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Transportation planners hear residents: Keep Fayette ruralTue, 03/24/2009 - 4:05pm
By: John Munford
Last week Fayette residents got an overview of potential transportation improvement projects for future years. The meeting was hosted as part of a long-range transportation plan being prepared for the county by the Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin consulting firm. One of the most important facets of the plan is that it must be designed to gain widespread community support, said project manager Paul Morris. That’s why the county had several day-long “drop-in” workshops for citizens to share their views about potential transportation projects. One of the most often-heard requests from residents at those workshops was a need to maintain Fayette’s rural look and feel, said project manager Paul Morris. “One thing we’ve heard loud and clear is ‘rural character,’” Morris said. “While the county continues to grow, the reason many of you moved here and what you value about this place is this rural feeling.” Morris noted that about half of Fayette’s land is still undeveloped, but that will change in the future as the county’s population is projected to hit 150,000 in 2030. To help preserve Fayette’s rural character, Morris said instead of widening roads from two to four lanes, the county could instead install left turn lanes to allow traffic to flow smoother. He also noted the county’s conservation zoning allows for more natural area to be located along roads. Interstate access is a key for Fayette, which has many commuters driving to and from Atlanta, Morris said. To help traffic flow smoother onto Interstate 85, Morris said one suggestion would involve building an access road parallel to the interstate that would link Ga. highways 74 and 92. In that scenario, motorists would no longer get on I-85 northbound from Hwy. 74 but instead would use a new on-ramp at Hwy. 92, Morris said. About 28,000 people live in Fayette but travel elsewhere to work, Morris noted. About 16,000 live and work in Fayette while another 18,000 people live elsewhere and commute to Fayette to work, he added. Still, those commuting trips only represent about 20 percent of the trips generated by a typical home, Morris said. Approximately 70 percent of all trips occur within three miles of the household, he added. Morris addressed different options for the often-clogged intersection of hwys. 54 and 74, “which is a giant mess,” he conceded to laughter from the audience. One option is to do nothing and deal with the congestion, Morris said. Or additional left turn lanes could be added within the existing right of way along with new technology “to push cars through,” Morris said. He also said a bridge could be built to bring Hwy. 74 over Hwy. 54. That project would require ramps that would take some land from the nearby Avenue and Marketplace shopping centers, Morris noted. A fourth option would be to build another east-west road north of the intersection to perhaps link with access roads in the McIntosh Village shopping center. One often-heard refrain from residents at the planning meetings was to accommodate the needs of seniors in new transportation projects, Morris said. At last week’s wrap-up meeting at City Hall, there were plenty of opinions on “mass transit.” Several residents, including Peachtree City Councilman Don Haddix, said mass transit attracts crime. Morris noted that the mass transit called for in the future would be of a commuter rail type facility that would have several trains going one way into Atlanta in the morning and returning in the evening. State officials will control when or if such a commuter rail would come into existence, but the proposed line would start in Senoia, stop in Peachtree City and several other places before stops in East Point (for transfers to the airport via MARTA) and later a multi-modal rail station in downtown Atlanta. While the mere mention of mass transit drew negative reactions from many residents at the March 17 meeting, there were a couple of positive remarks in favor of commuter rail. Morris also mentioned that several intersections in the county might be candidates for redesigning as roundabouts. He specifically listed five such intersections: Goza and Old Greenville roads, Redwine and Quarters roads, Sandy Creek and Ellison roads, Ebenezer and Spear roads and Beauregard Boulevard and Grady Avenue in Fayetteville. Roundabouts have 20-25 percent fewer crashes than intersections with stop lights, and they have 50 to 75 percent fewer injuries, Morris said. “It’s not a solution that fits everywhere,” Morris cautioned. Residents who were unable to attend the public meetings but still want a say are urged to take an online survey about the county’s future transportation needs. The survey is available on the county’s website: fayettecountyga.gov. To reach the survey, click on the link at the left side for “transportation plan” and then scroll to the bottom of the new page for the Fayette Forward Community Survey. The next step in preparing the transportation plan is for the consulting firm to develop cost and effectiveness data for each potential project. Those results will be presented at a September meeting before the plan is adopted, Morris said. A major portion of the plan is being funded by the Atlanta Regional Commission as it wants to find out how counties want their state and regional transportation money spent. login to post comments
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