City to Present Downtown Wish List at Open House on Tuesday, March 19
The City of Sugar Hill will present an extensive wish list for its “Downtown” area on Tuesday, March 19 in the Community Room at City Hall. This will be a drop-in Open House between 5:30 and 7:30 PM rather than a formal meeting.
https://cityofsugarhill.com/events/event/downtown-streetscape-improvements-public-meeting/
The list of “streetscape improvements” seems to have originated from the Downtown Development Authority. On Tuesday, February 20, at noon, they held a Special Called meeting to discuss these items. The meeting was not announced in the News section of the City’s website beforehand. The “1 member of public” present at the meeting was not from Real Deal Sugar Hill.
Last week, Real Deal Sugar Hill submitted Open Records requests (ORRs) for “electronic copies of all the documentation the City has regarding the Downtown Streetscape Improvements discussed at the DDA Special Called meeting of February 20, and that will be presented at the March 19 Open House.”
The City responded to the request with a “comprehensive evaluation of existing parking conditions” and a PDF of the slide with the proposed items for the streetscape.
The parking evaluation from Keck & Wood, a Duluth-based civil engineering firm, is a parking space count, basic description of the spaces, and some photographs of the parking spaces available in ‘Downtown.” It was unclear why the City needed to pay a third party with advanced training to perform such a basic task instead of doing it themselves.
The slide was presented at the regular DDA meeting on February 27 and the regular City Council Meetings on March 4 and 11. The writing on the slide is so small it was impossible to read on the screen at those meetings. Real Deal Sugar Hill made images of each item on the slide, enlarged them, and cleaned them up so they are easier to read in the list below. The full, unedited slide is shown at the end of the article.
The wishlist items on the slide include:
“Branded Street Signage” consisting of special sign toppers on the street signs, according to the image shown on the slide. These are often featured in downtown Atlanta to identify the different neighborhoods.
“Updated Lighting and Utility Corridor” which would consist of replacement pavers under the streetlights and the replacement of street lighting that the City and Keck & Wood consider “outdated” for an unstated reason. The original date of installation of the pavers and lights is not stated on the slide, nor is the reason for the paver failure.
“Welcome Gateway”, consisting of “a more formalized entry closer to Downtown”. The image for that item shows a large sign spanning a roadway.
“Painted crosswalks” that would consist of murals painted on the roads. The slide says that “local artists can be invited to paint these intersections for touch-ups, updates, or seasonal variety.”
The slide does not indicate how often these murals require touch-ups or replacement due to everyday wear and tear from vehicles. It also does not mention whether these artists will donate their time or require payment.
“Public Parklet” (area for pedestrians to sit down in “surplus unused spaces”).
“Raised crosswalks”.
”Vibrant Welcome Planting” next to the existing gateway signs, which already have some planting. No word on whether the City would add to the planting or remove everything that’s already there to replace it.
“Updated Tree Wells” because the “Downtown” trees are apparently outgrowing their small wells in the sidewalk and the grates must be removed to prevent damage to the trees.
“Wayfaring Signage” with “consistent branding” to “reinforce community identity” and keep people from getting lost in “Downtown.” No word on how many people of reading age currently get lost in Sugar Hill’s small “Downtown”.
“Downtown Entry Signage” that would “be placed closer to the heart of Downtown” and “welcomes visitors while communicating to drivers that they have entered a space where they must be alert and expect pedestrians.” The slide does not indicate why drivers who are not paying attention to the actual pedestrians would pay more attention to a sign. Nor does the slide indicate if this signage would be in addition to the Soofa signs and Gateway signs we already have and the Wayfaring and Welcome Gateway signs the City wants, or a replacement for all of that.
“Rapid Flashing Beacon” to mark pedestrian crossings.
“Overhead Festoon Lighting”, or string lighting hung over roadways. No word on how many City employees it takes to screw in a lightbulb and how much you have to compensate them.
“Raised Intersection”.
“Placemaking Mural” because the City of Sugar Hill obviously either really likes murals or really likes certain people who paint murals.
Real Deal Sugar Hill submitted another ORR asking for “electronic copies of any documentation regarding costs for the projects on this Streetscapes document, including estimates provided by anyone or any internal research about what any of those things cost.“ The City said there were no documents responsive to the request. In other words, the City can’t tell us what any of this would cost, and there’s a good chance that they don’t really know.
Finally, Real Deal Sugar Hill submitted an ORR asking for “electronic copies of any kinds of needs assessments done in conjunction with the downtown streetscapes improvements the City is presenting next week, including but not limited to any pedestrian safety studies for the downtown area.” The City indicated that there were no documents responsive to this request. So, the City can’t really tell taxpayers why any of this is needed beyond their own opinions or feelings.
In the past, I have challenged the City on expenditures that had no documented needs and have been told that they were considered necessary in their personal and professional and opinions.
My professional opinion as a leading independent observer of the City government and one of the sources of the City’s funding is that a professional opinion that isn’t worth writing down in a report isn’t worth listening to.
My personal opinion is that “Downtown” is still mostly a dense housing hub that is getting more cluttered, closed-in, and “sign-y” by the month.
The government is obviously paying a lot of attention to the few people who benefit most from these projects, such as the contractors and vendors. They’re also obviously listening to business owners who don’t mind spending other people’s money on anything they “feel” might help their own bottom line. And, as always, they’re listening to their “friends” and will undoubtedly call on them to attend this meeting to give the impression that all of these things are wanted and needed badly by the general public.
But, this government is probably not hearing much from the broader public who will be expected to fund whatever it costs to implement these projects and maintain them.
THEY SHOULD.
If you’d like to weigh in on these projects, please make plans to attend the meeting on Tuesday, March 19 between 5:30 and 7:30 PM, or call/email City officials in the next few days using the official government addresses and phone numbers available from the City website.
