determine if they could benefit from traffic calming measures as simple as a raised crosswalk or as radical as speed humps, which are longer than speed bumps. The idea is to slow down traffic, reduce cut-through traffic, enhance pedestrian safety and discourage truck traffic, Besseche said. The study would examine the total volume of traffic on a given street in addition to the speed of those vehicles, Besseche noted. Once a proposed solution is found for a given street, the city would require approval from 67 percent of the affected residents before the solution is implemented. If the proposal is approved, the city would use a formula to determine how drastic a traffic calming measure is needed. A raised crosswalk is the least expensive option, at $1,500. The most radical of changes, the creation of a roundabout at a given intersection, would range from $50,000 to $250,000. Speed humps, which are between 12 and 15 feet long, cost between $2,500 and $5,000. But Fire Chief Stony Lohr is concerned that they might compromise patient care in ambulances and possibly endanger emergency personnel. Lohr also told council that he is worried about wear and tear on emergency vehicles. Lohr pointed out there have been no pedestrian-related auto accidents on any of the streets which would be studied under the proposal from Besseche. The chief also said that traffic calming measures could slow emergency response to those areas, which accounted for 25 percent of the Fire Department's calls over the past two years. The trouble with using any traffic calming measure is that the Georgia Department of Transportation may decide that street is no longer eligible for maintenance funds under the Local Assistance Road Program, Besseche noted. Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray said speed enforcement by police officers is difficult in some areas largely due to the state's constraints on the city's radar permits and a lack of a safe area for police officers to park their patrol vehicles. Murray also noted that speeding tickets do little to solve problem speeding areas. Approximately 80 percent of the people receiving speeding tickets also live in that very neighborhood, he explained. Of the 2,298 speeding tickets given last year, approximately 52 percent were for violations of 18 miles and hour or more beyond the posted speed limit, Murray said. The Police Department places a priority on enforcing speed limits in school zones to protect the safety of children, Murray said, noting that approximately 30 percent of the tickets issued are for speeding in school zones.
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