Fayette County Public Works Director Phil Mallon. Photo/Ben Nelms.
An overview of the upcoming presentations and discussions on the draft document of the Fayette County Transportation Plan (CTP) and Master Path Plan and the Ga. Highway 74 Corridor Study was provided Oct. 12 at the Fayette County Library in Fayetteville.
Detailed presentations of the meeting elements will be made in municipalities across Fayette and at the County Commission in the coming weeks. The draft versions will also be available online on the county website in the coming weeks.
Fayette County Public Works Director Phil Mallon at the Oct. 12 meeting said he hopes the upcoming presentations will generate discussion and comments throughout the community.
Mallon said the goal is to have the final plans ready by the end of 2018, then to return the plans to the various jurisdictions for approval in early 2019.
Hitting on the high points of the CTP and looking to the future, Mallon said there were a number of considerations pertaining to traffic realities and transportation-routing needs.
Among the items for consideration contained in the draft study were:
• Support for corridor improvement studies for roadways such as Sandy Creek Road, Palmetto Road and Tyrone Road, Banks Road and Ga. Highway 279.
• The need for new or improved capacity into Coweta County given the increasing growth in Coweta. With a 2017 population of approximately 141,000, Coweta in 21 years is expected to be home to nearly 240,000 people.
• Safety improvements along multiple roads such as Crosstown Drive in Peachtree City, Grady Avenue in Fayetteville and South Jeff Davis Drive in Fayetteville.
• The potential for construction of a street linking Ga. Highway 54 in Fayetteville to First Manassas Mile Road, the site of the transfer station which is frequented by heavy trucks.
• The potential to reconstruct the Hood Avenue bridge over Whitewater Creek. The bridge washed out in the 1970s and was not rebuilt.
• The potential to connect Sherwood Road with Lester Road south of Fayetteville.
• Also needed are multiple intersection improvements.
The CTP draft will go to the public for review by citizens and local government jurisdictions, Mallon said.
Mallon at the Oct. 12 meeting also provided an overview of the upcoming presentations on the draft master path plan.
Among the items for consideration in the master path plan are:
• Common standards for path design and signs, with the intention to establish design criteria consistently countywide.
• Consider, on a long-range basis, a path along Hwy. 54 connecting Fayetteville and Peachtree City.
• Consider the installation of bike lanes on select corridors.
• Construction of a continuous path long Redwine Road.
• Establish a Greenway Trail vision, with possible regional connections.
• Develop a path network around schools and parks.
• Develop additional paths connecting Tyrone and Peachtree City.
• Focus new path construction within and between cities and towns.
• Address future maintenance costs while planning path expansion.
Also at the Oct. 12 meeting, Mallon provided a brief update on the Hwy. 74 Corridor Study, a longtime project of Fairburn, Tyrone, Peachtree City and the South Fulton Community Improvement District.
A separate function from the new interchange at Interstate 85 and Hwy. 74, the corridor study considers the “Superstreet” concept that limits curb cuts along the roadway, uses a smaller intersection footprint, is less expensive that traditional signalized intersections and uses alternative intersection methods (such as the Restricted Crossing U-Turn intersection like the one in place on Hwy. 74 at Sandy Creek Road) to improve traffic flow and provide safer travel.
Other functions of the corridor study are geared to avoid traditional road widening, consider a path on the east side of Hwy. 74, promote the upcoming park-n-ride lot in Fairburn and investigate opportunities for uniform signage, access management, parking and landscaping.
A schedule of presentations to be made in the coming weeks at City Council and County Commission meetings include:
• Brooks – Oct. 15 – CTP and path plan
• Fayetteville – Oct. 18 – CTP and path plan
• Tyrone – Oct. 18 – Hwy. 74 study; Nov. 15 – CTP and path plan
• Peachtree City – Oct. 18 -Hwy. 74 study; Nov.1 – CTP and path plan
• Woolsey – Nov. 12 – CTP and path plan
• Fayette County Commission – Oct. 25 – Hwy. 74 study; Nov. 8 – CTP and path plan
The Oct. 12 presentation was part of the library’s “Hot Off the Press” series of community events.
