Community Charrette

On my first trip to Bamberg, somehow I missed the poorly designed downtown area. When everyone else spoke about it in class, I thought to myself that it could not possibly be as bad as they are making it out to be. I found out on my second trip that, indeed it was! Downtown Bamberg is small, encompassing only one street and a few adjacent parcels. It looked as though at one time it could have been a very vibrant place, yet on the day we went there were no people there. In the thirty to forty-five minutes we spent walking the downtown strip, we passed maybe five other people also walking. On a Saturday afternoon, all of the businesses should have been open and the street and sidewalks should have been full of vibrant activity. The downtown has several positive features. Although a few of the buildings need work, overall they seem to be structurally fairly sound, and some are even quite pretty with great store fronts and unique architectural features. Although many of the businesses in downtown were already closed for the day and some closed permanently, they seem to be relevant to the needs of the Bamberg community. There are even a few antique/craft stores that attempt to bring in what little visitor traffic there is. The most disheartening feature of Bamberg’s downtown, however, is the way in which the sidewalks have recently been “improved”. Railings have been placed on both sides of the road, with only one break on either side, making it impossible to cross the street except for in one place. There has been no provision for on street parking, which is a key element in attracting people to visit the shops. The sidewalks are uneven and, in some places, slope dramatically into business entrances, making it difficult for people with limited mobility to access the businesses there. As bad as it is, I can understand why this was done. Large tractor-trailer trucks drive straight through downtown on their route from Orangeburg to Ehrhardt and Allendale. I assume these railings were put up to protect people, especially children, from the trucks on this narrow passage through town. However, they did not foresee the detrimental effects this action would have on the economic vitality and social aspects of the small downtown. In the community charrette, the citizens in my group said that there was a tremendous lack of communication among the city officials and local leaders, which is most likely what led to such poor decision-making. In fact, lack of communication was the key local issue to which my group felt there needed to be the most attention placed. They also impressed upon me the need for some form of local government or grant assistance for the business owners downtown, but realized that it might be an intricate and lengthy process.
Other issues highlighted by my group as being in need of attention included education and recreation activities for all age groups, but specifically children and teens. A mother of two said that her youngest son likes to bowl, but she has to drive to Columbia (a one and one half hour drive from Bamberg) for the nearest bowling alley. Another member of my group, an older woman, made the point that although Bamberg is a quite place to retire, even she has a hard time finding things to do; “I shop, eat, go to church, all in Orangeburg. I only sleep in Bamberg”. They also said that Bamberg needed more stores (especially a grocery store, as Piggly Wiggly currently runs a monopoly of sorts), and more businesses and industries that would supply jobs for the members of the community.