Tuesday, in good faith and a spirit of cooperation, I chaired a meeting on the developer proposal currently called “The Overlook.” This development calls for a large shopping center, anchored by a 66,000 square foot grocery store, to be built at the intersection of Highway 54 and Line Creek Road.
I have to respectfully and adamantly disagree [that] this development requires a direct connection into the Planterra Ridge and Cardiff Park subdivisions and adds yet another traffic light on already crowded Ga. Highway 54 West.
At the meeting, the developer reaffirmed that without a curb cut into Planterra Ridge and Cardiff Park subdivision as well as a traffic light at Line Creek Road, his large retail tenant will not come to the development and I am perfectly okay with that.
In our meeting, multiple residents complained that the traffic light will make an already unbearable traffic situation impossible. Residents also expressed concern for their children’s safety from the cars and trucks cutting through into Plantera Ridge.
We know the retail tenant wants to connect to the subdivision because it be a more attractive travel option than going through the intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74.
We have to protect our neighborhoods. The neighborhoods are the foundation of a community, not grocery stores.
It’s not difficult to keep the promises made to the neighborhoods two years ago and that’s what we ought to do. If nothing else, we should not add a sixth traffic light to ensure that we do not make Hwy. 54 even more impassable and cloud our future.
We have to act responsibly. I will make it my personal mission to work with the state for a funded study our Peachtree City road network and where it extends outside the city. We have got to stop doing haphazard planning.
At our City Council meeting, I have an agenda item asking that we not make the traffic in that area worse and that we show our neighborhoods the respect they deserve.
I hope we get enough votes to do right by the homeowners and not make things worse than they already are now.
Think about it. Protecting our neighborhoods protects our quality of life. New retail stores are nice, but not at the expense of ruining some of our nicest subdivisions.
George Dienhart
Post 2, City Council
Peachtree City, Ga.
