1736 Magazine - Fall 2018

PHOTOS BY COOPER CARRY
of Augusta, keeping the living room clean and
looking its best can be complicated. Imagine all
the resources necessary, for example, to plant
pansies or fix a broken fountain. Such tasks run
across a spectrum of city departments and require
dutiful engagement at multiple levels to
ensure there are ample resources to do those
jobs, and to do them well.
Creating a cohesive downtown image is so
vital to economic growth that the chamber’s
local policy agenda, established in 2017, provided
several suggestions on how to manage this
process more efficiently and effectively. Its first
recommendation was to consolidate the responsibility
of downtown beautification, maintenance
and cleanliness into a dedicated department with
clear accountability and a consistent, dedicated
funding source.
Downtown beautification and maintenance
is a money issue and an execution issue. Both
challenges, however, can be overcome if leaders
recognize downtown as the regional economic
engine that it is.
The policy agenda’s second recommendation
was for the city to adopt a basic set of standards
for plans, methods and materials to ensure quality
and consistency. In other words, a playbook
to serve as a guide for how downtown infrastructure,
including its flora, is maintained.
Such a guide would take the guesswork out
of what color brick pavers should be used on
sidewalks, or the best seasonal flowers to adorn
Broad Street. Think of the cost savings achieved
by outlining a simple set of smart and “green”
choices?
The agenda’s third recommendation is to
leverage pending Transportation Investment
Act-funded projects to create attractive and
low-maintenance infrastructure in downtown
Augusta. We all know it to be true, unfortunately,
that building something is often the easy part.
The hard part is marshalling the resources to
maintain what is built.
But many of the TIA project concepts, especially
those on Broad Street, are engineered with
cost savings in mind. Money-saving ideas include
raised boardwalks over vegetation to better
manage stormwater runoff, and year-round
raised platforms in medians that can double as
stages during events such as Arts in the Heart.
Augusta’s central business district serves as a
destination for visitors seeking entertainment,
culture and recreation. It also is a magnet for
residents seeking work, education and unique
communal environments.
Most important, a successful and vibrant urban
core will present Augusta a community that
is progressive and earnest in its commitment to
drive economic development through the entire
city.
Let’s get busy on identifying and solving the
most basic priorities that will further accelerate
our recipe for success. •
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