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Traffic light in front of PFH?

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizenNews.com

Concerns over the longstanding need for a traffic light to curtail unsafe conditions on Ga. Highway 54 and Piedmont Fayette Hospital surfaced at the March 8 meeting of the Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission. The solution to the problem might be forthcoming.

The issue arose during a request by the hospital to place an 1,100 square-foot trailer adjacent to a portion of the facility while a new expansion area under construction is being completed. The trailer would need to be used for approximately two years, said the hospital’s facilities development and support services vice president Tracey Coker. The discussion on grassing around the trailer and other issues relating to the request turned to the topic of the traffic light when commission member Allan Feldman cited the historic need for a traffic light at the Hwy. 54 entrance, the number of traffic accidents at the intersection and concerns that the number of vehicles on the roadway makes accessing the hospital from the highway increasingly difficult, especially for some older residents.

Coker agreed, adding that he had recently learned from city engineer Don Easterbrook that a Georgia Department of Transportation will recommend that a traffic light is warranted for the site. Coker said he understood that Feldman had concerns based past visits to the commission and wanted the board to know that the hospital was still trying to get a light installed.

Feldman responded, saying that the intersection was a nightmare when the hospital opened. Subsequent studies were said to be complete and the need for a light was acknowledged. And now, years later, with all the studies done and letters written, the same things are being said, Feldman said.

“Anybody with any intelligence can go out there and sit at that intersection and watch what happens,” Feldman said. “That place has developed to the point of ridiculousness. I’m sure if additions to the development were held up all of a sudden, something would be done.”

Following Feldman’s comments, board member Derryll Anderson suggested that the hospital might use any political influence that it has to push the project forward.

After his presentation to the board, Coker was asked if the hospital would consider paying to have a light installed. Coker said that the hospital, perhaps in concert with developments across the highway, would be willing to do so.

Contacted Thursday, Coker said the hospital is continuing to meet with development neighbors across Hwy. 54. Piedmont Fayette’s intention is to generate a memo of understanding with all interested stakeholders and to bring closure to the issue.

“We are committed as a facility to have this light installed. It is for our patients, their families, our auxiliary volunteers, the nearly 1,000 employees that work here and for the traveling public,” he said. “We will go through the prescribed methodology to accomplish this goal.”

Contacted about the status of the traffic study at the site, DOT District 3 traffic engineer Keith Rohling said portions of the study have been completed while others remain to be done. Preliminary indications suggest that the site meets the criteria for having a traffic signal system installed, he said.

Regardless the funding source, Rohling cited an estimated cost of $60,000 to outfit the entrance with a traffic signal system that would include all needed equipment. The cost to complete the study was estimated to be several thousand dollars, he said. Referencing time frames likely to be involved, Rohling said completing the study, having the permit approved and installing the traffic system would take two to three years provided DOT could find the funding for the project. The time frame could likely be reduced to a period of several months if another party and an alternative source of funding were available, he said.

Current data estimates that 35 percent of the hospital’s traffic flow is from Hwy. 54, with 65 percent accessing the facility from Sandy Creek Road. A traffic light was installed at the Sandy Creek Road-Hwy. 54 intersection in the late 1990s.

The board will take up consideration of the placement of the trailer and issues related to it at the commission’s regular meeting March 22.