Why is augusta growing faster than columbus, macon, and savannah (Atlanta: crime rate, middle school)

[DisgustaTruth]

Originally Posted by CaptainAwesome

Disgusta's right on this one. If you're looking at interstate construction, they're just doing a lot of projects at once. Soon the South Carolina side will close the loop, so it will look even crazier. Construction down town might be renovating some of the apartments down there (a good thing).

We'll probably have to wait for the new census to see if Augusta's really growing. The city proper had finally stopped (or greatly slowed) its bleeding of people into Columbia County.

The county population did increase slightly from the previous year after 7 years of decline.. but that small gain was in the city of hephzibah.. which is not part of Augusta ( it is part of richmond county).. so the city of Augusta is actually still losing population according to the latest census estimates.. and is below what it was in the 2000 census. One indication of this decline is the fact that the school board is planning on closing several schools because enrollment is down by about 6,000 students.

[ColumbusDoc]

Originally Posted by ATLCOL1

The reason Augusta and Macon have large interstate construction projects is because they are located on major interstates. These expansions are being done to move people thru the cities, not keep up with population growth. Please understand this.

No kidding!!
Thanks again for those words of wisdom Sherlock!!

[ATLCOL1]

Originally Posted by ColumbusDoc

No kidding!!
Thanks again for those words of wisdom Sherlock!!

Haha love the sarcasm.

[yerocal]

Originally Posted by ATLCOL1

The reason Augusta and Macon have large interstate construction projects is because they are located on major interstates. These expansions are being done to move people thru the cities, not keep up with population growth. Please understand this.

No one said that the interstate where to boost population..... But the interstates does indeed bring growth and revenue from travelers driving thorough these cities...... Also With Growth potential area in these and predictions of a increase of people using the interstates are why the large projects are happening........

[DisgustaTruth]

I 20 is not really what I would call a MAJOR interstate.. it's not like an I75 or I95.
the work on the interstates in Augusta is mainly to handle local traffic.. frankly it should have been done 15 years ago.. Macon and Savannah have the distinction of being at the junction of two interstates.. which make them more attractive as distribution centers.. and well Macon is a natural because it is at the center of the state and only about an hour from Hartsfield airport. Augusta faces the same problem as columbus as only having one interstate run by it.

[g-man430]

Originally Posted by yerocal

In what? Population.....

I was kidding man. And thanks for the kind words ATLCOL1.

[yerocal]

Originally Posted by DisgustaSucks

I 20 is not really what I would call a MAJOR interstate.. it's not like an I75 or I95.
the work on the interstates in Augusta is mainly to handle local traffic.. frankly it should have been done 15 years ago.. Macon and Savannah have the distinction of being at the junction of two interstates.. which make them more attractive as distribution centers.. and well Macon is a natural because it is at the center of the state and only about an hour from Hartsfield airport. Augusta faces the same problem as columbus as only having one interstate run by it.

Exactly, Well spoken, This is one of the points i was trying to make about Macon growth and other potentials for it to gain some New and Atlanta like developments not yet seem in any of the other 2nd tier Cities.... It's centralized location, Interstate( I-75,475 & 16) access, proximity to Savannah sea port(from I-16),GA cross road for Freight rail lines and Atlanta's Harts field(1hour). Makes it a very attractive target for growth......

[CaptainAwesome]

Originally Posted by DisgustaSucks

The county population did increase slightly from the previous year after 7 years of decline.. but that small gain was in the city of hephzibah.. which is not part of Augusta ( it is part of richmond county).. so the city of Augusta is actually still losing population according to the latest census estimates.. and is below what it was in the 2000 census. One indication of this decline is the fact that the school board is planning on closing several schools because enrollment is down by about 6,000 students.

That's right, I forgot. But the change in poppulation was pretty marginal (I think it was around 11 lost from Augusta). Enrollment is down in public school in Richmond County. But a lot of people send their kids to private schools here. And many families move across county lines when their kids get old enough for school.

The question is if enrollment is down by 6,000 students, and Augusta is down by only 11 residents, is it that private schools became that popular? Or are the demographics shifted substantially? (e.g. retired boomers or singles/couples w/o kids moving in?)

[DisgustaTruth]

well I think actually population decreased more than the estimate showed.. and no one will know for sure until an actual census is done.. which won't be till 2010. It's also worth to note that growth as slowed significantly in Columbia County as well... I mean its still growing, but not like it once was..It will be intersting to see what the census figures have to say.. If Benning gets those 35,000 new jobs or even a fraction of them by 2010 then Columbus will easily regain is stature as the state's second largest city.

[DisgustaTruth]

Augusta will likely close one of their large high schools.. TW Josey. NOt the best school academically, but they have a great marching band.. Bye Bye Sonic Boom.