My wife and I went to the Augusta marina one recent Monday to go for a walk. It was a shame to see the condition of that property.
Trash cans were overflowing, the grass/weeds have not been mowed yet and somebody had the brilliant idea to plant holly bushes or something similar next to the sidewalk. These bushes are swarming with bees, and anyone with a bee allergy or children would be advised to stay away from the marina altogether.
Another thing that I thought was interesting was the $5 fee to use the boat ramp. Really? We couldn't even get near the water unless we walked down the boat ramp. There should be a dock that the public can walk on to fish or enjoy the river.
We were really disappointed about our visit, so we thought we would check out the gift shop, but it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Augusta is lucky to have a river in its back yard, and it should take advantage of it by making the riverfront an enjoyable place to visit. There are cities all over this country who have turned their riverfronts into beautiful places to take your family and enjoy the sights. It's too bad Augusta is not one of them.
Jason Humbert
Augusta
Comments
Jason, there's a reason Augusta didn't put it's riverwalk right on the river. See, there are these things called floods. I guess you didn't see the lines on the walls showing the previous floods in the past. Not everyone can be Savannah or San Antonio.
Signal - Can you find a line that was put there since Clark's Hill Lake was created? Nice try, G.I.
The trip downtown should have alerted you of the outcome.
The decline of riverwalk and any other project that is not directly related to entitlement programs and low income handouts will never prosper in Augusta.
Yeh PTHS. Clark Hill was built in the 1950's. There is a line for the 1964 flood, which if my education was correct, occurred AFTER the 1950's.
The Richard B Russel dam took care of any chance of flooding in Augusta again. The 1964 flood could have been devastating, but the Clarks Hill Dam reduced the flood from 38 feet to 25 feet. At present, we don't have enough water to fill the reservoir. The chance of flood is below miniscule.
Didn't we have a flood in the early 90's that did a lot of damage? In any event the levee is there to keep folks from having to pay flood insurance. BTW we still have flooding in the University Hospital area when it rains hard.
I agree with the writer, and we should be doing things by the river. Maybe we should be looking at areas further south by the lock and dam where we don't have levees to contend with, but it is still part of the consolidated city. In fact the lock and dam would be a beautiful place for a park with nice little restaurants and an amusement area for families.
PT, tell that to the people of Fargo, ND! While we may be needing rain today, the day will come when we fondly remember the drought. Jason, good point about the Holly bushes. I have the same issue in my yard. Luckily it doesn't last too long. While it would be nice if the Marina Gift Shop was opened 7 days a week, these a difficult times where we are lucky our museums, libraries and stores are open at all. If the numbers justified being opened I'm sure the shop would do so. But unfortunately, the numbers just aren't there. As for the trash pick-up. I'm not sure when Richmond County picks up the trash for that area, but we have no trash pick-up on Saturday/Sunday. So its not unreasonable for the trash bins to be full on Monday morning. Your point is noted and maybe that area needs more bins or larger ones to absorb the amount of trash. Hey, at least people are using the bins!
There has not been a flood due to the river cresting since Clark Hill was built. People confuse greatly the flooding from the canal with the levee. The canal is on the town side of the levee. In 1990, rain in Augusta and canal caused flooding. The canal gates should have been closed. University Hosp. is a low spot, but water from the river didn't come near it. The levee should be removed where it hasn't been built on to provide the public views and access. This is a good letter that demonstrates the problem with river access.
Want the riverfront on the Georgia side to be a showplace? Knock that old levy down. On the SC side there are beautiful new residential areas, a great golf course, and some businesses operating and under development. And no levy. We are no Fargo, ND! That's the flattest place in the country, prime for floods. Our river flows nicely and swiftly downstream with two reservoirs to help control flooding. Junket, you make somewhat reasonable points, but all are negative.
Trying to be factual, I looked up the 1964 flood and it appears the river went to 24 ft. I am not sure why this wasn't controlled by the Clark Hill Dam better. At the least, the levee should be reduced greatly.
You could put a park with a nice trail and a place to picnic and fish on the other side of the levy and there would be little damage IF it did flood. gcap is right, go across the river and look at the Hammonds Ferry neighborhood. They have a beautiful walking trail right along the river. I also think it's sad that Augusta don't clean up it's act a little and make something enjoyable and safe for people to do.
I am sure glad I live in North Augusta, just across the river. We have a very nice reenway along our side of the river as well as many parks, recreation areas etc. A lot of money is moving here FROM Augusta.
Yep Jack...we try to tell them..but they just will not listen...too bad..so sad...darn I love this City !!!
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