Friday, August 29, 2003
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Friday, August 29, 2003 |
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Hwy.74 drawing study interest from several cities By J. FRANK LYNCH and By JOHN
THOMPSON
After years of hibernation, development is increasing at a dizzying pace along Ga. Highway 74 north from Peachtree City to I-85. And no one is dizzier than Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown. While the city's strict land use plan and controlled growth will ensure that Hwy. 74 won't ever resemble Old National Highway, the city has no way of making sure that won't happen beyond the city limits, and that's what worries Brown. Enter a group of Georgia Tech researchers, who have volunteered to help find ways to control growth along the road using a futuristic analysis of "space" that's so abstract, it makes the head spin. Proponents of the highway hope the proposed Tech study helps clear up potential traffic problems years down the road. "Actually, the 'Space Syntax' tool is so out of the box that it is difficult to describe," admitted Brown, who has led efforts to open discussion on Hwy.74's future by bringing together representatives of each of the jurisdictions that lay claim to a stretch of the highway. City Manager Bernard McMullen said the Tech application won't be a replacement for traditional planning methods, like zoning, ordinances, overlays and the like. "They explained in the meeting that what they provide is not a substitute for doing the transportation planning, but it's a tool that can be used for transportation planning," said McMullen. "One of the biggest advantages of this tool could be the ease of examining diffrerent alternatives to traffic. You can do a lot of different scenarios for a lot less trouble or expense." While the road does not run through Senoia's city limits, city administrator Murray McAfee said the road is vital for residents who commute to Peachtree City or Atlanta. "Our growth rate is going to be 100 percent in the next five years. We're looking at 900 more housing units on Rockaway Road," he said. McAfee has attended both meetings on the development of the road and is anxious that something be done now, instead of later. "We've got a real serious problem now. We warrant a traffic light at Rockaway and 74 now," he said. McAfee saw the Space Syntax and understands its being used by some cities in Europe to try and fix their traffic woes. Brown agreed, and said there was the potential for a developer who wants to develop a subdivision near the intersection to realign Rockaway Road with the traffic light currently at the Publix shopping center on Hwy.74. And the potential scenarios are endless. As the main north-south corridor for western Fayette County and the direct truck route to the city's industrial park, Hwy. 74 is vital to the future of Fayette County's tax base, Brown contends. Peachtree City commuters going to jobs in Atlanta know that what used to be a quick 10-minute dash to the freeway now often ends in a two-mile long backup, snaking its way onto the I-85 entrance ramp in Fulton County. Bernard McMullen, who commuted to a job in downtown Atlanta for 10 years until he was named city manager in June, acknowledged the vital impact overdevelopment on Hwy. 74 would have on the well-being of Peachtree City. "That is the main connection for us out to the interstate system, the main transportation corridor for us to the airport and to downtown," he said. "So it's critical we work to keep it as accessible as possible." It's concerns like that which prompted Brown to pull together a "Highway 74 Study Group" earlier this summer that includes officials from most of the jurisidictions touched by the highway, including Senoia, Coweta County, Tyrone, Fairburn and Fulton County. Last month, the group met for the second time to discuss launching an impact study of the entire length of the highway, from Interstate 85 to where it merges with Ga. Highway 85 at Starr's Mill. "This is truly an exciting first in Metro Atlanta five jurisdictions from three counties voluntarily working on a sub-regional solution," Brown said. Clearly, though, Peachtree City has to accept some of the blame for the demands put on the roadway. A planned expansion of Kedron Village shopping center, on Hwy. 74 at Peachtree Parkway, is a good example. A Target store will be included in the 260,000 square feet of retail space. It will have room for nearly 1,200 parking spots. Brown said the Kedron Village commercial node won't make much of a difference to the Hwy. 74 corridor. He's more worried about the traffic Target will generate on Peachtree Parkway, which provides a handy shortcut from the south and eastern parts of the city. Kedron will be bigger than The Avenues once completed. The upscale shopping village has made things all the worse where 74 meets 54. Already the busiest intersection in the city, it's also one of the most dangerous in the county. Through June of this year, police had worked 35 accidents at that spot. Early next year, work will start on widening Hwy. 54 into Coweta County. Long-range plans call for turning the intersection into a "flyover," with Hwy. 74 rising above Hwy. 54 so through-traffic headed southbound wouldn't have to stop at all. And more development is on the boards on the city's southern fringe, where the highway meets Rockaway Road. Last year, the city approved a developer's conceptual plan to built 120 houses, retail and a Kroger center in the area across from the South Complex. On the northern border of Hwy.74, commuters already see changes occurring. What used to be pine forests is now 24-hour fast food joints and numerous gas stations. Fairburn City Administrator Jim Williams, who used to work as Peachtree City's planning director, is watching the growth of his town move towards the state highway. But Williams said the biggest impact could come from a large development in Fulton County, just off Hwy.74. "I think they're planning on about 2,000 homes over there, and it's already been approved. Work is expected to start this fall on the TDK Boulevard Extension, continuing Crosstown Road-TDK corridor across Line Creek and into Coweta County. The counties and city are sharing the cost of the controversial project. Brown opposed it on the grounds it would just create more traffic headaches for that stretch of the highway, which the state doesn't plan to widen before the end of this decade. For now, Brown reports that each of the municipal governments involved has signed off on a definition of the study area the length of Hwy. 74 from the I-85 intersection to Ga. Hwy. 85 at Starr's Mill, and a half mile in either direction. They've also pinpointed sections of the highway length that are most critical for the Tech researchers to model. The Tech proposal will get further review at a September meeting, Brown said. A date has not been set.
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