Some common threads connect many of my columns, but I worry that those threads get obscured by the details of whatever issue is at hand.
On Tuesday, I wrote about the decision to force St. Patrick’s Day revelers to buy wristbands if they want to wander the streets with a to-go cup in this year’s expanded festival zone.
Putting a price and a burden on a normally legal behavior will certainly reduce the number of people engaging in that behavior.
The wristband issue fits into a much broader theme of this column.
One common City Talk thread for the past 12 years has been the importance of maximizing citizens’ access to public places.
Maximizing access generally adds to the vibrancy in urban areas, while restricting acces generally hurts the culture and the economy.
Sure, there are exceptions, but these general principles come up again and again.
When we made it harder for locals to access River Street by converting it to one-way with no on-street parking, we hurt small businesses and restricted consumers’ choices.
Consider on-street parking.
Sometimes higher prices and shorter time limits for parking can paradoxically increase access. Those restrictions encourage the use of garages and the turnover of spaces so others can find spots.
But we have portions of downtown where the high prices and short time limits for metered parking have restricted access pretty dramatically.
In focusing on access, I’m not just talking about cars.
When we banned 18- to 20-year-olds from live music venues that operate primarily as bars, we hurt individual businesses, the city’s music scene and the lives of young adults.
But the story here isn’t all negative. There are some great examples of increasing access in recent years.
In the last five years, the city of Savannah has added well over 2,000 downtown curb cuts, a vital step to increase accessibility for wheelchairs and strollers.
The massive Ellis Square project created a new public space with a variety of diversions for residents and visitors alike.
The Forsyth Farmers’ Market has fostered a community while at the same time giving EBT recipients a way to access farm-fresh foods.
The new configuration of Price Street has provided fresh access for cyclists, pedestrians and residents who needed parking, while only mildly inconveniencing drivers.
While there are potential downsides and trade-offs, improving access to public places will generally pay off in the long run.
Military cuts under sequestration a concern for Hinesville, Savannah
As I write this, there appears to be little chance of a deal on the so-called sequestration, which will force immediate reductions to current budgets for a wide range of federal agencies.
And that’s bad news for many members of the military, their families and the communities around major defense installations.
The Hinesville area is likely to take a hard hit because of its economic reliance on federal spending at Fort Stewart. Savannah has a larger economy and a smaller base in Hunter Army Airfield, but look for a hit here too.
Of course, economic headwinds in either city are bad news for the regional economy.
By the way, I’m talking about the cities separately since Hinesville-Fort Stewart is a distinct metropolitan statistical area from the Savannah metro area, which officially includes only Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties.
Will we even notice the reduced activity caused by sequestration?
With a surge in private sector investment and solid job growth in the Savannah metro area in the second half of 2012, do we have the momentum to shrug off sequestration’s weight?
Testifying last week before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno detailed cuts to child-care services, spouse employment programs and even health care.
A wide range of private defense contractors will see lower wages under the sequester, and a quarter of a million civilian employees of the Army will be furloughed one day a week, Odierno told legislators.
The Hinesville-Fort Stewart metro area has already had a particularly rough time. The area finished 2012 with 19,800 payroll jobs, the same number as at the end of 2011.
The Hinesville area also had 19,800 jobs at the end of 2008.
That’s four years with no net job growth in a metro area with a steadily increasing population.
The mandatory spending reductions seem likely to cause further job losses in Hinesville and to restrain growth in the larger Savannah metro area.
If you’re not in one of the most affected groups, you might not notice the effects of sequestration in the coming months.
But some of your neighbors will.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.