Politics & Government
Milton Consultant Reveals Crabapple Master Plan
A plan by Lew Oliver of Whole Town Solutions connects neighborhood streets and uses green space to move residents around.
The master plan for Crabapple redevelopment revealed at Milton City Hall Monday evening caters to pedestrian and even golf cart traffic while preserving Milton's historic architectural style. The public reaction seemed overwhelmingly positive.
For the first time, residents were able to see how roads, businesses and neighborhoods would be laid out to support Lew Oliver’s vision of less commuter traffic and more accessibility for pedestrians and low-speed vehicles such as bikes and golf carts.
One citizen went as far as to compliment Oliver during the question and answer portion of the meeting, “I would like to thank you and the city for what you’ve done,” he said, “ I think it’s very appealing.”
According to Oliver, not everyone has been so supportive. He’s read plenty of blogs recently that support pro-traffic in Crabapple and scoff at the idea of horse and golf cart accessibility.
Supporting more traffic is a bad idea said Oliver.
“If you build more roads you will fill them up,” he said.
The plan featured two roundabouts on Crabapple and Mayfield roads on opposite sides of the community to divert traffic away from the city center.
During his presentation, Oliver showed images of downtown Dahlonega to give the audience an idea of what Crabapple could be. This received plenty of positive head nods and whispered comments from the crowd.
With a lot of history in the area, Oliver believes in keeping the integrity of existing structures instead of building over them.
“Old buildings can take on a new life,” he said.
He showed several photographs of existing buildings in the area followed by sketches of what could be done to revitalize them. Alison Park, a Crabapple resident of 20 years, owns one of the buildings Oliver featured and was pleased with his vision for it.
She brought her own sketch to the meeting to share with Oliver and was surprised to see how similar the two were.
“It was a beautiful rendering. Exactly what I would expect from Lew,” said Park.
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She eagerly looks forward to the future.
“I’m all about what he’s doing. This plan is about the people who live here” she said.
Many were also in agreement about Oliver’s plan to widen sidewalks and add more green space to the area. According to Oliver ,such things can increase "a high degree of sociability and a lot of happy people.”
While the reaction Monday evening was positive, there is still a long way to go. The City Council still has to approve the master plan before any physical changes are made to the Crabapple area. Oliver said ways to get the plan used might include giving individual property owners zoning incentives to preserve or develop their properties following the plan, or even in trade for swapping out some more rural land for development within Crabapple.
For more information on the Crabapple redevelopment visit Milton City Hall.
