Friday, March 14, 2003
|
Friday, March 14, 2003 |
|
PTC Council might expand traffic impact regs to all of PTC, not just Hwy. 54 West By JOHN
MUNFORD
The Peachtree City Council may soon be looking to amend its traffic impact ordinance to cover the rest of Peachtree City. Currently the ordinance covers any new development that could affect traffic in the Ga. Highway 54 West corridor; such developments are required to build improvements to the highway relative to the impact the development would have based on a traffic impact study. At last week's City Council retreat, several council members said they favored expanding the ordinance to cover all of Peachtree City. Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said even established areas should be looked at because of the potential for redevelopment of larger parcels which could possibly have a negative impact on traffic in the city. "When TDK's connected, it will have an affect on the Crosstown Road and Highway 74 area," noted councilman Steve Rapson. Now that the widening of Ga. Highway 54 West is slated to begin in late summer, the ordinance has lost its teeth, said City Engineer Troy Besseche, who is also serving as interim director of developmental services. The Georgia Department of Transportation likely won't issue any permits for further improvements to Hwy. 54 West, Besseche noted. Meanwhile, more commercial development is poised to occur on the northern side of the highway. Since those new developments won't be able to construct further highway improvements, Besseche is recommending that the city collect a traffic impact fee instead. "This will enable the city to address long-range traffic planning without the uncertainty of accelerated or incremental development determining the implementation schedule and financing," Besseche said in a memo to council. "At the time it is needed, necessary funds to provide for the projects will already be available to mitigate each project's effect." The traffic impact ordinance has been effective, especially with the improvements added for the Wal-Mart/Home Depot development, Besseche added. The westbound "through" lane has been effective in helping ease problems with traffic headed in that direction, he said. City staff will prepare a proposal for council for a traffic impact fee to be considered for adoption at a future council meeting.
|
||