MARIETTA - With collections from the special purpose local option sales tax that voters approved for transportation improvements in 2005 not meeting projections, the City Council on Wednesday is expected to cut back on some of its road projects.

The council is considering cutting back $4.82 million of the $62 million in transportation improvements Marietta voters expected the six-year SPLOST to generate.

Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin said when the SPLOST budget was being put together in 2004, no one could have foreseen the economic downturn that would occur.

"The $62 million that was approved, you know, you give a projected amount based on projected cash flow," Tumlin said. "Unfortunately, the cash flow looks like it's going to come in at $56 milion or $57 million."

The council is proposing to trim funding for streetscape improvements in front of the Hilton Marietta Conference Center from $1.9 million to $434,507. The plan was to put in a median and sidewalks in front of the Hilton, but reducing funding for that project by $1.5 million leaves only enough funding for such things as design plans and right-of-way acquisition, said Dan Conn, public works director.

Councilman Grif Chalfant is less than pleased to see cuts to Powder Springs Street, an area of town he has fought to revitalize.

"I'm not very happy with it," Chalfant said, citing the millions the city is spending on Roswell Street improvements. "Thirty-one million spent on Roswell Road - they didn't pull that back out."

Streetscape improvements between the Kennesaw Avenue Overpass and Reynolds Street on South Marietta Parkway are slated to be cut by $464,556. The plan is to leave about $1 million in that project for improvements to the Whitlock Avenue intersection by First United Methodist Church, where the city will install raised islands to ensure that cars turn in the proper direction, while giving pedestrians a safe place to stand while crossing the street. The intersection is also scheduled to become the first in the city that has push button traffic signal technology that speaks to assist the blind. When the button is pushed, the signal will verbally tell a pedestrian whether to wait or cross. Other cities have such signals, such as Savannah, but it will be a first for Marietta, Conn said.

Other cuts include:

* $1.6 million in streetscape improvements to parts of Fairground Street;

* $455,721 from a proposal to smooth out some of the hills on Lawrence Street to improve sight distance;

* $226,288 in sidewalks slated for Wylie Street;

Tumlin said whatever projects are cut would be rolled into a future SPLOST or some other funding mechanism.

Council will vote on the matter at its regular council meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall, 205 Lawrence St. in Marietta.