All five signals will be networked; not included are 2 lights outside city limits

The Georgia Department of Transportation is preparing to upgrade traffic signals on Ga. Highway 54 in Peachtree City between Flat Creek and Willowbend roads all the way to Walt Banks Road.

Part of that upgrade involves networking all five signals on a computer system, which will include the new traffic light that has been approved for Hwy. 54 at Stevens Entry, City Engineer David Borkowski told the City Council last week. Such networks allow computers to control signals

The work includes replacing older signal devices and also replacing the poles and mast arms so they go across two lanes instead of diagonally across all four lanes on the highway, Borkowski said. Also each intersection will include pedestrian crosswalks with push button-activated crossing signals and handicap ramps.

Some of the intersections will also have new magnetic detectors installed, which help notify the system when cars are present at a stop light, Borkowski said.

Not included in the project are the two traffic signals just outside the eastern Peachtree City limits which serve the Peachtree Crossings East shopping center and the Lexington Circle and Lexington Park subdivisions, Borkowski noted.

Mayor Harold Logsdon said he wasn’t sure if the city should have pedestrians crossing Hwy. 54 at some of the intersections, creating a possible safety hazard. Councilman Stuart Kourajian said when the DOT insisted on installing a pedestrian crossing on Hwy. 74, the rationale was that a motorist in a broken-down vehicle would need to cross the road safely.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said she was mainly concerned with making sure golf carts don’t use the pedestrian crossings.

The work is part of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s “Fast Forward” program to speed up road improvements that can help improve traffic flow on key corridors, Borkowski said.

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