What Gift Would You Give Decatur This Holiday Season?
Decatur Metro | December 21, 2011 | 1:23 pm
Decatur has given us so much this year. Growlers, sharrows, street trees, new and rebuilt restaurants, Sunday sales, the second-coming of Eddie Owen.
Now it’s time to give back. What would you like to give Decatur this holiday season?
Personally, I’m thinking a giant box (sorta like this one) filled with bricks, mortar, a few stone masons and a jack-hammer that will be placed outside David Junger’s home. One chilly morning he will be awoken to the muffled sounds of the stone masons, yelling to be released from their cardboard confines.
When he runs outside to open it, he’ll be thrilled to see that he can now immediately replace all the city’s crumbling faux-brick crosswalks with the real deal.
Photo courtesy of voxtheory via Flickr
Streetcars and a Trader Joes at Suburban Plaza.
+1
Then, I really would never have to leave Decatur
I hate those faux brick crosswalks. They end up having to be replaced after a short time because they get worn down so quickly. Wouldn’t it make more long-term sense to just go with real brick in the first place?
Pedestrian Bridge or serious traffic calming at Scott & Clairemont, a grand facade street scape along Clairemont as you enter Decatur from the north side all the way to Downtown with bicycle lanes.
Open the Gazebo for better viewing for concerts on the Square.
adding to this thought: Demo the gazebo and build a real performance stage at the Swanton Way end of the courthouse lawn, where it should have been built, leaving an open and generous audience green space. I’d be first in line to chip in with a donation.
A cinema!
Indoor tennis courts
Yep, a cinema. 12 screens programmed by the chain that controls Midtown Art, all stacked up on top of its own parking garage, and magically planted on the square so that people could walk out of the theatre and have dinner or a drink or shop for the book the movie was based on.
+1!!!
+1. I might even trade it for Westchester reopening. What’s a safe, walkable, neighborhood, high quality school when one could have an indie theater.
An artsy indie theatre would be SO awesome!!! Where could it go?’
Where it used to be, of course. The parking lot next to Eddie’s Attic across from the courthouse. What a pity they tore down the old Decatur Theater!
I was just at the Midtown Art theatre last night. It would be SO COOL to have an indie theatre in Decatur. Where could it be located?
We have great weather most of the year. I vote for a real outside theater like in Europe.
So it would be an outside indie!
Architechturally sound, attractive pedestrian bridges over all railroad crossings in the City limits.
+1
I’m so gullible. I had no idea that those “bricks” were faux.
My personal gift: I will do better with meters. Thank you to the Decatur Business Association and the parking meter staff for putting a cute red holiday reminder instead of a ticket on my windshield when I completely forgot to put money in the meter across from Dancing Goats Coffee and Blue Elephant Bookstore. Since I’m usually only there on Sundays, I forgot that meters have to be fed on Tuesdays. Plus my kids have outgrown the thrill of putting money in the meter so I don’t have pipsqueaks reminding me anymore. The panic of seeing a rectangle on my windshield will hopefully make me more mindful in the future.
I’d give synchronized traffic lights and I’d give two more lanes of traffic on Church Street. The way things are now I pretty much can’t turn left out of my driveway certain times of the day. Once I do (or turn right, go up, and turn around) and get down Ponce towards the railroad underpass, I notice I’m stopped at a red light while the light 100 feet in front of me is green.
As soon as Westchester reopens as a school, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge across Scott at the school. There’s always kids in the apartments and rental houses across from Westchester plus any other kids east of Scott zoned to Westchester. And regardless of what’s in Westchester, there’s the Hidden Cove Park visitors.
I’d so love for Westchester to be reopened! Then we could very easily walk the kids to school. From what I hear, the schools are crowded right now…
Real estate.
5 cents, please.
A boardwalk connecting Glenn Creek Nature Preserve with Glenlake Park.
+1
…easier parking! (and more of it.)
I actually wish for LESS surface parking in Decatur and the redevelopment of all surface lots into more productive uses (and the redevelopment of the parking islands on E Court Square and N McDonough into green spaces). Decatur already has adequate parking facilities if you are willing to walk a couple of blocks. Of course, accommodations should be made for handicapped and elderly parking.
Not having convenient surface parking in front of your destination is what makes Decatur special and the charm that makes people want to come here. It is what makes it different than a strip mall in Sandy Springs.
Otherwise, what should be done? Pave over the Square and make it surface parking. There are already thousands of spaces (FREE at night and weekends) in the Courthouse garage right on the square!
+1
An Indian restaurant. Except not, because if I could walk to Indian food, I’d be broke and weigh 500 pounds.
Everything I asked for last year and did not get.
Most of the above PLUS a new slogan.
A Walmart of course! The biggest one ever! Yessssssssssssss! Soon all your towns belong to us!
A parking variance
I would say a cinema or cinema/playhouse along the lines of Cine in Athens or the Strand in Marietta, but since numerous others have already given that hypothetical gift, I will go for something more practical (and hopefully more possible): improved pedestrian crossings. Yeah, I know Decatur is already a standout when it comes to walkability–compared to the rest of the metro anyway. But some of the wait times for walkers are horrendous, and there are intersections where crossing is dangerous. Unless I’m mistaken, only the state DOT can change signals and crosswalks, so it truly would be a “gift” to Decatur rather than something Decatur could do on its own.
Some street friendly development on Church St between Commerce and E.Ponce.
More residents in their 20s, and a movie theater.
More festivals
More dynamic and growing small companies leasing class A office space in the daytime, and pouring young office workers with disposable income into the bars and restaurants in the weekday evenings.
Now is that too much to ask from Santa?
I’ve always thought that it would be great if more local businesses (not retail) could be located in Decatur. Small businesses. It would be so awesome if that happened. We talked about that at the strategic planning focus group meetings a year or so ago.
New, softer speed humps!
All the responsible grownup things have been taken, so I’ll go with a roller skating rink.
Or an ice rink. My daughter would love that . . .
And is there a fountain anywhere around the square? Would be fun to have a big one that kids could splash around in on sweltering days, and adults could sit or lounge around. Meet me at the fountain!
Actually, the city determined that a traditional fountain was an unjustifiable waste of water (this got discussed a lot back during the severe drought a couple years ago), which is partly how we ended up with the “mist fountain” on the square (which was also shut off during the drought).
I see, certainly makes sense. Doing the right thing can be such a buzzkill sometimes!
No doubt. Nothing beats playing in a fountain on hot summer days and nights…whether you’re a kid or an adult.
I’d like five minutes of everyone being somewhat thankful for what they have before they commence to rattle off all the things that must be changed.
Understood but we asked the thankful question at Thanksgiving so…
More water fountains so I never have to be thirsty again! There should be a committee for that I think!
Only if they figure out a way to constantly disinfect them. Many kids have a bad habit of putting their mouths ON the spigot, resulting in a thriving germ colony on most public water fountains. I actually contracted mono (and passed it to my wife) from drinking from one in an elementary school. I’ve avoided them entirely since then.
Oh…I’m sure that’s how you told your wife you contracted the kissing disease.
True. Happend to me when I was in grad school @ GA State; got strep throat. I will never, ever use a public water fountain. Nver.
Last word should be “Never”.
If one is around a bunch of elementary school or college students, it’s hard to pin the exact moment of disease transmission on the water fountain. Just saying………
Mature trees lining more of our sidewalks, providing blessed shade in the summer.
The words “Trader Joe’s” removed from our lexicon permanently.
+1
+1
+1
My participation in a solar energy co-op.
Attention to the Northeast side of the city for one year. That would have saved us from WalMart!
How’s that?
Bah Humbug, Annie Scrooge! I can’t wait for the Walmart!
Police more like Andy of Mayberry, who occasionally write warnings instead of tickets, chastise kids instead of trying to search them, and wave as they drive through the neighborhood.
A bagel shop, cinema, a pool that was open until 10 pm from April until late September. And the Walmart nightmare to go away. Oh and for those annoying little tire poppers on Church to be taken up!