Golfview Drive is the only

collector road to parts of north Peachtree City. The obstacles in place

and the reduced speed limit increase response times of emergency services

to this northern area. At the April 18 City Council meeting, Fire Chief

Stony Lohr told council it was 0.8 mile from Station 82 on Peachtree Parkway

to the intersection of Flat Creek and Golfview, then another 0.6 mile

on Golfview to Bluesmoke. At that point, the fire department was getting

close to the 1.5-mile limit. (According to Chief Lohr, this is the point

where you reach a 5-minute response time, under normal traffic conditions.)

He continued that a large part

of the area was already at the outer limit and that seconds meant lives.

There were more senior citizens in the area, which meant a higher density

of medical calls. He said he was just asking people to consider the advantages

and disadvantages of the speed-calming devices.

Unfortunately, this testimony

fell on deaf ears. Emergency response times to those of us living north

of Golfview mattered not one whit to those present. Personally, I'm NOT

willing to wait longer for help when it's needed because of the malcontents

on Golfview. I doubt if my neighbors are either.

On a daily basis, our only

other choice for getting into town is to travel through the heavily used

intersection of Ga. highways 54-74. So much for easing traffic at the

most dangerous intersection in the county.

The 20 mph speed limit is completely

unreasonable. It's lower than what we consider reasonable for a school

zone! If the 30 mph speed limit was not being followed, why weren't the

police called in to enforce the limit? I think it's because reducing

traffic is the residents' goal, not just slowing the traffic. Coupled

with the series of speed bumps, traffic is slowed to 10 mph.

The speed bumps are not like

anything we've ever seen used on a public street. They are 5 to 6 feet

wide and well over a foot tall. (They were raised higher than the initial

14 inches when they were extended across the whole road). Not only that,

they're set in pairs, so the ride, even at 10 mph, about the maximum you

can go over them, feels like a ride at Six Flags.

Fire Chief Lohr tested the

initial speed bump by lying on a gurney in the back of an ambulance that

was traveling at the 20 mph speed limit. The bump bounced him off the

gurney by 2 inches! Not something you'd want to do to a patient!

Some Golfview residents have

complained that they're afraid to check their mailboxes. Of course, if

they were willing to help themselves, they could turn their boxes sideways

to the street or buy boxes with front and rear doors. Unfortunately, not

any have done a thing to help themselves other than whine to the city

for a quick fix.

The only long-term solution

to speed and blind driveways on Golfview is to flatten out the hill. This

will be inconvenient for the residents, more expensive for all of us,

but will solve the problem without endangering the rest of us.

I'll continue to use Golfview

Drive. I'll also think twice about voting again for any of the office

holders who approved this idiocy. They are Mayor Steve Brown, Steve Rapson,

Annie McMenamin, Dan Tennant, and Murray Weed.

Susan Stromvall

Peachtree City