The

proposed Home Depot store will meet the city's

traffic regulations with a handful of road

improvements, according to Peachtree City's

traffic consulting firm.

The

same can't be said, however, for the Wal-Mart

Supercenter that developers want to build behind

Home Depot. The Wal-Mart would throw traffic so

far out of whack that no road improvements will

help the situation - short of widening Ga.

Highway 54 - according to a preliminary

traffic study conducted by Dames and Moore.

It

is not clear whether Wal-Mart will be held to the

city's new traffic ordinance, which requires new

developments to add road improvements if the

development will have a negative impact on

traffic.

Doug

McMurrain of RAM Development, who is handling the

Wal-Mart and Home Depot projects, said the

company's traffic numbers indicate a different

story. RAM planned to meet with the city to

determine how Dames and Moore arrived at its

numbers and conclusions.

"Their

numbers differ from ours substantially,"

McMurrain said.

McMurrain

also contends that the Home Depot and Wal-Mart

stores are not subject to the traffic ordinance

since it wasn't in effect when the process began.

"Legally,

we are not bound by the traffic ordinance,"

McMurrain said. "At the same time, we're

willing to work with the city to make them feel

safe and let the traffic flow by our

project."

McMurrain

said it is in the developer's best interest to

make the traffic in the area appealing so as not

to drive away potential customers.

Once

Hwy. 54 is widened in the area, the Wal-Mart

might be feasible from a traffic perspective,

according to the study from Dames and Moore.

But

if the city wants the Wal-Mart to wait until Hwy.

54 is widened, that could cause a substantial

delay - and possibly force a lawsuit. The

courts are a last resort for RAM, McMurrain said.

The

Georgia Department of Transportation has already

approved a permit for the traffic improvements

RAM has proposed in the area, McMurrain added.

Those improvements will cost over $500,000, he

said.

The

widening is currently stalled by governmental

hurdles because the Atlanta area is considered in

violation of clean air standards, and Peachtree

City is considered part of the metro Atlanta

area.

Therefore,

funding is being withheld from the state for a

number of key transportation projects in the

Atlanta region.

The

Hwy. 54 widening would require the expansion of

the existing bridge over the roadway or the

construction of a new bridge. That sends the

project's price tag sky-high.

host of different traffic improvements to the

area should be required for Home Depot to meet

the traffic ordinance, according to Dames and

Moore's suggestions. Those improvements would

focus on three key areas: the intersection of

Hwys. 54 and 74, the intersection of Hwy. 54 at

Huddleston Road and the intersection of Hwy. 54

at Planterra Way, which would be almost directly

across from the main entrance to Home Depot.

traffic signal is recommended for the

intersection of the Home Depot entrance and Hwy.

54.

workshop on the site plans for Home Depot and

Wal-Mart was held before Monday's planning

commission meeting. Several complaints were

lodged by residents that the Home Depot's

trademark orange stripe across the top of the

building would be garish.

Planning

commission member Robert Ames said Home Depot

toned down the color for its Hilton Head store.

He added that local citizens are not happy with

the way the site is planned.

Ames

also questioned the reasoning behind Wal-Mart's

decision to locate in Peachtree City. He

indicated he wanted that information before the

commission made a final decision on the project.