I had the experience of seeing a magic show on Nov. 22. No, it wasn't anyone famous like Penn and Teller, but instead was Mr. Ed Ellis of Dames & Moore, Peachtree City's hired traffic consultant. While Mr. Ellis is not well known as a magician, I believe he showed that he has a promising career ahead of him.

Mr. Ellis was at the Planning Commission meeting as a consultant paid by the city to help ensure that the Traffic Impact Ordinance is adhered to. Mr. Ellis presented a flashy slide show that supposedly demonstrated how our city's traffic along Ga. highways 54 and 74 would get better if Home Depot and the stealth Super Wal-Mart are built across from the Planterra Ridge subdivision entrance. Talk about a magic trick, he actually made traffic seem to disappear.

Using a laptop PC, Mr. Ellis was able to show a moving demonstration that was supposed to mimic actual traffic passing through the intersection. Unlike real life, the little computer-generated “cars” zipped along happily, waiting no more than a few seconds at any intersection. I heard no horns blowing and didn't see any nasty gestures from the little “car” drivers, nobody cut anybody else off — it looked like a regular traffic Nirvana. Unfortunately, you and I can't drive in this little computer world; instead we have to face the reality of traffic gridlock.

While Mr. Ellis was paid by our city for his services, I couldn't help but feel that he was a pitch man for the Home Depot big box project. He had no downside to any of his projections, and seemed to feel that this 130,000-square-foot store (and the proposed Super Wal-Mart of equal size) would not have any negative impact on traffic. When citizens in the crowd questioned Mr. Ellis regarding his findings, we were accused of “bad manners” by the developer. I wonder if he doesn't see the irony of it: citizens stand up to a developer who wants to “RAM” a development through that could destroy the quality of life in the city, and we are the ones with bad manners?

Many futuristic projections were made by the traffic consultant, none of which exist today and none of which are even certain to ever exist. The widening of Hwy. 54 to four lanes, the installation of a median island along the highway, the widening of the bridge over the train tracks by Huddleston Road — all nothing more than talk at this point, yet we are expected to assume that all of these things will happen. We need to deal with what we have today — a gridlocked two-lane highway with a two-lane bridge that simply cannot handle the added traffic of the big boxes.

The bottom line is that the majority of Peachtree City residents do not want Home Depot or Super Wal-Mart to build here. Even though RAM Development was quick to have their attorney threaten to take this “to the Supreme Court,” we need to take a stand, here and now. Give in to one developer and open the flood gate.

The planning commission did the right thing and said no. Now our elected officials need to make it clear they will not be intimidated and that they will do their jobs by protecting the health, welfare and safety of our citizens, even if that means battling it out in court.

Steve Fodor

Peachtree City

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