By SAVANNAH ROGERS
Staff Writer

Flashing traffic lights along Ga. Highway 54 where regular lights are expected have frustrated some drivers in recent weeks.

But the signals have not been reprogrammed to flash during certain hours of the day instead of cycling through red, green and yellow, say city officials.

"In some big cities, the lights are programmed to switch to blinking on Saturdays and Sundays at midnight," said Police Chief Jim Murray, "but I don't know of any lights that go to blinking automatically in Peachtree City."

Traffic signals in front of the Peachtree Crossings East shopping center and at Walt Banks Road have recently been seen flashing.

The flashing lights are most likely a result of power fluctuations or outages, according to Troy Besseche, assistant city engineer.

When new signals are installed, like recently at Huddleston Road, Cooper Circle and Paschall Road, they are programmed temporarily to flash, warning drivers that a new stop light will soon be a part of their commute.

Since all of the city's traffic lights are on state highways, the timing is programmed by state Department of Transportation engineers. The DOT's local signal technician in Griffin, Ga., responds to reports of outages and flashing lights usually within 30 minutes to an hour.

In rare instances where a large storm causes major power outages and completely knocks power out to a signal, Murray said a city police officer temporarily directs traffic through the intersection. Then portable stop signs are brought out and the intersection becomes a four-way stop.