Some suggestions for the PTB

It has been awhile since I’ve undertaken to share the wisdom of my years with those who make the world run, the ones we used to call the “Powers That Be.”

Disclaimer: I do not hold a degree in engineering, but now and then I do have a flash or two of insight. And before I could share them, Peachtree City was on them.

For instance, I was this close – this close – to writing the city about our bumpy street when, yesterday, to our astonishment, a sign appeared announcing that Terrace Tay is going to be paved and we should expect some delays.

No more car-sickness before we leave the cul de sac. No more cheeks streaked with lipstick being applied while underway. No more holding Dave’s cup without getting coffee on both of us. Hooray.

While your crew is working on our street, oh PTB, what are the chances we could hit you up for a new subdivision sign at the head of the street? It’s one of the chintziest wooden signs on Cameron Trail. One of those nice stucco-faced designs would look worlds better. Whom do I see to start the process? (Another disclaimer: I’m not an artist either.)

We’re hearing talk of changing 4-way stops to traffic roundabouts or circles, depending on who’s doing the talking. As anyone who lived in South Jersey for any length of time can attest, this is not progressive. I look at the intersection of Peachtree Parkway South and Cameron Trail and try to picture how much more green-space would be turned into concrete.

A lot. It gets worse when my mind’s eye fills the circle with drivers who have not yet even learned the rules of the 4-way stop. They’ll drift into the middle circle and have no idea how to get out, or else they’ll wave everyone past them instead of accepting the first-in-first-out rule.

(That’s my dad. He was a very humble man who learned to drive quite late in life and his personal motto carried over into his automotive career: “Let the other fellow go first.” I can just picture him waving people through intersections while the drivers behind him start seething. Sorry, Daddy, but safety and efficiency have replaced civility in this millennium.)

OK. Here’s an amenity that might win re-election for whichever of our PTBs seek another contest this fall. (Or do we skip this year?)

Most citizens are aware that the transportation gurus have placed light rail back on the table. I lobbied from this space several years ago when the state was allegedly studying a plan to run light rail at least to Peachtree City and Senoia and, eventually, to LaGrange.

On behalf of seniors who find driving into the city taxing; young people who must drive to Atlanta for higher education; people who can’t afford a car or are physically impaired – for all of these, I advocate. How many “informational meetings” do we need?

Here’s my idea, and, yes, it was born from seeing how well things run in Europe where rail is far and away the preferred means of transportation.

Since right-of-way is already established in Fayette and Coweta counties, doubling the rail lines so that both passenger and freight trains can share the road will not be as horrendously expensive as it would if it were still in acquisition. The biggest expense would be some sort of train stations or – check this out – “transportation centers.”

County and city can work together to fund this, and should not be timid in making requests.

Advise the state we don’t want one single station in Peachtree City. We want two.

Put one in the farthest north part of the city so Tyrone could comfortably share its use. Put the other (and this is where I get so excited I hyperventilate) as close as possible to Falcon Field. For businessmen who want to fly but not deal with using Hartsfield, that means a close proximity to Atlanta via rail without having to rent a car. They’ll complete their conference in Atlanta and entrain back to Peachtree City, spend the night in one of our hotels, and fly home next morning.

Yes, it would cost, but I see revenue too, especially in the hospitality industry. And for the fellow whose business is in Peachtree City, he can rent a car or (voila!) a golf cart to get around town.

Which leads me to the last two items on my wish list: the extension of the cart path the length of Dividend Drive, and a tunnel under Ga. Highway 74 South.

The former is long overdue. Most of the properties on Dividend have more setback than they really need, so retro-fitting a path system shouldn’t give anybody heartburn.

And the latter? We desperately need a cart path connecting the south part of town with access to Falcon Field. Someone who lives, say, in Morallian Hills and works just about anywhere on Dividend Drive, going to work via golf cart or bicycle would be ideal. As it is, our airport is virtually inaccessible from the lower half of Peachtree City except by car.

Give us another golf cart tunnel, say, at Crosstown Road or where Dividend ends at 74S. Or else a bridge like the one sitting idle where Hwy. 54 crosses the railroad track;

“Won’t happen,” says a contact in City Hall.

“Of course it will, if the PTB recognize all the advantages,” says I. “It’s an election year.”

See, it’s a green idea too.

Intersection of Peachtree Parkway and Cameron Trail?

Submitted by TinCan on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 8:03pm.

Sally, I know you've lived here longer and I’m sure you know much more about the town than I. However, I'm located a few sub-divisions from you and have yet to drive down Cameron Trail and intersect with Peachtree Parkway. If you know a shortcut could you share? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. BTW, I wish you wouldn’t trash my sub-division sign by proxy, since it’s constructed exactly like yours. I case you didn’t know, when our old box design sign fell apart a couple of years ago and was replaced, we were told that these are the new standard.

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Subdivision sign

Submitted by ztlkel on Fri, 02/08/2008 - 7:11pm.

Since when did the city become responsible for replacing subdivision signs?
That would appear to be a cost for the homeowners of that neighborhood, not
the city. I know it seems that it would be a cheap fix, the estimate for my neighborhood
to replace it's aging signs is between 60-80K (there are three signs). Everybody wants
new things until they find out they have to pay for them. Good luck getting the neighborhood to chip in for them!

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