A testament to proper planning

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Traveling through Indiana several times in the last few weeks,Amy and I passed through a community whose civic efforts over thelast 50 years are a testament to proper urban planning andintegration of retail and economic development.

Columbus, Ind. is a rural community and although larger than ourown Brookhaven, the cities share many similarities.

In the early 50s a concentrated effort was made by communityleaders to shape the town’s growth for future generations. Some 60years later that vision is still paying off in a mixture ofrestored buildings and newer modern ones designed by world-renownedarchitects.

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Their vision so many years ago for the town was to not only savethe character of the community but to find a way to set Columbusapart from every other community across the nation. Their effortshave brought them international accolades along with a bustlinglocal and regional economy.

Which brings us to a lively discussion (Aldermen debate treeplanting control – DAILY LEADER, Wednesday July 8) during lastweek’s city board meeting regarding past efforts to improve theaesthetic look in Brookhaven and how such efforts now might becounterproductive to retail growth.

Some might remember prior to 1985 when Brookway Boulevardbetween Interstate 55 and Highway 51 was divided withwell-landscaped medians, full of Azaleas and other plantings. Thelook and feel of the front door to the Homeseekers Paradise wasmuch different than the expanse of dark asphalt that now greetsvisitors.

New retail growth in the area in 1985 was creating congestiondue to a lack of turning lanes in the medians. The solution -instead of adding turning lanes and maintaining the aesthetic look- was to bulldoze the medians and lay more asphalt!

Of course the uniqueness was eliminated, an eyesore created andthe traffic congestion never improved.

One can also remember in the mid-1990s, when frustrated over thedeteriorating Whitworth Campus, some called for the demolition ofthe buildings and the creation of a parking lot to relieve parkingcongestion in the downtown area. Today, few would argue that theMississippi School of the Arts was not a better solution.

Which brings us back to the vision of Columbus, Ind. What theyhave accomplished did not happen quickly – nor unlikely withoutlively discussion over the years – but the city’s obvious successagain proves that retail development and proper urban planning gohand in hand.

One has to wonder, as the city board looks to repave BrookwayBoulevard in the months ahead and as the I-55 corridor lights areturned on later this year, if serious consideration to restoringthe medians and planting trees inside those medians would not be asolution to Tuesday night’s discussion?

Write to Bill Jacobs at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven MS 39602, orsend e-mail to bjacobs@dailyleader.com.