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INSI ER INSIDER@THEMETROSPIRIT.COM
Insider is an anonymous, opinion-based examination of the hidden details of Augusta politics and personalities.
No Parking, But Can We Interest You in a New Stadium?
The grumbling continues amongst lawyers and litigants alike with regard to the lack of adequate parking at the new Richmond County John H. Ruffin, Jr. Judicial Center. Courthouse visitors have been parking street side and in vacant lots surrounding the courthouse property, most prominently on property owned by Atlanta Gas Light Company. How long the utility will allow this to continue remains to be seen, but it’s reasonable to consider that fear of premises liability lawsuits will lead the gas company to fence the property. Private parking lots across Walton Way on land owned by local legal connections have been rumored. Perhaps the most ardent complaints come from the many attorneys who purchased buildings in proximity to the former courthouse on Greene Street. They can’t walk to the new courthouse and can’t find parking when they drive there. Only time will tell how
the property values of the Old Towne neighborhood will fare if lawyers no longer find the properties desirable due to courthouse relocation. Then there’s the controversy over Clarence Thomas’ selection as dedication speaker at a building named for a noted civil rights attorney. The selection of Thomas, a Georgia native and Supreme Court justice, would seem to have been a good choice, but his record and stance on affirmative action and civil rights have led to criticism of his invitation from black and white Augustans alike. Thomas’ appearance was a major hit with those who have an exceptional appreciation of irony.
Hmmmm... This time last year there was a great discussion of locating the GreenJackets ballpark on the downtown riverfront, which would move it farther away from
many of the patrons from west Richmond County and Columbia County. Thirsty Thursday presently resembles a Lakeside High School reunion and DUIs will only increase if Thursday night patrons have to drive any further to get home after the game. Lake Olmstead Stadium is already paid for, anyway. If Augusta can’t afford to build parking for the new courthouse, how can city fathers consider dispensing with a perfectly good ballpark? Public dollars will be, at least partially, called upon to finance stadium construction. Plus, Lake Olmstead has all of that available free parking. Then again, it would be hard to locate a ballpark on the riverfront if the river went away. If the Corp of Engineers were to dismantle the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, “Lake Augusta”’s 13-mile pool would disappear. Having a dock at a riverfront home in Hammond’s Ferry would lose all its appeal if the dock were 50 feet from the water. The many
events held on the river and the tourism dollars they represent would be history. The latest comment from federal officials on the matter comes from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which would like to remove the dam to aid sturgeon migration as opposed to relying on a proposed $7 million fish ladder funded as part of the environmental mitigation for the Jasper, S.C., port downstream. On the topic of dams, an inflatable dam is being constructed on the Augusta Canal’s third stage (near downtown and the new courthouse) at the expense of $400,000 sales tax dollars. The purpose is to increase water flow and depth in the canal in the affected section for better aesthetics. Thank goodness no one decided to waste that kind of money on something like adequate courthouse parking.
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