By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Getting to the other side of Peachtree Parkway will still be dangerous for Timberlake subdivision residents, but perhaps a little less dangerous than before.

Residents last week received permission to build a paved path through the neighborhood, connecting to a marked crossing, so they can get to the neighborhood's swimming pool, playground and club house.

The county put in the marked crossing in May after residents voiced concerns about having to cross the parkway.

“Do we have a perfect situation with that? No, we do not,” said county manager Billy Beckett during discussion by the County Commission. Twenty residents wearing red badges applauded when the commission cast a unanimous vote to allow the cart path.

Beckett said developers of the neighborhood never should have been allowed to build homes on one side of the road and neighborhood amenities on the other. “Now that we've created the technical review committee [composed of staff from several county departments] I don't think this will happen again,” he said.

But in the meantime, residents of all ages must cross the busy road, often on bicycles or on foot, to get to the recreational offerings.

Beckett said the Sheriff's Department recently clocked 18 vehicles going 75 miles per hour or faster in that section of the parkway, just south of the Peachtree City limits at Redwine Road.

Mike Maholik, speaking for 53 residents of Timberlake who signed a petition asking for the cart path, said he understands that the crosswalk is not a perfect solution, but it's better to have residents crossing at the crosswalk than crossing at random. And the cart path will take residents right to the crossing. Currently, he said, they're either crossing at random points or having to walk along the road for hundreds of feet in order to use the crossing.

“This is a very serious situation since we have 47 children in our neighborhood,” he said.

Commissioner Greg Dunn said he is concerned that, with the new cart path connecting to Peachtree City's cart path system, many more people might begin using the crossing. “We may be talking about an enormous number of people crossing that road,” he said.

Beckett said county officials are working to find a way to build a tunnel so residents don't have to cross the road at all.

Cost of the cart path will be born by homeowners, who have paid $400 each for a total of $12,000, said Maholik.