Opportunity Knocking - Now that we have it, what do we do with it?

According to Dunwoody Patch, the PVC purchase is now a done deal.  Right or wrong, whatever the reason was, we the City now own it.

Now what?

Everyone and their dog has an opinion about what should be done with this property, usually centered around their own personal priorities.  That's normal.  However the City can't use an individual's single perspective in this kind of decision.

My opinion is it should be used for some facility that we do not already have, and can be created on a reasonable budget.  (I'm leaving the definition of "reasonable" to whichever CPA is holding the City's pursestrings.)  The City should also not compete with the private sector.  The latter pays taxes - don't drive them out of business. 

We already have tennis courts, baseball/softball fields, youth soccer fields, a nature center, community garden, greenhouse, playgrounds, and nature trails.  These already exist in other parks, and private facilities like church campuses.   Some of them are very underutilized.  Paying for something twice isn't a good use of tax money, by any standard. 

There are two things that Dunwoody doesn't have:
1)  A freestanding municipal center for our government
2)  A multiuse football/soccer/track field for Dunwoody cluster schools.

The first idea is not original - it has been bandied about ever since the first news broke about this land deal.  There's nothing wrong with renting space temporarily.  Dunwoody only had a few months to get its feet under it and start operations and leasing a space was the only option feasible for that timeframe.   But for the long haul, leasing can be more trouble than its worth.  Buildings get sold, landlords go bankrupt, mortgages go into foreclosure.  Time to start thinking about developing a municipal space wholly owned by the city that doesn't exist according to outside real estate machinations. 

There's been a lot of chatter about "what to do with Georgetown" as in, how should it be developed, improved, etc.  The general opinion I've heard is that it just "isn't a nice area".  I haven't seen any crime statistics but when I go down there for a bottle of milk or baby formula at some obscene hour because I didnt' get to it during the day, I don't feel unsafe.  Sure, the shopping center is an older building, that doesn't make it "bad" or blighted.  But if there are concerns about public safety, try putting your police precinct smack dab in the middle of the development.  Any remaining do-bads will scatter like roaches in daylight. 

The idea for the second option came from the last DHA public meeting where a gentleman representing DHS girls' lacrosse appeared with two ladies from the team requesting financial support to refurbish a field on Peachtree MS' property for practice.  My head has nearly exploded more than once from the twisted logic that is DCSS so I don't try to make sense of it.  There's good and bad news here.  The good news is that the kids team members at DHS are willing to put in the sweat equity to earn their money and pay for what they need, even going so far as to rebuild a field in a flood plain that DCSS owns.  They'll do what it takes to provide for themselves.  The bad news is the same 'ole story:  DCSS isn't going to provide facilities for Dunwoody, they don't give a damn about the increasing student population on the north side of the County, and maintaining the status quo in Stone Mountain is Priority One. 

There's nothing stopping the City from creating a sports complex with scholastic sports in mind.  Dunwoody HS doesn't have a home stadium - even for this Yankee that's ridiculous, moreso in the heart of SEC country.  The girls' lacrosse team is willing to rebuild a flood plain because North DeKalb Stadium is too booked for any additional teams to use.  Add to that boys' lacrosse, football, soccer, track & field, and you have one very busy athletic calendar. 

A municipal sports complex geared toward scholastic athletics would provide teams from high school (and middle school, if necessary) the space to get practice and workouts in and a place to call "home field".  The PVC farm has easy access to Peachtree and DHS, as well as 285.  There's room for parking, and even access to MARTA.  Bring in private vendors to manage concessions and maintenance, so you create jobs - hopefully for Dunwoody-area firms. 

If DCSS should want to use the field for official season games, they would be able to negotiate a reasonable fee.  (Clarification:  this does not mean that DCSS would have priority over a Dunwoody stadium or even that they would have any rights to it at all.  This does mean that if a regular game between Dunwoody and another DCSS school were to take place in this hypothetical stadium, DCSS would have to pay up to some degree.)

Thus Dunwoody scholastic athletics would have a place to play, and room to expand.  If the "charter cluster" concept, where local authorities/boards could manage the local schools, comes to fruition, or even if Dunwoody should find itself in another county, the infrastructure is there to support the schools' athletic needs.

With all of this said, the City should never again have to ask the opening question in the title.  "So now that we have it, what do we do with it?"  Plan first, the negotiate and buy.  Not the other way around, unless someone at City Hall thinks we have money and karma enough to squander. 

You know it's election season when....

OK, kids, time to fess up:

Who contracted the robo-survey that I got at dinner time tonight regarding the Mayor's race?

Opportunity Knocking - Transportation Growing Pains

John's blog has a new article today about a severe wipeout on North Peachtree Rd this past Friday, near Kingsley Lake.

A week doesn't go by without hearing someone complain about traffic and the dangers thereof.  You have speeding everywhere, most notably on North Peachtree (commuters getting to/from 285) Tilly Mill (students at GPC) Womack Road (ditto) and on Roberts Road (commuters cutting through to 400).  Local neighborhoods (like Village Mill) have had to make modifications to keep traffic and speed down and they get very sensitive when cars start backing up or parking on their streets.  (Like when Dunwoody High was being renovated.)

Add to this the MARTA bus stop at Tilly Mill and Womack where riders heading to class jaywalk around the bus to get to the building sooner.  Right where other students may be speeding in their cars.  Someone's going to get killed there.

It's getting even more complicated:  there is now a greater push to rebuild the streets so pedestrians and bike riders can make better use of them.  However - who remembers what all the "rules of the road" are for pedestrians and bikes as well as for cars?  I'll bet money a lot of people either flat out don't know or misunderstand them.  Then you have a subset of pedestrians and bicyclists who think that because they may have the "right of way" they can defy the laws of physics by venturing out too close to an approaching car.  There's an effort to incorporate different kinds of transportation on the streets but what kind of effort is there to fully integrate them safely?

Finally, "Dunwoody" is not just the 48,000 people counted in the last Census.  During the day, the population is up around 110,000 at least.  That's people who come in to work, go to school, worship, use recreational facilities (including the JCC), socialize, and just drive through.  Any effort at preventing accidents before they happen has to include that larger community.  Dunwoody groups and blogs - including John's post above - isn't going to get out to the majority of the people who need to hear it. 

So how do we do it?

Enforcement is a big part.  I'll leave that one on Chief Grogan's desk, he understands that process better than I ever will. 

Basic PR outreach to all of our organizations - especially those that cater to a large number of regular "out of towners" like GPC - is also critical.  The City is going to have to partner with the organizations in town to get info into people's heads about staying safe on the roads.  GPC, all houses of worship, the JCC, and the CVB and Chamber of Commerce.   I'll even start you off:  "Drive Safe in Dunwoody".   If you must, drag one of the "Smart" phrases out of the branding style guide - "Smart Commute" could be reinterpreted for a campaign.  "Smart Travelling" would work too. 

Get local businesses behind a "safe roads" ad campaign and position it as a win-win for everybody.  Make it part of one of the usual fairs (Music Fest, Lemonade Days, 4th of July, Art Fest, etc etc etc) or create a new festival or fair.  I'd suggest one at GPC where there are plenty of games and opportunities to win free stuff.   The college kids will flock to it.  Bottom line, create a fun and social event designed to inform attendees about the rules of the road.  Interested businesses could offer up freebies, contests, or even merch for sale.  Imagine Sports Authority selling workout wear and sneakers.  Auto Zone showing off the latest car rims.  That bike shop in Roswell (I think it's Roswell?) displaying the latest models.  Even MARTA could try to promote its bus routes for school and work.  Even local gas stations, car washes, and auto shops could get into the act both advertising and promoting safe driving.  Since parks like Brook Run and the Nature Center see visitors from all over, how about posting signs/literature at their exits, reminding everyone using the road to use caution and know the law.

That's the "off the top of my head" approach.  Get the authoritative final word on what are the rules of the road for multiple types of vehicles and pedestrians.  Step up enforcement.  Make it a full-scale PR/Awareness campaign.  I believe it will be a lot more effective than an obscure "golden sneaker award" that the general populace doesn't care about.

(Bumped to the top - bad timing w/ 9/11. )