In the view

of many Golf View Drive residents, the Peachtree City street has become

a race track.

A group of

citizens, mostly from Golf View, gave the City Council an earful at council's

retreat Friday, saying they wanted the city to do something to slow traffic

down. One man claimed his wife has had to dive out of the way of oncoming

cars several times while she worked in the yard.

The comments

came after City Engineer Troy Besseche explained a proposal to study Golf

View and 13 other streets in the city to determine if they could benefit

from traffic calming measures as simple as a raised crosswalk or as radical

as speed humps, which are longer than speed bumps. The idea is to slow

down traffic, reduce cut-through traffic, enhance pedestrian safety and

discourage truck traffic, Besseche said.

The study would

examine the total volume of traffic on a given street in addition to the

speed of those vehicles, Besseche noted.

Once a proposed

solution is found for a given street, the city would require approval

from 67 percent of the affected residents before the solution is implemented.

If the proposal

is approved, the city would use a formula to determine how drastic a traffic

calming measure is needed. A raised crosswalk is the least expensive option,

at $1,500. The most radical of changes, the creation of a roundabout at

a given intersection, would range from $50,000 to $250,000.

Speed humps,

which are between 12 and 15 feet long, cost between $2,500 and $5,000.

But Fire Chief Stony Lohr is concerned that they might compromise patient

care in ambulances and possibly endanger emergency personnel. Lohr also

told council that he is worried about wear and tear on emergency vehicles.

Lohr pointed

out there have been no pedestrian-related auto accidents on any of the

streets which would be studied under the proposal from Besseche.

The chief also

said that traffic calming measures could slow emergency response to those

areas, which accounted for 25 percent of the Fire Department's calls over

the past two years.

The trouble

with using any traffic calming measure is that the Georgia Department

of Transportation may decide that street is no longer eligible for maintenance

funds under the Local Assistance Road Program, Besseche noted.

Peachtree City

Police Chief James Murray said speed enforcement by police officers is

difficult in some areas largely due to the state's constraints on the

city's radar permits and a lack of a safe area for police officers to

park their patrol vehicles.

Murray also

noted that speeding tickets do little to solve problem speeding areas.

Approximately 80 percent of the people receiving speeding tickets also

live in that very neighborhood, he explained.

Of the 2,298

speeding tickets given last year, approximately 52 percent were for violations

of 18 miles and hour or more beyond the posted speed limit, Murray said.

The Police

Department places a priority on enforcing speed limits in school zones

to protect the safety of children, Murray said, noting that approximately

30 percent of the tickets issued are for speeding in school zones.