With funds

cut out of Peachtree City's upcoming budget for repairs to the cart path

system, Peachtree City officials are worried how they'll fund such efforts

in the future.

After all,

the cart path system which is over 70 miles long and used by golf carts,

bikers, walkers and just about everything in between is a key feature

of the city.

Peachtree City

Mayor Steve Brown thinks he may have the answer: a referendum for voters

to approve the city borrowing money to accomplish the project. The earliest

this could be done, however, would be in the Nov. 2003 city election,

Brown added.

"I think

people will buy into it because the path is such an integral part of the

city," Brown said. "It's definitely an asset a lot of people

use."

Unfortunately,

there are some particular areas of the path system that are deteriorating

rapidly, with potholes, tree root intrusions and drainage problems, Brown

said.

The mayor proposes

developing a master plan for the cart path system to identify which areas

need work and where connections are needed to ease travel. Right now,

there are no firm estimates on how much the repair work will cost, but

since the heavy equipment used for significant repairs destroys path pavement

as it travels onto the system to do the work, it must "pave"

its way back out to do the job correctly, Brown said.

Brown said

he would like the referendum to also include several extension plans with

bridges and culverts to make the cart path system more convenient to use.

"Connections

are an integral part of the system," Brown said, noting he has had

many inquiries about how the path system will be tied into the new stores

being built in the Ga. Highway 54 West area.

Brown also

wants the paths widened to 10 feet in some areas to compensate for heavy

"traffic". Currently, the paths are seven feet wide.

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