Corridor Study Drives Home Issues

Commercial property owners, real estate professionals, homeowners, people from small businesses and large ones and the University of Georgia. Oh, and interested Athenians who wonder how the roads may change.

Those were some of  the people attending last night’s meeting on . The road that now connects downtown with the Perimeter and beyond will soon include not only a major hospital but also a medical sciences complex on the 58 acres of the former Navy Supply Corps School.

What should Prince Avenue look like? How should it function? Should it have two lanes with a turn lane in between? Or remain at four lanes? Should the crosswalks be better delineated or eliminated altogether? Why worry about pedestrians, or about limiting the size of function buildings when you have economic interests to consider?

Should zoning put a 10,000 square foot cap on space devoted to medical use? Tim Burgess, vice president for finance at UGA, said any restrictions, especially "arbitrary restrictions," would impede the development of a comprehensive medical center and campus. Chamber of Commerce CEO Doc Eldridge, too, said he was concerned about limiting a building's footprint.

Pope Sreet resident Tony Eubanks, one of the drivers behind CAPPA (Community Approach to Planning Prince Avenue), said that economics are not the only consideration in designing Prince. Other residents spoke of the walkability of the Boulevard and Cobbham neighborhoods, saying one can increase density without having a huge footprint. Others feared that three-laning Prince would divert traffic onto side streets.

Real estate professional Don Sumner felt that transportation is the crucial issue in whether or not Prince Avenue develops successfully. At a meeting months ago, UGA planners said the university transit system will be ferrying students to the Health Sciences campus. Another audience member called for an economic analysis of the businesses on Prince.

Rachel Watkins, who works at Avid Bookshop on Prince, was the only person who spoke about pedestrian safety. She recounted how she and a group of three-year-olds from Day School were almost hit crossing the street. Traffic needs to slow down, and, perhaps, the signage and signals for crosswalks need to be improved, she said.

Athens Clarke County planner Bruce Lonee, who ran the meeting, said it seems reasonable "that your car speed would diminish as you move into town," with a different character at each major intersection, such Hawthorne, Sunset, Oglethorpe. The city controls Prince from Milledge toward town.

Lonee also said the conversation about Prince will continue, with planners taking comment from the public via email as well as at hearings. It will take at least a year of study and discussion before any types of plans are completed.

The planning department has a webpage devoted to the Prince Avenue and Oak/Oconee Street Corridors. Click here for that page, which also tells you how to comment electronically.