Members of the Holly Grove

AME Church in Peachtree City and residents of a

neighborhood next door have reached an agreement on the

use of the road that connects those areas.

Holly Grove Church Road,

one of the few remaining unpaved roads in the city, runs

from Robinson Road past the church and through The

Preserve subdivision to Redwine Road. Residents of The

Preserve have been concerned about motorists using the

road as a cut-through and driving too fast through their

neighborhood.

Those worries have

increased with news of a proposed development that would

include extending Holly Grove Road, on the other side of

Robinson Road, all the way to Ga. Highway 74.

Negotiations have been ongoing with the residents, the

church, the city and Pathway Communities about what to do

with Holly Grove Church Road, including the possibility

of closing the road to through traffic.

That option apparently will

come to pass, as the Planning Commission Monday night

approved a plan agreed upon by all parties just moments

before. The final meeting to hammer out the agreement

began before the Planning Commission meeting and carried

over until the commission was forced to rearrange its

agenda and conduct the public hearing on the issue later

in the evening.

Under the agreement, a

20-foot asphalt drive will replace the dirt road leading

from Robinson Road to the church. That portion of the

road will be deeded to the church and become private

property, with an entrance constructed at Robinson Road

to include columns and an iron gate. Signs will be

erected indicating that the road is private property and

through traffic is prohibited.

Motorists determined to use

the church as an alternate route will find the task more

difficult when the project is completed, as the stretch

of road directly in front of the church will become a

park, with landscaping placed in the original path of the

road. The new road will turn directly into the church

parking lot, and an asphalt drive will extend from the

other side of the parking lot into The Preserve.

The pastor of the church

and the president of The Preserve's homeowners

association each spoke at the meeting and went on the

record in favor of the plan. A member of the Planning

Commission pointed out that residents of The Preserve

could be tempted to continue using the cut-through, but

the neighborhood representative said that all residents

understood the new plan and the possibility of being

ticketed for driving on private property if they

attempted that.

City development director

Jim Williams said that the project would likely need

about three months to complete, and it would cost

slightly less than simply making it a paved street as it

is now configured.