About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2020)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition - August 1-2, 2020 9A City presents plan for improving Park Hill corridor BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville officials are looking to the Park Hill corridor as the next focus for revitalization efforts, and after seeking public input, the city has presented a plan that calls for some improvements such as better pedestrian access, streetscaping, more park space and the repur posing of existing properties in the area. The study, which began last year, looked at an approximately 2.5- mile stretch between the Gaines ville Civic Center and Gainesville’s Atlanta Botanical Garden. It included input from interviews, a community survey and a 14-mem- ber steering committee. The southern portion of the area, which runs from the Civic Center to Enota Drive, “has really always been about community,” said Leigh Askew Elkins of the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia, which worked with the city on the project. “There are civic spaces. There are public spaces. There are spaces for commerce,” Elkins said. Traffic and pedestrian move ment were some of the most com mon concerns found in the study, Elkins said, giving the intersection of Riverside Drive and Park Hill Drive near Green’s Grocery as an example of an intersection that had drawn concern. About half of survey respondents listed traffic congestion as their main concern for the area between the Civic Center and Enota. The majority of respondents also said they thought sidewalks should be extended from Enota along Park Hill Drive and Morningside Drive toward City Park. For the south side of the Park Hill corridor, some ideas in the plan include adding a crosswalk across Oak Tree Drive and across Riverside Drive, in front of Inn Between Deli. Other suggestions are reducing curb cuts at busi nesses on Riverside Drive, adding a trailhead at the former Green Street pool site and promoting new restaurants and filling vacant spaces in the area. Another proposal is a “road diet” on Riverside Drive, which would narrow the middle turn lane from 14 feet to 10 feet, leav ing extra space for landscaping and sidewalks without having to acquire additional land. The northern portion of the corridor, which runs from Enota Drive to the botanical gardens, has several popular restaurants, as well as some under-utilized parking lots and empty shopping centers, Elkins said. While there is some public transportation in the area, improvements could still be made, she said. A survey about the northern side of the corridor found that the top request was improved transpor tation, which 18% of people said they wanted. Other top requests included parks and outdoor space, grocery stores and a health center. Some ideas for the north end included in the plan are adding a crosswalk on Park Hill Drive, increasing hours of operation for public transit, and minimizing curb cuts along Park Hill. The plan also includes some proposals for the Northlake Plaza shopping center, which houses the Family Dollar on Cleveland Highway. Excess land there could be used for greenspace or recreational opportunities. Park Hill Drive and Cleveland Highway could also get extra land scaping along the side of the road by narrowing some portions of the road. The city has also been notified that the Georgia Department of Transportation has approved a pedestrian crosswalk on Park Hill Drive near Bluefin and Fastlane Laundry, Assistant City Manager Angela Sheppard said Thursday. Sheppard said the city had been communicating with the state for about a year about the crosswalk. “If you drive this corridor, you see people crossing there a lot,” Sheppard said. “They’re crossing with their laundry baskets. They’re crossing with baby strollers.... It’s great to have a unified location that people can cross and have that little island for safety.” The presentation is available as part of the agenda packet for Thursday’s City Council work session. Fla. lawyers talk about ‘doom’ in water wars with Ga. BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Florida isn’t mincing words in the ongoing water wars with Georgia. “Denying Florida relief not only would spell doom for Apala chicola, it would set the bar so high for an equitable apportionment that it would effectively invite states to raid water as it passes through their borders,” Florida lawyers said in a brief filed Mon day, July 27, in the U.S. Supreme Court. Florida is trying to convince justices to hear its case against Georgia, alleging “overconsump tion” of water in the Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, which includes Lake Lanier in the headwaters. The Apalachicola River spills into the Gulf of Mexico, where Florida claims it has suffered eco nomic and ecological harm. Georgia, meanwhile, wants the court to accept U.S. Circuit Judge Paul J. Kelly’s recommendation that justices not grant Florida’s request for an equitable apportion ing of waters in the basin. Kelly was appointed by the Supreme Court to make a recommendation to the court on the matter. It’s been a war of words over water, as both sides have filed briefs over the past few months. Florida filed a brief in April formally asking the court to reject U.S. Circuit Judge Paul J. Kelly’s recommendation. Georgia fired back in June, say ing, “After more than six years of litigation, it is now clear that Flori da’s case was built on rhetoric and not on facts.” Allowed by the court to file addi tional briefs, Florida did so with its Monday document. In the case with Georgia, “it is clear one state is taking more than its fair share,” the state of Florida said. AARP Auto Insurance Program from AUTO INSURANCE DESIGNED FOR AARP MEMBERS $370 AVERAGE SAVINGS WHEN YOU SWITCH IF YOUR CURRENT YOU COULD INSURANCE IS: SAVE: GEICO $380 ALLSTATE $477 STATE FARM $383 TO SPEAK WITH AN AGENT AND REQUEST A FREE QUOTE CALL: 1-844-935-1656 'Savings amounts are averages based on information from The Hartford’s MRP Auto Insurance Program customers who became new policyholders between 1/1/16 and 12/31/16 and provided data regarding their savings and prior carrier. Your savings may vary. MRP and its affiliates are not insurers. Paid endorsement. 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