The council voted Monday to repeal an earlier resolution that opposed installing a traffic light on Towne Lake Parkway at the Madison Pointe at Towne Lake retail entrance near Interstate 575 and instead to give the green light to the new signal.
The council originally approved the resolution to send to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners in September 2010.
At the time the council members said they were concerned about the growth of commercial businesses in the development and the traffic patterns it would bring to Towne Lake Parkway.
City leaders also said at the time that adding another traffic light at the intersection would create more traffic jams on the already busy stretch of road.
Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques said the plans for that site have changed as a company is eying the possibility of demolishing the commercial portion of Madison Pointe to make way for a new 130,000-square-foot medical office building.
Community Development Director Richard McLeod said Hearthside Towne Lake senior living community, Walgreen’s and Pinnacle Orthopedics will all remain intact and the remaining portion of the development will be demolished to make way for the building.
Madison Retail has struggled to garner successful commercial businesses into its space.
Some restaurants that have come and gone from the location include Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Bokitas Tapas Bar and Kayson’s Bar and Grille.
The mayor noted Northside Hospital had been looking to expand in the Towne Lake area for the past few years and the city had been discussing possible locations with Northside.
The mayor added he was glad to see possible movement, as it would bring more high-quality jobs into the city.
“That’s one of the exciting parts of this,” he said.
Henriques, who said he originally led the charge against installing the traffic light, said the site plans for Madison Pointe did not match what eventually came out of the ground.
He noted the development “flopped” since it “wasn’t the right fit for that location.”
The mayor said the change from commercial to office space will ultimately change the traffic pattern coming in and out of the facility, thus not putting a strain on an additional traffic light.
Also, with the construction of the new Interstate 575 interchange at Rope Mill Road, Henriques said roughly 38 percent of the traffic on Towne Lake Parkway will instead use the new interchange.
Councilman Randy Brewer said the city should work with Cherokee County.
Council member Tessa Basford also said she agreed with rescinding the resolution.
“I think it makes very good sense,” she said.
County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens, who said the traffic light issue goes back years, added the county commission never took any action on the city’s 2010 resolution.
He added he didn’t think a traffic light there was warranted at the time.
Ahrens said he was excited about Northside’s possible plans.
“It’s a really good use for that site there, which has just really struggled from the standpoint of getting commercial,” he said.
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