Residents in and around Church Street in Fayetteville told the City Council Thursday night that a proposed extension of Lafayette Avenue would be a detriment to their neighborhood.

Above, Anthony Porter was one of many residents who spoke out against the Lafayette Avenue extension. Photo/John Thompson.

The proposed plan would extend Lafayette Avenue across Ga. Highway 85 onto Church Street.

Since at least 2008, the city has been looking at having a traffic signal installed on North Glynn at Lafayette Avenue, and Lafayette extending across the street on a new segment of roadway that intersects with Church Street.

The issue has surfaced again after developer’s Steve Gulas announcement of a hotel project that would see the extension of Lafayette run through the proposed hotel property. If the road was built, Gulas would need a number of variances to build his hotel.

Public Works Director Chris Hindman brought the issue to the City Council Thursday to get a feel for the city’s willingness to continue the project.

Mayor Ed Johnson announced during the meeting that he wanted to listen to the residents, and that a final decision on the issue would not be made until a later meeting.

Church Street resident Darryl Anderson said she was against the road because of the increased traffic the road extension would bring to the neighborhood.

“We’ve already seen a big increase” since the 92 roundabout project was completed, she said.

Business owner David Mowell feared the extension would bring more cut-through traffic to his family’s funeral home parking lot, while Brett Nolan liked the increase of a grid system in downtown Fayetteville, but said he was concerned that no pedestrian issues were evaluated during the project.

Johnson thanked the residents for their input, and said a decision should be made soon.