Wednesday, August 14, 2002
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002 |
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City has gone too far in 'calming' traffic on Golfview How far are the mayor and the residents of Golfview Drive going to go to discourage traffic on their street? So far, this mile-long street has had four stop signs and four speed bumps installed, two Do Not Pass signs and the speed limit reduced to 20 mph! For some of us, this is more than a big nuisance. There are several reasons this is a bad idea and has obviously not been thought through by the mayor and city council. Golfview Drive is the only collector road to parts of north Peachtree City. The obstacles in place and the reduced speed limit increase response times of emergency services to this northern area. At the April 18 City Council meeting, Fire Chief Stony Lohr told council it was 0.8 mile from Station 82 on Peachtree Parkway to the intersection of Flat Creek and Golfview, then another 0.6 mile on Golfview to Bluesmoke. At that point, the fire department was getting close to the 1.5-mile limit. (According to Chief Lohr, this is the point where you reach a 5-minute response time, under normal traffic conditions.) He continued that a large part of the area was already at the outer limit and that seconds meant lives. There were more senior citizens in the area, which meant a higher density of medical calls. He said he was just asking people to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the speed-calming devices. Unfortunately, this testimony fell on deaf ears. Emergency response times to those of us living north of Golfview mattered not one whit to those present. Personally, I'm NOT willing to wait longer for help when it's needed because of the malcontents on Golfview. I doubt if my neighbors are either. On a daily basis, our only other choice for getting into town is to travel through the heavily used intersection of Ga. highways 54-74. So much for easing traffic at the most dangerous intersection in the county. The 20 mph speed limit is completely unreasonable. It's lower than what we consider reasonable for a school zone! If the 30 mph speed limit was not being followed, why weren't the police called in to enforce the limit? I think it's because reducing traffic is the residents' goal, not just slowing the traffic. Coupled with the series of speed bumps, traffic is slowed to 10 mph. The speed bumps are not like anything we've ever seen used on a public street. They are 5 to 6 feet wide and well over a foot tall. (They were raised higher than the initial 14 inches when they were extended across the whole road). Not only that, they're set in pairs, so the ride, even at 10 mph, about the maximum you can go over them, feels like a ride at Six Flags. Fire Chief Lohr tested the initial speed bump by lying on a gurney in the back of an ambulance that was traveling at the 20 mph speed limit. The bump bounced him off the gurney by 2 inches! Not something you'd want to do to a patient! Some Golfview residents have complained that they're afraid to check their mailboxes. Of course, if they were willing to help themselves, they could turn their boxes sideways to the street or buy boxes with front and rear doors. Unfortunately, not any have done a thing to help themselves other than whine to the city for a quick fix. The only long-term solution to speed and blind driveways on Golfview is to flatten out the hill. This will be inconvenient for the residents, more expensive for all of us, but will solve the problem without endangering the rest of us. I'll continue to use Golfview Drive. I'll also think twice about voting again for any of the office holders who approved this idiocy. They are Mayor Steve Brown, Steve Rapson, Annie McMenamin, Dan Tennant, and Murray Weed. Susan Stromvall Peachtree City
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