| EDITORIAL
South Gwinnett's
'Grand Experiment' is Underway
by
Ken Shiver,
Chairman, Evermore Community Improvement District
 Can a highway safety project of
the kind that usually hurts business be used as a catalyst for
improving business, increasing property values, enhancing the
quality of life and generally revitalizing an entire community?
Historically, the answer would
be "No," but the members of the Evermore Community Improvement
District are betting that they can beat the odds.
Four years ago, the stretch of
Hwy. 78 that runs from Snellville to the DeKalb
County line was watching a migration of retail and commercial interests to
the shiny, new developments of northern Gwinnett. Crime was
increasing, and area household incomes were not. Infrastructure was
lacking, and the county did not seemed to be focused on stopping the
erosion. Worse, the Georgia Dept. of Transportation was preparing to
remove the hated reversible lane system, which was a threat to
motorists, and replace it with a median, which was equally a threat
to area businesses, which live or die on accessibility,
That's when several of the
area's property owners decided that if they did nothing, the future
was pretty predictable, and the picture was anything but pretty.
They launched a strong recruiting campaign, made their case
successfully, and in May, 2003 the Highway 78 CID (since
re-christened the Evermore CID) was a reality, with its members
voluntarily increasing their property taxes by 5 mils to fund the
CID's efforts.
With last Friday's official
ceremony "cutting the cord" to drop the reversible lane system, we
are at the start of construction. But what makes us think anything
will be different from what we were facing four years ago?
Because our CID has been very
successful in garnering support for change, and finding the funding
to help make those changes happen.
Almost from the outset, we have
funded increased police patrols in the corridor and contracted to
have the shoulders cleaned of litter and mowed regularly. The
positive effects were noticed immediately.
Another factor is that the
highway project is much different now than originally planned. With
GDOT's cooperation, many revisions to preserve access have been
made. With funding from a variety of sources, the CID is working to
provide inter-parcel access and even parallel access roads,
preserving mobility for businesses and residents alike.
And this will be no typical
median. Where wide enough, it will be planted. Both shoulders will
be landscaped, with extra attention paid to key "node"
intersections. Add sidewalks, street furniture, decorative mast arms
for traffic signals and street lights and internally lit street
signs, and you get a very appealing picture. Add a state-of-the-art
Intelligent Traffic System to keep traffic moving in a coordinated
fashion, and the picture is nicer still.
Given that our CID is not
limited to influencing highway projects, but can continue to work in
the areas of public safety, economic development and community
involvement, among others, and you can see why we feel we have a
good chance to "beat the odds" and have this highway project become
simply the first step in a string of positive developments for our
part of Gwinnett.
Time will tell, but our bets are
on the table, and we don't intend to fold.
Ken
Shiver, an Atlanta native, moved to Gwinnett in 1981. He is the
owner of Millennium Kawasaki and Yamaha, and is currently Chairman
of the Evermore CID.
The Evermore
Community Improvement District (CID) is an association of commercial
property owners along the U.S. 78 corridor from Stone Mountain to
Snellville that is reinvesting in the community to build a vibrant,
attractive future for business and resident. The Evermore CID
represents approximately 469 properties; 16,913 jobs; 1,585
businesses; $485 million in property value; $1 billion in annual
sales and we’re just getting started.
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