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CITY PACES
continued from page 5
primary results and have begun work to
ensure a victory in November with a cam
paign that will continue to focus on personal
contact with voters. I will continue to go
door to door and to conduct town hall meet
ings so that I can hear from the people of the
community and listen carefully to where
they want us to go in the next legislative ses
sion. At the same time, we will keep our eyes
on the future and the pocketbook issues
which affect everyone: affordable health
care, education, conservation of nat
ural resources, and promoting eco
nomic development.”
Haines moves on to face
Republican Oconee County
businessman Jim Ivey in
November.
In other races, ACC District 2
Commissioner Harry Sims defeated
challenger Sergio Sandoval, and in the
Republican primary. 11th District U.S.
Representative John Linder easily beat Vince
Littman. (BA)
“MURMUR TRESTLE”
SPARED, FOR NOW
On July 20, following a swell of public
protest, Athens-Clarke County Mayor Doc
Eldridge authorized a 90-day option to pur
chase v'hat’s left of the CSX railroad trestle
that stretches over Dudley Park and Trail
Creek—the one featured on the back cover
of R.E.M.’s Murmur. The county will pay CSX
Transportations demolition contractor. Bill’s
Demolition of Athens. Ohio. $5,000 to leave
the structure as is while the county assesses
it for future use.
But it was too little, too late for the other
three historic trestles, which had already
been destroyed by the time the county took
action.
In an executive session on July 5—after
dismantling had begun—the Athens-Clarke
County Commission decided, with no public
input, not to pursue the purchase of the ’res-
tles. clearing the way lor demolition to con
tinue. (See City Pages, July 19 at
flagpole.com.)
Citizens were shocked to see the trestles
coming down, and protest came in to the
Mayor's office from R.E.M. fans around the
world. Since the destruction began. Mayor
Eldridge and the Commission have blamed
ACC Manager Al Crace’s office, which claims
it was caught off guard by the railroad’s
action like everyone else.
A CSX representative has said the county
knew what was going to happen and had
ample opportunity to stop it. On July 14,
Commissioner John Barrow told Flagpole he
was not aware of anyone in the ACC govern
ment who “thought of the trestle as being
anything other than an obstruction" to a
planned bike multi-use path along the cor
ridor.
An unsigned, undated impact assessment
of the CSX line on city planning says access
to Dudley Park “would be improved over
» the long run due to the fact that some of
the trestles restricting access to the
park could be removed.” A hand
written note in the margins reads:
Would CSX remove the trestles?”
At a July 18 agenda setting
session, citizens chastised the
Mayor and Commission for
JffiGES keeping them in the dark.
“You don’t like surprises. I
don't like surprises either," said Carl
Jordan, likening the lack of communica
tion concerning the trestles to complaints
about Crace from Mayor Eldridge and some
of the Commissioners. Jordan said he was
“confounded” by the fact that the
Commission decided against buying the tres
tles in an executive session. The trestles are
landmarks, Jordan said, like the double-bar
reled cannon.
“How many of you have walked it?"
Jordan asked. “How many of you know what
an asset this is?"
“You have an opportunity tonight to save
a structure that future geneiations will see,
probably on an R.E.M. album cover, and
think ‘Why in the world didn’t they keep
those things?’" said Athens resident Paul
Quick. Quick called the trestle debate a
“quality of life issue.”
Alternative transportation advocates
have long held that the trestles would pro
vide an efficient, inexpensive way to move
bicycle and pedestrian traffic from the
Eastside into downtown, reducing auto con
gestion on Lexington Road.
In addition to being an important part of
the CSX right of way—which the county
plans to purchase—“these structures are
beautiful," said Krysia Haag (of BikeAthens)
at the July 18 meeting. “They are a part of
our history.”
The Commission announced that night
that it would ask CSX to delay demolition,
but almost 36 hours passed before Mayor
Eldridge authorized the option to purchase.
In that time, the North Oconee trestle, con
sidered by many local residents to be the
crown jewel of the four, was toppled. The
Dudley Park trestle had already been
stripped of its tracks and ties, and its bridge
over Poplar Street was razed almost two
weeks earlier. (BA)
The stay of execution came too late to save this historic trestle, which could have carried bikers and hikers.
Thank You
•
_
HAINES
for
State SENATE
I want to thank all of you who supported me in the
Democratic primary for State Senate: the many
invaluable volunteers; supporters who helped get my
message out to friends, neighbors and colleagues; and
voters who have confidence in my vision, fresh ideas and
experience on issues that are critical for our state. We
created a healthy forum about the needs of our district
and our state, and this enhances our democratic process.
I thank all of you.
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