2020 downtown battle Augusta vs Columbus vs Macon (Ranger: school, restaurants)

[Fountain-of-youth]

Which downtown has

. . .better infrastructure

. . .better bones

. . .and feels more urban.

[DSMRE]

Let me get my popcorn.

[midgeorgiaman]

Originally Posted by DSMRE

Let me get my popcorn.

My thoughts....this always ends well....lol.

[Bamaman1]

No great winner here. I know one has a better golf course. And another has Army Ranger training school. ? ? ?

[Fountain-of-youth]

Originally Posted by Bamaman1

No great winner here. I know one has a better golf course. And another has Army Ranger training school. ? ? ?

That's all you know?

[GRS86]

This is like debating who has the better hot dog between QT and Racetrac

[Mutiny77]

There's definitely an argument for Macon for the last two.

[Fountain-of-youth]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

There's definitely an argument for Macon for the last two.

The last one is interesting. Columbus aggressively building up its riverfront,with Augusta not to far behind. The central core of downtown Macon is probably more walkable than the other two cities.

[DSMRE]

Where is Norton? He'll straighten you guys out.

[JayHey]

Answering the three original questions and keeping in mind that it's about the downtown areas, so golf courses and military bases don't at all enter the equation,

1. Infrastructure - Macon's downtown interstate access is much better than the other two cities. I'll leave the buildings out here because the next category is

2. Bones - Macon has kept more of its pre-midcentury buildings than the other two. Walking around its downtown blocks, there are few breaks from the street level facades. Augusta has the best skyline and high-rises of the three hands down. One of my favorite buildings is the Marion Tower.

3. Urban feel - Macon's good bones plays a big advantage here, as does it's shape. Augusta's and Columbus' downtowns are both sort of oriented on only one axis. Broad Street and Broadway respectively are long and narrow. Go two, even one, blocks away from those streets and you'll quickly leave the urban feeling which comes with shops, restaurants, and offices. Macon's downtown has more of a two axis layout, for four or five blocks there are Cherry, Poplar and Mulberry Streets, each with a healthy urban feeling for a pedestrian. 3rd St is a big reason for that, a cross-axis boulevard is something Augusta and Columbus each lack. Macon lacks the attractive investment along the riverside, which Augusta and Columbus have both been leaning in to for years with very good results.

It looks like Macon is my answer, though I don't believe the other two are far behind. Augusta and Columbus each lost a fair amount of buildings in the late 20th century, when compared to Macon. What that means today for those downtowns is that there are more surface parking and physical spaces between buildings in those two cities than in Macon.

All three cities have more shops, restaurants, and residences than they did 30, 20, and 10 years ago, and that trend doesn't look like it will stop any time soon. Let's do this again in 2030.