A few days later some concerned

citizens and I were invited to a meeting at City Hall that was held on

June 26, 2001. The e-mailed invitation stated, "City staff has asked

Mr. Ellis (traffic consultant) to report on the methodology used in the

intersection counts and model update (for the Ga. Highway 54 traffic model),

to provide a reasoned defense of both and explanation of the results."

It was pretty clear to me that

this meeting was going to be an explanation on how the big box retail

stores just barely passed the traffic model again. As you read in the

newspapers last week, my assumption was correct.

We asked Mr. Ellis if the traffic

counts were flawed and he said yes. He then stated that there was a 10

percent margin of error on the counts. Only two of the intersections had

been counted by mechanical means.

It is very important to remember

that computer models are full of assumptions. URS Corp. plugged the assumptions

into the computer for the city. URS Corp. also did the traffic study for

The Avenue development, so they are playing on both sides of the fence.

There is a specific designation

that is plugged in for a gas station, a Home Depot, a restaurant, but

there is no model classification for something like The Avenue. The Avenue

is a new concept and does not fit into any of the existing categories

so URS Corp. literally had to guess on outcomes for that development.

I questioned Mr. Ellis on why

he issued a 30 percent "pass-by" rating for The Avenue. This

means that he believed that 30 percent of the patrons at the development

were merely stopping by to shop on their way to somewhere else. Several

us at the meeting thought that the figure was much too high. If you add

the 30 percent to the 10 percent margin of error, you have up to 40 percent

of the automobiles discounted from the model in relation to that project.

Later, I began questioning anyone that would speak to me to see if they

left their homes just to go shopping at The Avenue. Everyone I spoke to

said it was his or her destination. Would an additional 40 percent ruin

Wal-Mart's chances?

I never liked the fact that

URS Corp. makes a great deal of money from doing traffic studies for big

box store developers around the country and now they have to be objective

all of a sudden. However, there is nothing that can be done at this point

without a large funding source to pay for an independent study.

Traffic is actually number

three on my list on why big boxes hurt the community. Crime is the first.

Everyone who has read the Jan. 7, 2001, transcript of "60 Minutes"

on crime and cover-up at Wal-Mart stores knows what I am talking about.

The whole process with the

Traffic Impact Ordinance, our attorney making deals with their attorney,

the assumptions within the computer model, flawed traffic counts and margins

of error reveals an acute deficiency in objective reality.

The city neglected to devise

long-range plans on how to handle further development and yet still maintain

the charm of Peachtree City. However, even with the forward thinking of

the big box ordinance, we still fell prey to Mayor Lenox granting exemptions

to all the big box development sites.

The elections in November 2001

will determine our city's direction for the future. Please register to

vote, study the issues and ask questions of the candidates.

Steve Brown

Peachtree City

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