By MONROE ROARK
Staff Writer

Two major projects now in the planning stages in Peachtree City have drawn the attention of a host of residents of two nearby subdivisions.

The citizens of the Sagamore and Belvedere communities made their concerns known at last week's City Council meeting in the form of a petition presented by Jerre Williams, a resident of Sagamore Lane who spoke at the meeting.

The main problem is traffic, as far as the 176 people who signed the petition are concerned, particularly with the development of another AMLI apartment complex in the works and Line Creek Parkway also being planned to possibly connect with Ga. Highway 74 sometime in the future.

The intersection of the north Kedron Drive loop and Hwy. 74 will be affected tremendously by the estimated 450 cars added to the area as a result of the 216 planned apartments, Williams said.

The developers of the apartment complex want access limited to the north Kedron loop, which the local residents consider the root of the potential traffic problem. Williams said access from Senoia Road is a common-sense answer and would help the area greatly.

“We seriously and sincerely request that the city require AMLI to provide a one and only entrance/exit on Senoia Road which will relieve Kedron Drive congestion and provide a safer and smoother traffic flow for AMLI renters,” the petition stated.

The petition went on to state that the city should discontinue Line Creek Parkway.

“It appears that those that will be accommodated are basically the citizens of Coweta County, wherein those inconvenienced and subjected to major traffic and safety hazards will be those of us enjoying the good quality of life in Peachtree City and those using state Hwy. 74,” it read.

The parkway is being planned to run north from Hwy. 54 on the western edge of the city. If it is to become a reality and go all the way to Hwy. 74, the petitioners feel it should connect at the south Kedron loop or north of Kedron Drive altogether, where there are fewer subdivision residents affected.

Another speaker took the apartment dwellers' point of view, saying that those residents should want more than one access point into their complex. He added that traffic at that location will be like the intersection of Hwys. 54 and 74 if something is not done now, and the city will have to fix it.

He concluded his remarks by saying that bringing in Line Creek Parkway at Senoia Road makes more sense. The way the parkway is now configured, it would terminate well before reaching Hwy. 74 because the land needed to go farther is not in the city limits, and the proposed route for extending the road was determined according to what the city feels is the only suitable place to built a railroad bridge.

Mayor Bob Lenox said during the City Council discussion that having only one entrance to an apartment complex often makes it difficult for emergency services to do their jobs there, although apartment developers as a rule like single entrances for security reasons.

Jerry Peterson of Pathway Communities said the original state Department of Transportation plan was for Kedron Drive and Senoia Road to meet, but a “bad plan” was done instead. He added that the two roads need to meet sometime in the future, and that the current Senoia Road/Hwy. 74 interchange is not a good one.

Robert Brown of Planterra Ridge said that the parkway is essential for reducing traffic, but it has to be connected all the way to effectively do that. It would then help Peachtree City residents stay off Hwy. 54 to go places.

Lenox said the parkway was never meant to be a bypass, and is to be built when Hwy. 54 is widened. He also pointed out that full extension of the parkway would depend upon annexation, which brings with it many other questions.

Mayor Pro Tempore Annie McMenamin said that annexation is only to be considered if a master plan is in place for the entire area, which seems remote at this time with several different land owners controlling portions of the affected property.

Several Sagamore and Belvedere residents said they were led to believe by Realtors and others that nothing like apartments would ever be built in this area. They said they expect property values to decrease and some people are already moving out of the area because of it.

Councilman Jim Pace pointed out that the city fought long and hard when the entire apartment issue was in litigation, and got the best settlement possible. He reminded the residents that the land was zoned multifamily as far back as 1986.

McMenamin said that in the near future she would like to discuss slowing things down, perhaps even a moratorium on development from Line Creek to Hwy. 74 until the highways are widened.

No action was taken by the council as a result of this discussion.

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