Senoia residents last week got the chance to make suggestions on what they would like to see in their city in the coming years. More than 100 of them filed into the Freeman Sasser Building to make those suggestions known at the meeting sponsored by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).  Topping the list was pedestrian accessibility, increased food choices, an outdoor entertainment venue and the availability of a home improvement business.

The meeting was conducted for the development authority by Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs consultant Paul Kreager, who began the session by explaining that DDA’s process of planning for the future involved receiving input from residents every two years.

The formula at the meeting was essentially simple. Kreager went around the room asking residents to name one thing they wanted to see in the city. Their suggestions were written on large pieces of paper that were later hung on the walls.

Residents then took the five red dots they had been given and placed those dots alongside the 102 items that had been listed, with the idea of noting their top five choices.

Kreager tallied the preliminary results so residents could see their choices. And that first choice was golf cart and walking paths, followed by a farmers market, an amphitheater, a Waffle House and a hardware store.

 But there was so much more considered by residents to be desirable for the city in the future. A sampling of others suggestions included coordinating the hours that stores are open, marketing the city, public restrooms, a place for yard waste, sidewalks and a traffic light at Broad Street and Ga. Highway 16, a pharmacy, improvement along the back of buildings, more downtown parking, sidewalks in neighborhoods and the need to resolve the perpetual traffic back-ups at Rockaway Road and Ga. Highway 74.

Some of the many suggestions can be addressed by DDA and city government, while others are at the discretion of those wanting to invest in viable business opportunities in the city. Plans are in process, however, to remedy the mess at Rockaway Road and Hwy. 74. Georgia Dept. of Transportation in April confirmed that the project to widen Hwy. 74 from Cooper Circle to Ga. Highway 85 will be awarded sometime this summer. And while it will take some time to complete, the project includes re-aligning Rockaway Road to the traffic light at Holly Grove Road a short distance to the north.

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