Hwy. 74 Alliance may change its moniker, but not its mission

The Highway 74 Alliance produced a tentative mission statement at its December meeting. Alliance members also said the initiative might be up for a name change but it will not deter their intent to successfully address future traffic congestion in the area.

Georgia Department of Transportation District Traffic Operations Manager Harry Graham suggested that a new name for the initiative be considered. He said having Ga. Highway 74 specifically named to the exclusion of the areas covered by other participating jurisdictions might not be the best approach.

“Having Hwy. 74 in the name has some exclusions built in to it,” Graham said. “The name needs to be all inclusive of the jurisdictions represented. The name should provide a trajectory for where we want to go.”

Many of those attending agreed, suggesting that the language in the actual name of the initiative and in the mission statement should reflect the extent of the mission parameters and the jurisdictions involved. The group agreed to continue to use the current “Highway 74 Alliance” until a more appropriate name could be determined.

Having discussed the language of a mission statement at previous meetings, the group was presented with a compilation of those thoughts for their consideration. As currently conceived the tentative mission statement read: “The Highway 74 Alliance is a unique partnership of business, government and community leaders. We seek to develop innovative strategies that address transportation, land use and environmental issues to increase safety and improve quality of life for the residents, owners and users of Georgia Highway 74. Together, by communicating our vision and leveraging our resources and experience, we will improve the transportation and enterprise environment of the Highway 74 Corridor.”

The mission statement was found generally acceptable, though the group agreed to provide input that would effectively delete the reference to Hwy. 74 in the effort to make the name more reflective of the larger geographical area served by the initiative.

Graham applauded the group’s work thus far, indicating that the initiative is something GDOT can get behind and support in its initial planning stages rather than waiting until development and traffic congestion occur.

“The alliance is moving strategically, but I want to see some bulldozers moving,” Graham said. “We (GDOT) have been reactive (to new development) for too long. We and this group need to plan for the future and that’s what we want to continue to do. I want to see this move forward.”

The group decided that the January meeting will feature a driving tour of the needs areas encompassed in the alliance. Those include 15 separate projects contained in the Mobility 2030 plan that span a distance from east of Union City to Collinsworth Road between Tyrone and Palmetto and south along Hwy. 74.

Currently all but two of the nine jurisdictions have come on board the initiative. Participating jurisdictions that have signed the Memorandum of Understanding include Coweta County, Fulton County, South Fulton Community Improvement District and the cities of Fairburn, Peachtree City, Union City and Senoia. Those not participating to date are the Town of Tyrone and Fayette County.

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