Poor Growth Management

Granted there are some real problems In Henry County associated with rampant residential development. As we watch houses continue to multiply in an unregulated manner, growth seems unnatural and almost cancerous.

I recently drove near the Luella schools on Walker Drive. I was reminded of two things: a terrible accident at the intersection of Walker and SR 155; and, county plans to improve that intersection. Between the schools and SR 155, I saw the reason for safety problems on Walker Drive.

First you see Centerra Ridge (low $100s) subdivision. The houses were so packed-in you could barely see daylight between them. Then filling out the scenery along the two-lane collector road are The Manor, Summer Lake ($160s-$270s) and Morning Side ($150s). There are hundreds of houses within one mile, in a so-called low density zoning district.

The board of commissioners determined the intersection of Walker Drive and SR 155 has a severe accident history. They performed a traffic study; and, decided that signalizing and adding lanes at the intersection would reduce congestion and provide better and safer access to the schools located on Walker Drive.

The $1.4 million project will be funded by reallocation of District II funds and $100,000.00 in developer contribution. This process of fixing a dangerous intersection means six other planned road projects must be abandoned.

A $100,000 contribution from John D. McGarity, CEO of Square One Properties, was not explained in the BoC Minutes. It must have something to do with the hundreds of houses that were allowed on Walker Drive, a two-lane collector road that goes nowhere except to the Luella schools.

Nobody thought about crowded schools or traffic congestion or even dangerous roads. Nobody considered the 2030 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Or county ordinances stating R-2 subdivisions over eight acres shall have access onto an arterial road as identified in the land use plan. Nobody considered the true costs of allowing non-conforming, high density neighborhoods to buffer the school complex.

But then, neither good policy nor common sense was at work in those growth-management decisions.