Changes Coming to Oakhurst Business District Streetscape (Relatively) Soon
Decatur Metro | November 21, 2013 | 2:45 pm
Decaturish reports that word from Monday’s City Commission meeting is that new sidewalks, lighting and trees should finally be added to the Oakhurst Business District in Spring or Early Summer next year, according to Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon.
Federal funding approvals have held up this process for the past seven years or so.
Map of proposed changes to the streetscape courtesy of Decaturish.
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Any word on a parking deck for Hop’N Shop.
i’m hearing the city didn’t make the kinds of concession Hop ‘n Shop wanted so they’re pulling up stakes and moving to Cobb County.
i am disappoint,
So NOW the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. Is Hola! somehow involved, too?
Wait! Hop n Shop is leaving?!?
To Mr. Baskett’s comment regarding the importance of communicating to the community about this project, a great first step would be putting the plan online where people can check it out. (I dug around for quite a while at decaturga.com today and could not find it.) Along with, perhaps, a brief account of how the design came about — how the task force of residents and businesses was assembled, the public input opportunities, the rationale for the choices that were made, etc.
and, p.s. i’m really looking forward to the seeing the asterisk sculpture in Harmony Park—it says so much about the contingent nature of our existence, not only here in Oakhurst, but as a species, reminding us things aren’t always as they seem, context is everything, and objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear.
oh, wait
But the blue is so garish! So Decatur Diner!
It’s not a sculpture, it’s a fountain, and it’s meant to capture the blue-dot-in-a-red-state sensibilities of the area.
Definitions
Oakhurst: A placename that combines “oak” and “hurst”
Oak: a tree that bears acorns as fruit, and typically has lobed deciduous leaves.
Hurst: a wood or wooded rise.
Perhaps the Tree Advocates were very intentional of inserting the asterisk into the center of Oak*hurst, as they believe Oakhurst may no longer qualify as a “hurst”.
Sorry… Now I sound like of them…
Has anybody seen my chainsaw or chipper?
You guys do realize the blue asterisk actually marks the location of the big evergreen tree, right? I believe it was planted when the park was dedicated. It is cherished by many longtime denizens of Oakhurst.
I wonder if anyone knows if widened sidewalks, narrower traffic lanes, and underground utilities are part of the improvements. I second smalltowngal in being interested in how it will all look. If the construction is to happen this spring, it is unlikely that construction documents have made their way through the city using a stylized aerial as a survey. Drawings and/or renderings must exist somewhere.
I can’t remember about the utilities, but clearly remember a major objective of the project is calming traffic in and near the East Lake/Oakview intersection. So narrower traffic lanes and better accommodation for pedestrians and cyclists are all part of the plan. And in case anybody panics about eliminating the off-street parking spaces currently situated in Harmony Park, most (and maybe all, I can’t remember) are being replaced with on-street parking in the immediate vicinity.
from Decaturish:
“A regular Decaturish reader asked us this question: “Will the Oakhurst Streetscape improvements involve improvements to Harmony Park?”
Decaturish asked the city and Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon answered via email:
“The project will actually increase the overall size of Harmony Park. The off-street parking area on the south side of the park will be removed and replaced with a pedestrian plaza as part of a larger park. Parking will now be provided by angle parking on East Lake Drive in front of the Oakhurst Market and the One Step at a Time shoe store.””