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Baxter Street Improvements Show Progress

by Helena Atwater
07/25/2007

The construction near the county library is part of a plan to improve the streetscape and drainage on Baxter Street.

It compromises phase two in a four phase improvement plan that stretches along Baxter Street from Alps Road to Rocksprings Street, said Gary Grice, program management coordinator for Athens-Clarke County Central Services.

The projects total cost is around $2.7 million, Grice said. Capital funds will pay for the streetscape improvements and SPLOST will pay for the drains.

The first phase of the project, completed approximately three years ago, was done in the area where Eckerd Drugs and Bulldog Sporting Goods are located because the area was prone to standing water and severe flooding in low lying areas. Those conditions made driving dangerous and, according to the Athens-Clarke County stormwater website, the flooding caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to area property over the years.

The ACC stormwater website notes the main reason for the flooding was that the drain allowing water to pass underneath Baxter Street into Brooklyn Creek was too small. The drain was replaced and two storm water facilities added to hold extra water when it rains. In addition to the drains, pedestrian lighting, a new crosswalk, planters, and wider sidewalks were put in. The place looks "100 percent better," said David Fort, store manager for Eckerd Drugs.

Art Gorman, manager of Athens Diagnostics, another nearby business, agrees with Fort; the improvements look great, he said. Gorman also said that the improvements have made this section of Baxter Street a lot safer for the children in the area. "Cars will stop where they wouldn't stop before with the crosswalk."

Ronald Shillings, one of the owners of the Healthy Gourmet, a business located near the current construction on Baxter Street, also believes the construction will be beneficial. He said the two entrances and exits in the plaza where his shop is located are too small for two cars to go through at once, which sometimes creates a bottleneck. Construction will close one way and widen the other, he said, making "one way that's convenient and easy to access for both entrance and exit."

Program Coordinator Grice said the current area of Baxter Street undergoing construction will get most of the same enhancements as in phase one: landscaping, wider sidewalks, a better crosswalk, and drains.

The sidewalk on the corner near the entrance of the library has already been changed to improve wheelchair access and to give better pedestrian access for bus stop patrons, persons coming from the hospital, children, and others. A small circular seating area will also be built near the same corner.

Grice said construction for this phase of the project is scheduled to be completed before the first UGA football game on September 1. Workers will start at 7 a.m. each weekday and try to be done before rush hour.

The third phase of the Baxter Street project will take place in about three to five years near Alps Road. The fourth phase will be near Rocksprings Housing.

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