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The Alternative

In opposition to the Plan of Watkinsville, as well as what cities like Madison, Covington, and others have done, is to build outside of town where land is less expensive, allowing for large footprints and ample space for parking lots.

 

On the surface, this is an appealing method which clearly has gained much traction and become the dominant means of development today in both the private and public sectors. Upon closer examination, however, the remote locations on large parcels tends to lead to an inefficient allocation of, and higher costs for, public and private infrastructure.

 

Though they had fewer resources and less wealth than we have today, our ancestors built public buildings to stand the test of time, optimistically looking to the future. By building in the heart of the community, they created grand public spaces while symbolically keeping the government officials close by and in the public eye.

 

Today, several of our neighbors, facing growth pressures from metro Atlanta, have taken advantage of growing tax revenues to build new facilities to meet the needs of their expanding governments. They too are planning for projected needs, yet gone are courthouse squares and close proximity to residents and businesses---to paraphrase, "out of sight, and out of mind."

A highly dignified structure, the Jackson County Courthouse takes its cues from a Classical Greek temple, appropriate for courthouses throughout the South. The building is even centered on a vast open greenspace, invoking the National Mall in Washington DC--if it were flanked by parking lots and open pastures. 

 

Rather than being in the midst of the community and creating a sense that the public is welcome to participate, the remote location nearly two and a half miles from Downtown not only minimizes the impact and symbolism of the architecture, but in some ways discourages people from coming unless you are an employee or on trial.  

 

 

Jackson County Courthouse

Jackson County Courthouse as viewed from the parking lot.

The county recently opened a new government building constructed on 20 acres of donated farmland roughly a mile and a half from the Historic Courthouse.

 

While decent architecturally, the 20 acre site that holds one function (government) is the same size as several city blocks holding numerous functions (commercial, residential, government, cultural, etc.), and the walk from the front door to the nearest street alone is three to four minutes. It is still too early to tell how downtown businesses will be affected by removing all government functions.

Walton County Courthouse

The Walton County Courthouse, as seen from the closest street. 

The new Barrow County Courthouse

Only two years after relocating the courthouse to newly cleared land two and a half miles west of Downtown Winder, and following numerous wrecks and close-calls, the county and state were forced to add a left turn lane from busy Highway 211 into the entrance of the complex at a cost of $130,000.** Public safety is often cited by advocates as a reason to build these new, more secure judicial facilities. However, by drawing the congestion associated with courthouses out to two-lane roads with 55 MPH speed limits, the county is improving one public safety concern to the detriment of another that is probably more likely to cause serious injury. 

 

**Source from the Barrow Journal

Barrow County Courthouse
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