To: Hank Johnson,
Editorial Page Editor
Athens Daily News/Banner-Herald
P.O. Box 912
Athens, GA  30603

Dear Mr. Johnson:

As a neighbor of Athens Regional Medical Center I look forward to working with the hospital in developing a plan for its future growth which meets the challenges of providing quality health care for northeast Georgia and which preserves the quality of life in the neighborhoods near the hospital. I'm pleased that ARMC has finally chosen to pursue its plans in consultation with its neighbors and with the planning staff of Athens-Clarke County.

It's a good start that ARMC has abandoned some of the worst parts of the long range plan first announced on April 15, including the construction of a stormwater detention facility at the cost of razing a city block of homes in the King Avenue neighborhood.

However, the hospital's immediate plans set a bad precedent for future growth. The bond issue before the Athens-Clarke Commissioners this Tuesday would pay for hospital construction including a 5-story, 110,000-square foot building on Talmadge Avenue. This building would house radiation oncology, rehab services, midwifery, home health care, education centers, and administrative offices. For quality health care it is not essential for these services to be adjacent to the main hospital building. ARMC should consider locating outpatient services in one or more of the underutilized commercial areas within a mile of the present facility rather than in a centralized "campus."

I'll focus on just one problem of centralization: traffic congestion. The projected parking requirement for the expanded main building, the new medical building, and three similar buildings proposed in the hospital's long range plan is 5390 parking spaces, more than currently at the Georgia Square Mall!

The resulting vehicular assault on the neighborhoods around the hospital would greatly compromise their viability.

Responsible and safe traffic design to accommodate such a high level of traffic would entail expensive infrastructure improvements by the County, including new streets, widening of existing streets, and new traffic lights. These roadway enhancements would in turn create pressure for further office and commercial development around the hospital, especially on King Avenue and Oglethorpe Avenue. Moreover, it is unlikely that vehicular access to the proposed "medical mall" would be as efficient as access to a decentralized facility.

ARMC and the Athens-Clarke government should not rush into the implementation of the first phase of a plan fraught with harmful consequences for our precious inner city neighborhoods. Instead let's pause to discuss the implications of ARMC's plan and to consider alternative options in keeping with the goals of the County's comprehensive land use plan.

Clint McCrory