The full length of the Truman Parkway has been open for about two weeks now, and a few things are obvious.
For starters, the quicker trip through town has transformed the commuting experience for a certain number of drivers.
I drive between Thomas Square and Armstrong Atlantic State University every weekday, and it looks as if I’ll continue to take Bull Street, White Bluff and Middleground Road most mornings.
But it’s a different story in the afternoon.
At the beginning of a recent afternoon rush hour, it took me just 15 minutes to get from Armstrong to the Kroger on East Gwinnett Street.
In the pre-Truman days, that trip could easily have taken 30 minutes — and a really irritating 30 minutes at that.
Commuters between the Southside and the islands are reporting significant time savings with every single trip.
Of course, the improved traffic flow isn’t just impacting commuters. Businesses stand to benefit, too.
A Windsor Forest resident could easily be at Whole Foods Market, Johnny Harris Restaurant or Grayson Stadium in 10 minutes.
And Southside businesses might suddenly find themselves more likely to attract customers who live along the older stretches of the Truman, including residents of The Landings, various Eastside neighborhoods and even downtown.
The new traffic patterns might create some challenges for businesses, too.
Some retailers on Abercorn Street between DeRenne Avenue and the Truman might see fewer cars pass by. Some might benefit from less congestion and easier access, while others that rely more heavily on volume might be negatively impacted.
And other curiosities could have wide-ranging effects.
The Home Depot on Abercorn Street is now just an easy 10-minute drive from the one on Victory Drive. How will that change consumer behavior and corporate decision-making?
The Southside and Eastside Target stores are suddenly a lot closer together, too.
There have been rumblings for years about the potential for greater connections between Savannah State University and Armstrong. The two institutions are now a lot closer together than they used to be.
I suppose there’s a danger of overstating impacts. After all, the completion of the Truman is likely to save less than 15 minutes for most trips that are impacted.
But the new stretch of road sure feels like a game-changer to me.
And there are potential dark sides too.
We’re almost certain to see more wrecks on the Truman than we previously did. The older portions of the road wind around a bit, have relatively abrupt merge areas and are generally unforgiving.
And there are other uncertainties.
For example, to what extent will the completion of the Truman impact congestion on DeRenne Avenue?
In theory, since traffic between the Southside and downtown can now bypass some heavily congested spots, traffic might flow more easily through the entire DeRenne corridor.
It might take awhile for some of the effects to be understood. I’d be curious to hear from readers about the new road’s impacts.
The Savannah Music Festival and “world music”
It’s no secret that the Savannah Music Festival has sometimes struggled to fill venues for shows featuring non-Western musical styles or anything that fits into the broad category of “world music.”
So it was especially thrilling last Tuesday evening to see the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah on Troup Square packed for a performance of qawwali music by Asif Ali Khan and his nine-member ensemble from Pakistan.
The crowd seemed spirited away by the rhythmic, powerful songs that celebrated life, love and God. With the band’s encouragement, the audience stood, clapped and even sang along during the final two pieces.
Sure, the Unitarian Universalist Church is a fairly small venue, but the enthusiastic turnout suggests that maybe audiences are embracing the festival’s non-western offerings more fully than in the past.
It will be especially interesting to see whether the enthusiasm carries over to another significant world music offering — the April 4th double bill at the Ships of the Sea Museum of Malian singer and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara and the Tuareg guitarist and singer Omara “Bombino” Moctar from Niger.
Over the years, festival programming has remained true to its mission while adapting to some degree to audience demand. For example, we know that festival goers will turn out in big numbers for performers who explore a variety of styles popular here in the South.
And we’re likely to see similar performers in the future, especially considering the impressive ticket sales during this year’s festival for The Avett Brothers, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Punch Brothers and Jason Isbell.
So it’s pretty simple. If we want the music festival to program more world music, we need to show up.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.