Newspaper Page Text
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Proposals for Master
Plan Await Funding,
Final Commitment
"What do we want downtown to be?" asks
Athens Downtown Development Authority
director Kathryn Lookofsky. Almost any deci
sions about downtown Athens can be contro
versial, she says. "We're not going to come
up with a plan that makes everybody happy.
That's just not possible." But downtown still
needs a master plan to guide future develop
ment, she says; and that plan should come
out of a public discussion of "dreams, goals,
hopes" for downtown.
To that end, the Athens Downtown
Development Authority proposes to hire a
consultant to conduct a public "visioning"
process, then draw up a master plan based
on the results. Last year, the ADDA put out
a request for proposals, and the results are
in: 40 different consultants offered propos
als for conducting the visioning process
(costing somewhere in the neighborhood of
$100,000, Lookofsky said), and for drawing up
a downtown master plan based on the results
(another $200,000 or so). The visioning phase
would involve gathering input on community
concerns from various downtown stakeholders,
with the actual master planning phase being
undertaken by the selected firm's professional
designers, based on that vision.
Such master plans have been drawn up
for redevelopment of numerous U.S. cit
ies, or parts of cities, including Atlanta and
Savannah. The proposals by consulting firms
for Athens (remarkably alike in some cases)
typically would conduct traffic and marketing
studies for downtown, make suggestions on
land uses, likely retailers, and expansion,
"wayfinding" for visitors, traffic calming, land
scaping, and public art. An ADDA committee
has ranked the proposals, Lookofsky says, but
the organization's board so far has not com
mitted to fund any.
Money, in fact, has been a primary
obstacle to moving forward with the master
planning process. Considering the strapped
budgets of interested parties—such as the
ACC government, the ADDA, the Chamber of
Commerce, and the Downtown Athens Business
Association—some creativity in identifying
potential funding sources may be required.
ACC Commissioner Kelly Girtz suggests that
one possible source could be downtown park
ing revenues. Whatever scheme the mayor
and commission finally agreed upon for deck
and metered parking rates downtown will be
designed to raise more revenue than is needed
to pay the debt for the under-construction
deck at Washington and Lumpkin streets,
he says, and "that could be a piece of what
finances the master plan." Girtz is also look
ing into whether SPLOST 2005 collections for
business corridor improvements could legally
be used.
What might such a plan eventually look like
look like? "Everybody has different opinions,
and that's not a bad thing," Lookofsky says.
"There's a lot of people that complain every
time we shut down College Square, and then
there's a whole lot of other people that think
we should never open it. There's opinions on
both sides of everything." But it's a discus
sion the community needs to have, she says.
"I would like to come up with a plan that the
community can get behind."
John Huie
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UGA Department of Theatre a Film Studies (Maymester production of
Taming Of the Shrew—tune 6 & 8 in the Cellar Theatre in Fine
Arts Building at the corner of Lumpkin and Baldwin at 8 PM: June 7 at the
Founder’s Garden at U6A lust off Lumpkin Street at 6 PM—open to picnics,
chairs, blankets, small tables, no pets or alcoholic beverages) $5.00 cash or
check only.
Rose of Athens Theatre (AS YOU IRtO It - "Shakespeare on the Lawn”—
lone 8-12 Ashford Manor Bed a Breakfast in Watkinswfllel (tickets online
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Town and Gown Players (Twelfth Night—June 10-12 a 16-19 at
Community Playhouse on Grady Avenne in AthensHcontact www.
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Talkbacks: Alter every Rose of Athens performance with Usa Cesnik and
Jane 8 a 9 te include Dr. Fran Teague: and before the TaG performance at 7.-00
pm on Thursday, June 16 with Dr. Fran Teagne. Usa Cesnik and Ray Paalino.
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JUNE 1,2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 5
