Wednesday, August 7, 2002
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Wednesday, August 7, 2002 |
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Citizens urged to offer input on transportation plan
By JOHN
THOMPSON
Fayette's future transportation plans will be on view Thursday night for interested residents. The county is staging a workshop Aug. 8 from 5-7 p.m. at County Administrative Complex to obtain citizen input on the county's transportation plan. The workshop is part of the county's transportation study with Atlanta-based URS, which is one of the largest design firms in the United States. The county is spending $140,000 for the traffic study. The commissioners also want the consulting firm to realize how residents commute. "This is primarily a road transportation plan. People are not going to shop on bike paths," said Commissioner Peter Pfeifer, when the county approved funds for the study. In its overview of the project, URS officials said Fayette County has 528 miles of roadway, but very few multi-lane highways. "In order to ensure that future needs can be met, corridors to accommodate new travel demands and relieve facilities that will be over capacity must be identified," an official said. But as Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham said during the approval process, the hard work begins after the study is completed. "If we're not going to seek funding for these projects, than this is a waste of money. We have to look at ways of funding," he said. Commission chairman Greg Dunn agreed. Since Fayette County does not have anywhere near the traffic congestion of counties north of Atlanta, he said the majority of money will be heading to those counties. He said the county will get some help, but will have to figure out a way to pay for the projects. The study should be completed by late this year so the county can present it to the Atlanta Regional Commission in January.
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