MLK Jr. Blvd. getting a 3.1 million dollar makeover. (Columbus, Buena Vista: 2013, neighborhood)

[Fountain-of-youth]

The street, previously called Brookhaven Boulevard, was named after King in 1978. That’s when Robert L. Wright persuaded his colleagues on Columbus Council to change the name in the civil rights leader’s memory.

“I wasn’t dealing with aesthetics. I was dealing with honoring Dr. King,” Wright said in 2013 interview with the Ledger-Enquirer. “That road was chosen because it came through the black community and was in my council district.”

City Manager Isaiah Hugley, who grew up in the area, said streets named after King became popular around the time that proposed legislation for a national MLK holiday was being promoted by civil rights leaders.

“Streets were designated or named in the African-American community because that was where much of the work of Dr. King took place as he addressed the challenges of unfair and unequal treatment of African-Americans,” he said. “In many of those African-American communities, a lot of local dollars had not gone into the African-American community. And so, it’s my thought that the areas that were designated in memory of Dr. King started out behind.”

Hugley said the plan to spruce up the MLK Boulevard in Columbus began after his wife, state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, and his sister, school board member Pat Hugley Green, participated in a walk-run sponsored by the Courier Eco-Latino newspaper for the annual MLK Jr. holiday a few years ago.

“They came back complaining about the broken sidewalks, about the overgrowth in the right-of-way, how there was trash along the way, and that it no way reflected the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Hugley said. “And they were coming to me as the city manager of Columbus to say that we need to do better, we need to do something about Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.”

Hugley said he shared those concerns with City Planning Director Rick Jones and the city’s two deputy city managers. From there, the city held community forums for input on how to improve the aesthetics of the area.

The city teamed up with local businessman Ronzelle Buckner for an African-American history learning trail now incorporated into the plans.

“We had already had on the books to resurface Martin Luther King Boulevard at a cost of about $800,000,” he said. “And the timing was good for this conversation.”

As part of the resurfacing, the city decided to also incorporate some lane adjustments and found more funding for the 12-foot-wide walking/biking/jogging path. The project will include new storm drainage, signage and a new parking lot near Radcliff Avenue. A portion of the road, from Murray Street to 10th Avenue, will eventually be narrowed to three lanes. Other upcoming improvements for the area include the construction of a bridge over the railroad at the traffic-plagued “spiderweb” on Buena Vista Road.

“So it looks like we’re going to spend roughly about $2.3 million to do that project, along with the $800,000 for resurfacing that we already had in hand,” he said. “And we’re going to be able to make that project work from 10th Avenue downtown to just east of Radcliff Avenue. And there, we’re going to have a round-about that goes from Martin Luther King to Buena Vista Road, where we’ll have the spiderweb project.”

The location is not far from A.J. McClung YMCA and Brewer Elementary School, buildings named after two black Columbus pioneers.

Brewer was a physician and civil rights activist assassinated in 1956. McClung served on the Columbus Council for 28 years and became the city’s first black mayor after Mayor J.R. Allen was killed in a plane crash in 1973. He held the position for 52 days.

The planning department is working with Buckner’s group, called Turn Around Columbus, to educate people in the community about Columbus black pioneers.

Hugley said the project will include 10,000 feet of multi-use trail along Martin Luther King Boulevard, and he believes it will revitalize the neighborhood.

“I think it will bring economic development, vitality and recovery to the area,” he said. “It’s a project the community will be able get excited about, and it will truly reflect the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

MLK Blvd. in Columbus, GA, to get $3.1 million makeover | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Long overdue. This project will tie nicely with downtown on going revitalization.

[TheYoungProfessional]

Agreed! Glad to see this project as well, But do we have a update on the "Spider Web" project on Buena Vista Rd? It was supposed to be complete in 2018 based on the initial announcement

[Fountain-of-youth]

Originally Posted by TheYoungProfessional

Agreed! Glad to see this project as well, But do we have a update on the "Spider Web" project on Buena Vista Rd? It was supposed to be complete in 2018 based on the initial announcement

As part of the resurfacing, the city decided to also incorporate some lane adjustments and found more funding for the 12-foot-wide walking/biking/jogging path. The project will include new storm drainage, signage and a new parking lot near Radcliff Avenue. A portion of the road, from Murray Street to 10th Avenue, will eventually be narrowed to three lanes. Other upcoming improvements for the area include the construction of a bridge over the railroad at the traffic-plagued “spiderweb” on Buena Vista Road.

“So it looks like we’re going to spend roughly about $2.3 million to do that project, along with the $800,000 for resurfacing that we already had in hand,” he said. “And we’re going to be able to make that project work from 10th Avenue downtown to just east of Radcliff Avenue. And there, we’re going to have a round-about that goes from Martin Luther King to Buena Vista Road, where we’ll have the spiderweb project.”

Should start sometime next year looks like it.

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by TheYoungProfessional

Agreed! Glad to see this project as well, But do we have a update on the "Spider Web" project on Buena Vista Rd? It was supposed to be complete in 2018 based on the initial announcement

Some progress has been made at Buena Vista Road's Spiderweb... demolition of the old factory buildig there was just completed, I saw this morning.