Parks, Paths and Pedestrians Walkways--Oh, My! in Downtown Athens!

Here are a few Big Ideas which Jack Crowley says are emerging as likely keepers in the developing Downtown Master Plan:

*A park around Athens City Hall instead of a parking lot. A family friendly park, in fact, with a spray fountain and some shade. And maybe a bathroom.

*Newton Street between the Bottleworks and the Grit will be closed. There will be tables outside for outdoor dining, and Meigs Street will be one way, heading toward downtown.

*There will be a round-about where Thomas and Dougherty meet. On Dougherty and Thomas, the sidewalks will be placed behind lines of trees. The east side of Jackson Street will have a linear park running to the Lyndon House and Lay Park.

*There will be a pedestrian walkway between Thomas and Foundry streets.

*The Murmur trestle will be restored, becoming part of the Firefly Trail and giving people on the Eastside of town a flat, safe way to commute into downtown and the university. A bridge across Oak/Oconee Street near Mama's Boy will connect thousands of apartments on the former site of the Boys and Girls Club with the trestle as well.

*A Tax Allocation District, or TAD, will be established in the part of downtown near the river and will help finance public improvements along the river.

Stay tuned. There will likely be a public meeting in April on the master plan. All of these ideas will be vetted, refined, changed, improved and either tossed or included.

Subscribe to the Athens Patch Newsletter, like us on Facebook,  follow Athens Patch on Twitter