Once upon a time, Augusta traffic engineers prepared for growth by anticipating what an area might look like in 10 to 15 years and designing roadways accordingly, but it seems that part of the process has fallen by the wayside.
When neighbors in the area of Pleasant Home Road complained about a new residential development, it appears the city cut and pasted together a report to make the residents feel better, but the report contained information that was by no means empirical, nor did it project what future growth may occur as a result of building another subdivision.
Fast forward to today. The residents of Hillcreek Subdivision, off of Wheeler Road, have sounded an alarm about a new Parker’s Kitchen convenience store and its impact on entering and exiting the neighborhood.
Not all of the residents are against Parker’s Kitchen, per se; they are more concerned that the city has continued to allow growth without providing the proper infrastructure to handle the growth.
In Columbia County, the area of Washington Road from Club Car past the government complex is filled with cars on a daily basis; and yet, traffic usually moves swiftly because government officials anticipated the growth explosion in that area and planned accordingly.
In contrast, it takes almost 15 minutes to travel on Wheeler Road from Walton Way Extension to I-20, and that is on a good day. Traffic accidents are common along that stretch of roadway.
We applaud the good folks in Hillcreek for raising their voices and bringing this matter to the forefront.
Parker’s Kitchen is not the only development planned for that area of town.
Apartment/condo developments are also on the drawing board. Naturally, the complexes will bring more traffic and more school buses into an area where it is common to see ambulances, with patients aboard, becoming choked into the traffic snarl.
The city of Augusta needs to immediately conduct a comprehensive traffic study of that area or face the downside of unchecked growth and that is residents giving up, moving to a less congested area and further lowering the already eroding tax base.
