FORT GORDON, Ga. (Oct. 17, 2014) - Installation stakeholders participated in a workshop that will be instrumental in further developing Fort Gordon.
The Installation Area Development Plan Practicum for Fort Gordon was held Oct. 6 to 9 at Gordon Conference and Catering Center. The workshop is held every five to six years.
Director of Public Works John Ramey said the purpose of the workshop was to take one of the installation's four development areas and create a detailed plan going through the area's architectural landscaping, roadways, buildable land, and non-buildable land to determine a plot for the future of the installation. Last week's practicum focused on the Barton Center District, which Ramey described as "the footprint of the buildings, or the cantonment area."
Participants separated into groups and used interactive, hands- on sessions to evaluate site conditions and create area development plans for the Barton Center District.
"It is a wish list of good possibilities," Ramey said. "It includes standoff distances from the roads, sidewalks, curbs, trees, architectural themes of the buildings ... so you get a more holistic campus type look."
Accomplishing that "wish list" depends on Army funding, which is determined partly by an installation's square footage. Given Fort Gordon's size, the post does not receive as much money as some of the Army's larger installations, so often times command has to find ways to sustain instead of build new.
"We fight real hard to take every dollar and use it for sustainment," Ramey said.
Stakeholders worked toward three major goals when developing plans: safe environment, multi-functional interconnected campuses, and a state of the art sustainable infrastructure. One project currently being pursued is the transformation of Chamberlain Avenue into a boulevard.
Instead of four lanes, Chamberlain Avenue will have two wider lanes with trees lining the median.
Modifications of other roadways, including Lane Avenue and 8th Avenue, must first occur to allow for more direct routes to work sites such as the National Security Agency. It's a plan developers refer to as "traffic calming techniques."
"The plan is to divert heavy traffic use through the center of the cantonment area for all of our population," Ramey said. "You'll still be able to go down Chamberlain, but it won't be your best route."
By the end of the workshop, each group had produced and displayed an ADP for everyone to discuss, then presented them to Fort Gordon Deputy Garrison Commander John Curry. Curry praised everyone for their hard work, saying he was really impressed.
"What you were able to do this week is going to help us further develop that master plan so that every time we have the opportunity to do something on Fort Gordon, we go back to that master plan, and we do what needs to be done for this community," Curry said.
Curry said he believes city management is done best at Fort Gordon, and it's largely due to participation in workshops like the IADPP.
"In my mind, it's already the best installation in the Army, but it will be even better," he added.
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