There is no way to know when the Gainesville city limits begin on Highway 129 when driving north from Interstate 985.
At least that is the opinion of many interviewed for a potential revitalization of the Highway 129 South and Athens Street corridors, according to Leigh Elkins with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.
“A lot of the focus group members and steering committee members [talked] about, ‘Where do you know you're in Gainesville?’,” said Elkins. “A lot of people say when you come over the railroad overpass and you see St. John Baptist Church, that's when you feel like you're in Gainesville, but Gainesville actually starts a couple miles before then.”
Elkins presented a vision from the steering committee, which she said consists of residents on Athens Street and Atlanta Highway, to the Gainesville City Council during its work session Thursday, Feb. 24.
The portion of Highway 129 in consideration is from its intersection with Jesse Jewell Parkway to the city limits at the Mack Truck dealership.
In a separate interview with WDUN, Elkins said the committee interviewed members of the Black Entrepreneurs Association, and representatives from companies in the area including Cargill, Fieldale Farms and Carroll Daniel Construction.
“The city of Gainesville contracted with us to work with residents and business owners and community members to create this vision,” said Elkins.
Some of Elkins’s presentation included adding signage and medians with greenery onto Highway 129 as it runs toward Jesse Jewell Parkway. Another idea was to add fencing alongside Highway 129 next to the Cargill plant with the City of Gainesville wave logo.
Elkins said the area in consideration was divided into “zones”, with each zone treated differently.
“So it might be a different landscape treatment or different signage recommendations or areas where you may have pedestrian movement and need to make sure there are crosswalks,” said Elkins.
As far as Athens Street is concerned, Elkins said the study found many community members wanted spaces where they could gather. Some abandoned properties, like 854 Athens Street, were identified as places that could be revitalized for that purpose.
“One of the things the group came up with, and we helped them translate into a rendering, was this idea of a community or an event space,” said Elkins. “Something that could be a public private partnership, that may hold small businesses or be a little incubator to start-up businesses.”
Elkins said such a space could help to draw people over from the Midtown Greenway and potentially expand to more greenspace for the city.
Finally, a portion of the presented vision for Athens Street included a black history walk to pay homage to local leaders.
“There are a lot of great leaders, whether quiet leaders, or out in front leaders, that have come from the black community in Gainesville,” said Elkins. “I think that Gainesville could have one that shares the stories of great leaders, from E.E. Butler to elected officials like Deborah Mack, who have done so much for the community.”
Elkins added it has been suggested the black history walk could be a student-led project.
To hear the full interview with Leigh Elkins about the vision for revitalizing Highway 129 and Athens Street, click the audio link above.
