Even

if Peachtree City chooses to annex the largest

"plan" for the proposed West Village,

traffic won't get worse at the Highway 54 and 74

intersection, according to a traffic study

commissioned by the city.

Traffic

can't get much worse, either, the study also

reveals. Using an A-F grading scale -- with A

being the best traffic flow and F being the worst

-- the area currently qualifies for an `E' grade.

That

means stopped vehicles in the area experience a

delay between 40 and 60 seconds. For the traffic

to earn an F grade, the delay would have to roll

over the 60-second period.

The

E grade is comparable to the traffic seen in

downtown Atlanta, said Ed Ellis of Dames and

Moore, the consultants who developed the study.

The results were presented to the West Village

Annexation Task Force at its meeting Monday,

causing a flurry of questions.

The

only way the traffic caused by the annexation

wouldn't reach the F level is if the development

hooked up only to Hwy. 74 at the beginning, the

company recommends.

That's

until Hwy. 54 widens to four lanes in the area in

the future, when the Hwy. 74 access for West

Village residents should be shut off, the study

recommends.

Currently,

Hwy. 54 is nearing its maximum capacity, the

study states. The proposed extension of TDK

Boulevard, which would reach into Coweta County,

would help reduce peak traffic on Hwy. 54 by an

approximate 700 cars, the firm estimated.

"The

two choke points are the 54 bridge and the 54-74

intersection," Ellis said.

The

traffic study included estimated traffic flows

for other developments that have been approved

but aren't yet operational. The Home Depot

traffic estimates were included, but the traffic

estimates for the Wal-Mart that developers want

to build behind Home Depot were not included.

Task

force member Phyllis Aguayo questioned if the

traffic standards at the intersection "are

in keeping with what we have here."

Ellis

said the consultants were trying to keep the

traffic at the E level. "In my opinion, this

is an attempt to make sure with future

development that things don't get worse," he

said.

The

Katz portion of the proposed West Village

annexation area --projected for 400 homes --would

be connected to Hwy. 54 at MacDuff Parkway,

however, Ellis said.

If

the West Village development would change the

intersection to an F grade, the developers would

be required to fund the traffic improvements in

the area to get it back to the E level. That

action would be required by the city's new

traffic ordinance.