Peachtree City

is looking for planning firms to take on its ARC-funded study of transportation

issues in the northwestern area of the city.

The study,

which will focus on the commercial and residential development in the

area, will be funded by a $17,000 grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission

and over $4,000 in city funds. The information gathered will be used to

prepare a plan "to tie all that together," city planner David

Rast said at Monday's meeting of the Planning Commission.

The Livable

Centers Initiative study will look at the use of sidewalks, multi-use

paths, landscaping and other ways to encourage people not to use their

cars to get around in the area, Rast said.

The LCI study

has been delayed until recently because of the West Village annexation

issue, which could have dramatically altered the development of the area,

Rast said. Now the process is at full speed with hopes the study can be

completed by Dec. 31, he added.

The idea is

for the resulting plan to be considered for federal funding, Rast said,

especially since needed improvements to hook up the multi-use path to

the area are expensive.

"You're

looking at two tunnels underneath Highway 54 that will cost between $600,000

and $800,000," Rast said. "And a bridge over the railroad tracks

will cost several hundred thousand dollars, although we have applied for

funds for that."

New Planning

Commission member Dennis Payton expressed concern that the federal government

could use those funds to tell Peachtree City how to make those improvements.

But Rast said the grant is aimed at having local communities come up with

their own ideas to solve transportation problems.

Jim Williams,

the city's director of developmental services, said the potential location

of a commuter rail station in Peachtree City should be included in the

plan developed in the study. The location of such a project in Peachtree

City is not definite, Williams said, although a priority of the state

is to develop a line between Senoia and Atlanta.

"I don't

think that decision has been made yet," Williams said.

The study also

will involve compiling a group of citizens to assist with the plan being

prepared.