On Wednesday evening, I spent some time walking along River Street.
Every time I go down there on a weeknight, I swear to myself that I’ll visit River Street more regularly.
I walked from Bull Street to the west end to take another look at the site of hotelier Richard Kessler’s massive Plant Riverside project.
Like other public spaces in Savannah, River Street changes personalities over the course of a day, a week, a year.
At 7 p.m. on this particular evening, even with a dramatic sunset framing the gorgeous sweep of the bridge, the Riverwalk was quiet.
Two men sat slumped on benches alongside the Hyatt. They might have been weary tourists, but they were more likely homeless.
Between the Hyatt and the western terminus of the Riverwalk, I saw five people, probably all tourists. There was some activity at a number of establishments in those first couple of blocks of West River Street, and the parking lots along the river were both full.
By the time I got to the site of the Kessler project, however, and had to detour from the Riverwalk up to River Street, the already calm street was pretty much dead.
Sure, there was business at a couple of spots directly south of the vacant lot at the eastern end of the hotel complex, but several other businesses were locked up tight.
The upper floors were almost entirely dark.
Saddle Bags, probably the single largest establishment on that stretch, is open only Thursday through Sunday.
As I walked along River Street immediately adjacent to the site of the future hotels, exactly one car bounced by on the cobblestones.
It occurred to me that the western end of River Street seemed no busier than it would have on a similarly lovely Wednesday night 15 years ago.
Way back when, I wrote about public policy changes that negatively impacted the economy of West River Street. Remember when we had two-way traffic and on-street parking, which gave local residents easier access to area businesses, especially on weeknights?
But that ship has sailed. On even average days, East River Street is so packed with tourists that we might soon be considering a total ban on private vehicles.
The city recently moved ahead with $14 million plans to extend the Riverwalk several blocks west, which will obviously be a huge boon to the Kessler project and other hotels in the vicinity.
Developers along West River Street will also benefit from a dramatic upgrade to the path leading from Montgomery Street.
You can walk down to River Street from Montgomery Street right now via a steep, well-worn dirt trail, but we’ll eventually see landscaped steps there.
The upgraded Montgomery Street pathway will create a more vital connection between River Street and the northwest quadrant of downtown. Presumably, that interconnectivity will be accompanied by greater pedestrian and economic activity on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
But if you walk from the Kessler site south on MLK, you’ll see the need for other significant and costly upgrades.
In other words, the massive private investment along River Street will almost certainly force the city’s hand to make major improvements to the northern blocks of MLK. Let’s hope we make better choices there than we made along MLK south of Gwinnett Street.
I’m in favor, by the way, of dramatic upgrades to these public spaces, but the work will be expensive and contentious.
While on River Street on Wednesday, I looked again at the plans so far presented and approved for the Kessler project.
By the way, I opposed the controversial height variances — a political decision that has opened the proverbial can of worms and compromised the integrity of our processes for reviewing projects in the Historic District.
At the same time, I think our codes and guidelines often have been overly concerned with matters like height and insufficiently concerned with street-level interactivity.
Looking at the master plan renderings from Sottile & Sottile, I love the proposed performance area, dining plazas and pavilions, including the ones made from shipping containers.
But those elements are on the river side of the project, adjacent to the publicly funded Riverwalk extension.
After examining the plans and walking again around the site, I’m concerned that the south facades along River Street won’t be as active as they should be.
If most pedestrians are compelled by the design elements to cross River Street and take the Riverwalk extension, we might never see a full revitalization of West River Street.
If you’re interested in examining the plans for yourself, take a look at the agenda on the Metropolitan Planning Commission website for the special meeting of the Historic District Board of Review on Oct. 8. You can also read the copious and thoughtful comments by staff.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.