About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2011)
P \Z-OUKJD TOuJ*J ^unU^ a pRiewD of poc/md a CHlCvCZlJ R~\JtJK>IK)C> OOUJKJ THC V^lpOLg Qp PR/AJ4E AvZEMdC CHfCKENJ Coop CAUOO TH«S THB £As* tUAVOC Ths HAQD (a/Av /t/mvV“x [HAvoCUCPS * TUB Okjv/ PPOB'-C^ IS 'THE OTV iA016»jt COw»t TAkE <T AlxJAY DAVIO WAO< AJ0OJ /W BUIL D/W6 A COOP SO IT CAQ tJi/6 iKi A^y PACK l^ARQ *0d 6AWMA1 ^AVBE >P » TREAT »*T UKE A O0& MO qUB (QILC kjQTlCE THAT ITS IkJOT 1*0U*€v Pf*J6€ZS, AiET FON Forum Highlights Neighborhood Street and Traffic Concerns Changing local streets to better accommo date pedestrians and bicyclists is an ongoing project, ACC traffic engineer Steve Decker said at a Federation of Neighborhoods forum last week. "We've made great strides," he said. "But there's a pot of money, and to do things we'd like to do, we need a bigger pot." A new crosswalk signal—just installed near The Grit on Prince Avenue—flashes highly vis ible strobe lights that drivers are very likely to see, Decker said. "If it was a perfect world," that portion of Prince would be three lanes with bike lanes, he said. BikeAthens' Amy Johnson, who also participated in the forum, said there aren't enough cars on that section to require four lanes. A move to three-lane Prince from downtown to Milledge Avenue "generated a lot of opposition" several years ago, she added, but "we've got a very differ ent mayor and commission now." Road designs have a lot to do with safety, said Katie Goodrum of BikeAthens, who just authored an illustrated "traffic calming" man ual (available at www.bikeathens.com) show ing how features like traffic circles, curves and medians can slow traffic and encourage drivers to make eye contact with pedestrians. The manual also explains how neighborhoods can request traffic-calming changes to their streets. Solar-powered radar speed signs have been a big success in ACC's neighbor hood traffic-calming program, Decker said. In Homewood Hills, the signs have reduced typi cal miles-per-hour speeds from the 40s to the 20s. One thing that doesn't work to calm traf fic, he said, is adding four-way stops. "People will run them," he said; and that's even more dangerous. In the future, said Decker, "you'll be see ing major changes on Prince," because traffic lights there are being synchronized. Data col lection and adjustments will take time, but "in the next five years, you'll see major differ ences" in traffic flow, he said. Despite losing his accident analyst to bud get cuts, Decker has been analyzing accident reports to make county streets safer. The red- light camera on Lexington Road has success fully reduced dangerous "T-bone" collisions at Cherokee Road, he said: "those crashes are almost gone," and the camera will soon be removed. Not many intersections justify red- light cameras, he said, because most don't have a lot of collisions—but Atlanta Highway at Huntington Road could be a candidate. John Huie M&C Will Consider Bridge to Connect Sandy Creek Trails A new pedestrian bridge planned for Sandy Creek Park would complete the hiking trail all the way around Lake Chapman. Crossing Sandy Creek at the take's relatively remote inlet (or crossing a portion of the lake itself near the inlet, depending on which design is chosen) the bridge would connect two existing traits into one long-planned loop trail around the lake, over five miles long. The bridge, if commissioners opt to fund it, will not be cheap. Extending the connect ing trails and building a bridge and boardwalk across the wetlands will cost $250,000, ACC commissioners were told at last week's work session, but that version of the bridge would be supported by an anonymous donor who has offered to help pay for the project to the tune of as much as $160,000. A second design (recommended by county staffers because it would be less remote and easier to monitor) would cross the lake itself at a narrow point. Such a bridge, extending for 450 feet across the water, could also be used by fishermen, Leisure Services Director Pam Reidy noted. "People love to be on the water," she said. "They love to have a destination to hike to." But bridging the lake would cost $350,000—and the anonymous donor doesn't like that plan and won't support it, ACC Manager Alan Reddish told commissioners. The donor wants to create "a more educational opportunity rather than a recreational oppor tunity" for park visitors, Reddish said, through public access to the wetlands. But "there is not a real uniqueness to these wetlands," Reddish said; county parks have others. Reidy added that a 2001 environmental report by UGA's College of Agriculture also suggested building the bridge over the lake instead. Longtime local trail activist Walt Cook told Flagpole he isn't the anonymous donor—but he, too, prefers the wetlands path. "It'd be a longer loop," he said, and a mere interesting landscape. "The beaver have taken over that country out there, and they've pretty well managed it, so to speak." Commissioners made no decision last week on where (or whether) to build the bridge, but a couple of commissioners noted that $160,000 is a "significant" donation to lose. The bridge could be finished by 2014. Also moving forward (but slowly): plans for multi-use greenway trails along the Middle Oconee River (which currently has no public trails). That river runs from near Bear Creek Reservoir, roughly paralleling Tallassee Road pas Ben Burton Park and the State Botanical Garden before merging with the North Oconee. At present, the county does not own much land along that river—nor does it have money to buy any. But planning comes first, then funding, then negotiations with landowners (commissioners have never used imminent domain to acquire land for trails, although legally they could). The type and location of future trails depends on all those factors, plus topography, trail planner Mel Cochran told Flagpole. Will there be a "blue trail" for river pad- dlers? "That's something we're definitely look ing at," she said. John Huie Downtown Panhandlers Not a Reflection of Homeless Situation Services for the homeless in Athens are set to get a major boost as part of the University of Georgia's takeover of the former Navy Supply Corps School on Prince Avenue. To satisfy federal law requiring that the homeless benefit from land or money yielded from decommissioned military bases, UGA will pay $7.9 million to the Athens Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH), a coalition of local nonprofits. Their new facilities on North Avenue, which open in 2013, should greatly improve services for those who have experienced homelessness, although symptoms of homelessness most readily perceived by the public—like panhandlers downtown—are likely to be difficult to change. The new homeless resource center will address a major service gap by co-locating programs, says Meredith Williams, executive director of the Athens Area Homeless Shelter. Shelter clients now often spend much of their time traveling between far-flung locations that separately offer food, shelter, job training, childcare, or health care. The North Avenue development will include transitional homes for 25 families, a daycare, and a home for young adults coming from foster care. A resource center will offer laundry and showers, health care, counseling, job train ing, case management, and other services. Existing nearby resources include the county Department of Family and Child Services, the state Department of Labor, the Boys and Girls Club, Howard B. Stroud Elementary School, and bus stops. For many, the most visible symptom of homelessness in Athens is downtown panhan dling. Will the new facilities have any effect on this? More importantly, do panhandlers truly represent the reality of homelessness in Athens? Williams explains that a large proportion of cases she sees involve family homelessness, and that this is ofte.i hidden: families are more likely to be living in cars or doubled with other families than to be visible on city streets. Many ARCH programs are also targeted towards individuals who are seeking stable housing and employment— those who will be more likely to transition to self-sufficiency after receiving support, for a more lasting effect—not to panhandlers. The existing JobTREC education and employment program, for example, focuses on supporting clients who are actively seeking work. The new transitional housing will serve families who have successfully completed a short-term program at a local homeless shelter and are on track to reach independence after a period of additional support. Kathryn Lookofsky, director of the Athens Downtown Development Authority, sees pan handling as a serious problem for the local shopping environment, given customer and shop owner complaints—but she perceives that many panhandlers downtown are in fact not homeless. Many appear to have been there for years and are looking for "a fix," rather than help in overcoming larger issues. The . ADDA tries to encourage shoppers to give to ser vice organizations, not to panhandlers. Williams says she can't be sure about any impact on downtown begging from the new ARCH facilities. It seems likely that a "one-stop shop" to meet basic needs will attract some panhandlers away from downtown at times, but resources to encour age lasting independence will be concentrated on those who are less visible and more moti vated to change their circumstances. Either way, the presence of panhandlers or visibly indigent people downtown is a complex issue. They are attracted to down town for the same reasons everyone is—to be around people and activity, to use ameni ties like banks and shops, and to interact with people. Compared to many other cities, Athens' panhandler "situation" is mild. Yet, it serves to inform the public's perception, or misconception, of homelessness. Urban public spaces play an essential educational role in exposing people from different walks of life to each other, but they do not always provide a complete picture. Although it may be less immediately obvious on the streets, the new funding should help more homeless individu als and families become stable, self-sufficient members of the community. Katie Goodrum The presence of panhandlers or visibly indigent people downtown is a complex issue. JULY 20, 2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 5
