This is how you can defeat the road. It is the only species list by the EPA as an endangered species whose range encompasses Fayette County. Check it out. I did a grad school research paper on it back in the90's. It depends on the creeks and wetlands of Fayette to survive. It is native to the Flint River drainage basin, which encompasses all of Fayette county. The Endangered species protection act surpasses all other zoning and regulatory laws. Find a lawyer and get an injunction.

My family and my wifes as well dates back to the early 1800s in Fayette County... I can remember as a child hunting in the wetlands off Coastline road just north of Lees lake, back in the day, and can remember getting lost in the woods.... I remember fishing in Lees Lake before it became surrounded by homes.. Watching the filming of the bridge jump in Smokey and the Bandit at the end of Hood road, Whiterwater Creek just above Crystal Lake.. Seemed like paradise... We used to camp out at Lees Lake Back in High School, and swim and fish, seemed like we were out in the middle of nowhere, at night you could hear the report from the slap of the beavers tail, as they swam and played in the moonlit shimmering waters... You could hear the train off in the distance passing through the swamp just north of the lake, we used to catch some of the largest catfish i had ever seen here....It will be ashame to squander what is left of the heart of Fayette County.... My wife and Myself had all intentions of living out the rest of our lives here, on the estate of my grandfathers and his father before him, as our past generations have, and one day pass the esatate on to the next generation, however if our elected leader continue to embark on endeavours, despite what the citizens of this county want.. As this is example, i fear all is lost for within the near future this place mirror Gwinnett County....And it will not be Great....Let us pray that at least one of the commissioners will have the integrity to speak up and say enough is enough, how can they sleep at night....THIS WAS THE BEST COUNTY IN GA...I give you that SAVE FAYETTE, But i am afraid its too late, and its on the way out... Seems like thats been the story of my life, I seem to get in, on things as they are in decline....But hey it could be worse right.....I digress....PEACE...

When they bulldozed my Big Mama's house, I was 42 years old and I cried. I cried because there was nothing I could do to stop the bulldozers. I ran around picking up bricks and old glass door knobs. My grandchildren love my house. I only hope and pray they can continue to listen to the Tyrone train, Whippoorwills, and Owls that live in the woods behind our house instead of cars and trucks running along the West Fayetteville Bypass. Thank you again, mysteryman.

How absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your memories. Those kinds of memories are exactly what my husband and I have been trying to preserve and build upon for our grandchildren. The world would be a much better place if we could all draw on such memories as we struggle to deal with what some call progress. From my little place on Lee's Mill Rd., it still seems like the middle of nowhere, especially at night.

When I was a child, I could lay in the bed at my Big Mama's house and listen to the trains rumble through the back of her property. Do you know that a train whistle sounds different during different kinds of weather. For example, on cold rainy Georgia nights, a train whistle sounds mournful. It is so mournful, you could almost say the train is crying. On hot summer nights, with the windows open trying to catch a breeze, a train whistle sounds bright, cheery and it sounds as if the train is moving faster than it does during winter nights.

Here on Lee's Mill Road, we can hear the train rumble through Tyrone. I have purposefully made it a point to slightly open my windows when my grandchildren come to spend the night with me. I open the windows just to make sure they can here the train as it rumbles through Tyrone. Even though we have four bedrooms in our house, my grandchildren always want to sleep with me. We have six grandchildren so there just isn't enough room for that many in the bed. We make pallets on the floor for everyone, including Meme, Pips and the two dogs. When the train rumbles through Tyrone my grandchildren always want me to tell them stories about when I was a little girl spending the night with my grandparents. I always tell them the story about the cold, rainy, winter night the train caught fire behind Big Mama and Grandpaw's house.

So, Thank You, mysteryman, for your Fayette County and Lee's Lake Memories. Please write them down and pass them on to a young'un. That way Fayette County and our young people will never be on the decline. I am determined to keep memories like yours and mine alive so the children of today will have a little bit of what used to be to help sustain them through life's trials. You and your wife are good people, Mr. and Mrs. Mysteryman, and I am proud to know there are folks like you still around.

Highway 54 is a different animal from the Northwestern part of the county where most of will pass through. It is in a significant water recharge area, and will throw cold water on the plans of the commissioners and developers who hope to commandeer this area under the guise of the West Fayetteville Bypass. Yes, widening Highway 54 was a good thing. But ruining one of the last undeveloped virgin wetlands of the county is not justified. Anyone who thinks it is from a traffic or public need standpoint definitely needs to get their head out of the sand. The commissioners were asked to present some rationale for destroying this area with development, but they had no detailed traffic plan to present. The County Road Department said that all the traffic data is in the Atlanta Regional Commission's computer, and cannot be accessed by the public. The project got passed, because the voters got the wool pulled over their eyes under the guise of "Road Purposes". Had the WFB, itself, been an issue before the voters, it would have been a lead balloon. We know this to be true, because there has been nothing but criticism published over the announcement of the project since the public was notified that it passed. It's a little different than Highway 54 and 74 in PTC, where there is traffic. Under the proposed route, everyone goes to Westbridge Road. Not much to see or do there, but it is a scenic ride. However, in terms of motoring North to Atlanta, or West to I-85, it only gets you to the next county, where it's everyone for him/herself.

You've got to hand it to the commissioners. Getting the WFB passed was an easy way to develop the Northwestern part of Fayette County. We found that there are several large developers who own land in that area. They know who they are.

I travel Sandy Creek daily, and if there was ever a definition of a land grab, this would be it... All in the name of developement, that should be the commisions new mission statement, this road will only enable easy access for those who have no bussiness being here in the first place, and are up to no good.. Just like the police chase through the north end of the county yesterday, yeah lets build another road for the thugs and robbers, to come on down, might as well leave your T.V. on the front porch so they wont break your window while you are at work, least as it stands now the criminals know they had better stay out of certain areas due to limited access. Buy no thats not good enough for the commision and their land baron friends who stand to reap a fortune off of this project... Can anyone say we need to voice for a recall election, and send these clowns packing, and stand ready, to protest any zoning changes near your homes as the developers will rush to rezone as election time nears and opposition to this road reaches fever pitch, for as soon as this commission is sent packing and a proactive citizen commision is in place they know they will not stand a chance in h--- of getting the rezone and permits they desire for high density multifamily housing that they will be seeking to maximize their profits.... Pay attention to what is going on around you, when you see a rezoning sign in your area stop and look at the info, on the sign and be at the hearing to say not no but h--- no....We will not be fooled by this commission again, and vote no for SPLOST, everytime i dont care what they say its for, as for this road was never put to the ballot directly, and was buried in a deep vauge transportation docket....PEACE

Sandy Creek Road, Tillman Road, and Lee's Mill Road are absolutely nothing like Hwy. 54. They never have been and hopefully they never will be. Hwy. 54 is a State Highway.

Unless you have faced the prospect of having your entire home and property condemned to accommodate yet another road, you don't understand. I could go into far more details than you probably would want to read, so I will try to make this short.

UNLESS YOU'VE HAD A COUNTY COMMISSIONER BELITTLE YOU WHEN YOU MERELY ASKED A QUESTION AS TO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOUR HOME AND PROPERTY, YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND!

UNLESS YOU HAVE FOUND YOURSELF IN THE POSITION OF TRYING TO SAVE YOUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S BARN THAT IS OVER 125 YEARS OLD, YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND.

AND, FINALLY FOR THE LATEST SLAP IN THE FACE, UNLESS YOU HAVE PHYSICALLY BUILT A REGISTERED WILDLIFE HABITAT (WATERFALLS, FOUNTAINS, MANY TYPES AND KINDS OF FEEDING STATIONS, PLANTS TO ACCOMMODATE DIFFERENT WILDLIFE) WHICH IS A PROJECT THAT HAS TAKEN OVER 20 YEARS, YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND. UNLESS YOU ARE THE PERSON WHO BUILT THE WILDLIFE HABITAT AND HAVE APPROACHED ONE OF OUR COUNTY EMPLOYEES FOR THE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING INFORMATION AS TO WHERE THE WFB WILL CROSS YOUR PROPERTY JUST TO HAVE THAT EMPLOYEE INFORM YOU THAT THE COUNTY WILL CONDEMN YOUR HOME AND PROPERTY AND THEN DAYS LATER WRITE YOU A LETTER SAYING, "OOPS, I MADE A MISTAKE. WE ARE NOT GOING TO CONDEMN YOUR HOME AND PROPERTY. WE ARE GOING TO CONDEMN TWO OTHER HOUSES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD," UNLESS YOU SPENT ALL THOSE DAYS THINKING YOUR HOME AND PROPERTY WERE GOING TO BE BULLDOZED, YOU CANNOT AND NEVER WILL UNDERSTAND!

Unless you have been through that and much more over the last 24 years, you just can't understand. I'm sorry to say, you just don't have a clue. So, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to get your head out of the sand and open your heart to the problems other people are facing.

There, I said it! I have no problem getting from Hwy 54, to Hwy 92, to Hwy 138, to Interstate 85, if I want to go that way. There are numerous ways to get there, without a bypass!

And, Amen, again!

Does Munford purposely pick out the dumbest quotes from these guys or do they really talk that way all the time?

And not the trees.

It starts out small but by the time it rolls down the mountain you end up with one h--- of a mess.. I guess Joe Isuzu should chair the next council workshop, for im sure everyone will believe what he has to say.....Bless

Really? I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or feel insulted. According to Fayette County Administrator, Jack Krakeel, he doesn’t anticipate any zoning changes for more intense development to be along the bypass. According to Commission Chairman, Jack Smith, the county’s intention is “not to just create another avenue for rampant development.” And, he envisions “the two-lane bypass road having a feel similar to that of Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City, WHICH IS A FOUR-LANE ROAD.” Duh! PEACHTREE PARKWAY IN PEACHTREE CITY IS AN EXTREMELY CONGESTED FOUR-LANE ROAD.

All of that sounds like a whole lot of good intentions to me. And, I’m sure most everyone knows the old proverb, “The road to h…. is paved with good intentions.

Do the Fayette County Commissioners really think the citizens of Fayette County are so “ignorant” that we don’t know when they are trying to pour salve over open wounds; the wounds they are causing? Do they actually think we are so “ignorant” that we don’t know when they are trying to sway public opinion? I guess they adhere to the old proverb, “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

Well, I don’t believe the citizens of Fayette County are either ignorant or flies. And, I am sure there aren’t many Fayette Citizens who would want any more areas of Fayette County to “feel similar to” or look similar to Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City.

At first the County wanted a120 foot right-of-way for the West Fayetteville Bypass and said they “might” have to consider stop signs at different points along the Bypass. They said there would be a 45 mph speed limit. Now, they have “agreed to narrow the right-of-way to 100 feet.” Also, Chairman Jack Smith says, “traffic speeds can be maintained somewhere in the 45-50 mph range.” What is it; a 120 feet right-of-way or a 100 feet right-of-way? Are we going to have stop signs? Which is it; 45 mph or 50 mph? It sounds to me like “good intentions.” Or, just to be more specific, SMOOZING the public.

Just to be more specific, in 2004 the ballot on which the transportation SPLOST appeared for our vote it specifically read as follows: Special Local Option
Sales Tax Election

Shall a special1 percent sales and use tax
Be imposed for road, street, and bridge
purposes in Fayette County for a period of
time not to exceed five (5) years and for the
raising of not more than $115,857,267.00?

( ) YES

( ) NO

Just below that there was a much more detailed description of the Special School Bond Election. Anyone voting for the transportation SPLOST really couldn’t determine what they were actually voting for unless they knew to or suspected they should go to the inner workings of the County Government to find answers. I can assure our County Commissioners that I will never again be ignorant of the inner workings of which they are all knowing.

Upon researching the 2004 ballot, I was told by County Officials that the Commissioners legal council was responsible for the wording on the ballot. I found a document entitled RESOLUTION NO., 2004-09. This document was the authorization for the transportation SPLOST to be placed on the ballot. Part of the document states, “The tax shall be used solely for road, street and bridge purposes in Fayette County. The priority projects for the cities of Fayette County and unincorporated Fayette County are attached hereto in Exhibit A and Exhibit B and hereby incorporated herein.” Exhibit A was attached to the RESOLUTION but it did not mention the West Fayetteville Bypass. Exhibit B was much harder to find. It required much digging, asking, and legwork. Whereas Exhibit A was 6 pages long, Exhibit B consisted of 41 pages. Buried among those 41 pages, I found the East and West Fayetteville Bypass. So, the County can say that the citizens did vote for the transportation SPLOST and it did pass by a 1 percent margin. However, I maintain the citizens did not have adequate information before they voted.

So, mysteryman, you are absolutely right! “If you build it, they will come.” The cars will come. The people will come. The houses will come. The schools will come. And, the Commissioners will come asking for more transportation SPLOST money because, after all, “The road to h….. is paved with good intentions.” We all know they have good intentions. THEY TOLD US SO!

is one of the LEAST congested 4 lanes I've ever been on. I'm not sure what you are talking about on that one. I should know, I live in a Subdivision RIGHT off the 4 laned Peachtree Parkway.

Please forgive me. I stand corrected. The only explanation I have is that I am working under great stress. My brain was thinking Hwys. 54/74 and my fingers were typing Peachtree Parkway. My days and nights are consumed with protecting mine and a lot of other citizen's property from the bulldozers.

"Bypass to Remain Residential"--- yeah right I trust this group of clowns. All residential except it will be section 8 apartments. Betcha Maxwell has some coin in on this deal.