Lame Leaders/Developing Madness

Is it a requirement that those with any kind of power in Fayette County also have to have lost their common sense? Our leaders keep voting for and allowing more and more retail and office development when it is clearly obvious to the ordinary citizen that the county is already glutted to the point that vacant stores are abundant and other businesses are going under. What we have now has caused us untold traffic problems, increased crime and has brought numerous strangers who clog the pipes in our area for shopping trips or other things.

Peachtree City officials bend over and allow a sneaky developer to take city roads and build whatever he wants in a Highway 54 traffic corridor that is already experiencing a glut of vacant retail stores and major traffic problems. How much sense does this really make? At 5:30 on weekdays, it takes me at least 20 minutes to get from Flat Creek to MacDuff Parkway, and sometimes it’s a 40 minute trip from the Wyndham. We have another shopping center going in right there, right now, and what about the Fischer Road plans for a mega shopping center practically within spitting distance across the county line.

Latest news: New plans in Fayetteville on the other end of Highway 54 for a large retail development at The Villages near the “gateway” to Fayetteville. Wow, let’s repeat the mess that’s already been created on the other end of Highway 54 at Highway 74. This comes in addition to other shopping developments going in all up and down Highway 54. Is this crazy?

We are building a house of cards that is going to blow up as the stale economy catches up with us. Everyone on the front end of this will have gotten their money and left town by then, leaving us residents holding a blighted bag of empty stores, offices and foreclosed houses. Hopefully, we will then be able to return this area back into the quality living area that it once was.

It’s time to stop the MADNESS. Just because land is zoned commercial shouldn’t mean that we have to allow ANY threatened commercial venture to be built there, especially when MOST threatened commercial ventures are now detrimental to the city or county residents. Do we need it? Do we want it? Then let it be built. If not, then leave the land lay idle. It is unbelievable that the city and county “officials” would even approve a shopping center that isn’t pre-leased before it’s built so that at least we are assured that it doesn’t become another vacant eyesore.

In the future, no one from Peachtree City will even be able to get to Coweta County past 54/74 or to Fayetteville past the “gateway,” so we’ll just have to stay home. Fortunately, we already have way more shopping here than we need. Also hopefully, the hordes who have been coming through Peachtree City going to Fayetteville and beyond in one direction and to Sharpsburg and Newnan in the other direction will also not be able to get past The Villages on 54 or Highways 54/74 either, so they’ll find some other way to go. Maybe it’s time to extend TDK around Peachtree City and Fayetteville all the way from Coweta to the Fayette By-pass.

Thanks Steve

Submitted by mudcat on Wed, 02/20/2008 - 7:59pm.

Now go away

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