CUMMING — In the culmination of a years-long push by residents, the Forsyth County commission on Tuesday approved a traffic signal for the Market Place Boulevard-Turner Road crossing.

The decision was made as a direction from commissioners and went against the recommendation of the county’s engineering department.

Citing the August 2014 opening of Costco on nearby Bald Ridge Marina Road, District 5 Commissioner Jim Boff made the motion to approve the light.

“I drive this frequently. Not every day, but there’s no doubt in my mind that there’s more traffic,” said Boff, whose district includes the area.

The stretch of Market Place Boulevard between Buford Dam and Bald Ridge Marina roads opened in fall 2008.

Turner runs southwest from Bald Ridge, across Market Place and down to Lake Lanier. Motorists coming from either direction on Turner must pull past the stop signs at Market Place to see past guardrails and check oncoming traffic.

The speed limit on Market Place is 45 mph, though residents have said for years that motorists regularly top that. The crossing is also at the crest of a hill.

Shortly after it opened, county officials said a study of the intersection as part of the road design had determined a signal or four-way stop was not needed.

A timeline for installing the traffic signal was not immediately clear. The vote to approve it, which was 5-0 in favor, came about after officials reviewed a separate plan that would have made the portion of Turner Road between Bald Ridge and Market Place a right turn in and out.

That plan was aimed at reducing “competing moves” from those using the road as a cut through and was put in place following a review by T.Y. Lin of the original plans made fellow engineering firm Moreland Altobelli.

Tim Allen, the county’s assistant director of engineering, said the department favored the original plan, as it would be less expensive and a light was not warranted from an engineering standpoint.

According to Allen, the light will cost the county about $100,000, while the original plan would have totaled between $15,000 and $20,000.

Several residents living on the east side of Turner Road, including Bob Jaison, attended the meeting.

Last summer, Jaison asked commissioners to look at the intersection. After measuring the road with his son, he said the issue appeared to be line of sight, which was not recalculated during the review.