Getting

to the other side of Peachtree Parkway will still

be dangerous for Timberlake subdivision

residents, but perhaps a little less dangerous

than before.

Residents

last week received permission to build a paved

path through the neighborhood, connecting to a

marked crossing, so they can get to the

neighborhood's swimming pool, playground and club

house.

The

county put in the marked crossing in May after

residents voiced concerns about having to cross

the parkway.

"Do

we have a perfect situation with that? No, we do

not," said county manager Billy Beckett

during discussion by the County Commission.

Twenty residents wearing red badges applauded

when the commission cast a unanimous vote to

allow the cart path.

Beckett

said developers of the neighborhood never should

have been allowed to build homes on one side of

the road and neighborhood amenities on the other.

"Now that we've created the technical review

committee [composed of staff from several county

departments] I don't think this will happen

again," he said.

But

in the meantime, residents of all ages must cross

the busy road, often on bicycles or on foot, to

get to the recreational offerings.

Beckett

said the Sheriff's Department recently clocked 18

vehicles going 75 miles per hour or faster in

that section of the parkway, just south of the

Peachtree City limits at Redwine Road.

Mike

Maholik, speaking for 53 residents of Timberlake

who signed a petition asking for the cart path,

said he understands that the crosswalk is not a

perfect solution, but it's better to have

residents crossing at the crosswalk than crossing

at random. And the cart path will take residents

right to the crossing. Currently, he said,

they're either crossing at random points or

having to walk along the road for hundreds of

feet in order to use the crossing.

"This

is a very serious situation since we have 47

children in our neighborhood," he said.

Commissioner

Greg Dunn said he is concerned that, with the new

cart path connecting to Peachtree City's cart

path system, many more people might begin using

the crossing. "We may be talking about an

enormous number of people crossing that

road," he said.

Beckett

said county officials are working to find a way

to build a tunnel so residents don't have to

cross the road at all.

Cost

of the cart path will be born by homeowners, who

have paid $400 each for a total of $12,000, said

Maholik.

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