Distractions abound in Southwest GA.  The past four years have brought the Albany area disaster upon disaster, attempting to wear at our good intentions to build a better community.  The private sector knows well that disasters often herald strategy and opportunity, and we’ve been fortunate to have some resilient leaders in our local government offices who feel the same way.  Despite the distractions and setbacks of the storms and pandemic, we’ve still seen significant infrastructure projects such as the improvements to Albany’s roads and streetlights.  During this same time period Lee County produced a new boat landing in honor of a fallen hero.  Citizens of both counties are benefiting from the improvements to quality of life, and I applaud those leaders who pressed on rather than seek refuge behind excuses that lesser communities may have embraced.

Today, in 2020, opportunities still abound, and the effort cannot stop now—we must not Fail the Trail.

Albany CEO recently published an article citing the increasing demand for home purchases in small towns.  This was a pre-pandemic trend, and I personally believe we should expect it to continue after the demise of Covid-19.  If we accept that trend as valid, we can admit an opportunity exists to attract new residents to our area.  We can also conclude that if Rails to Trails successfully attracted homebuyers to other urban areas, it follows that such a project can attract them to the Heart of Southwest GA.  In fact, I believe this train of logic was accepted 5 years ago when our local Rails to Trails effort got underway!  Why the sudden resistance?

Before continuing I want to disclose two facts: First, I know very little about the complex nature of public-private undertakings, especially those that cross county lines.  Simply put, I have not been entrenched in the Rails to Trails process and cannot speak to its intricacies.  Secondly, the proposed trail will abut my own neighborhood, and as a lover of exercise and the outdoors I have a considerable personal interest in its completion.  I certainly hope neither of these facts preclude me from an opinion on the current state of the project.

In April of 2019 a preview of the trail was offered on a section between Fussell Rd and Oakland Rd in Lee County.  My nine-year-old son and I rode the trail with some friends, joining hundreds of other outdoor fanatics along the way.  The enthusiasm on that sweltering Spring day was unmistakable, and one could immediately see this would be a net benefit for all counties involved.  Lee County showed great interest in the project by providing safety officers and EMS on the scene to assist with any health concerns that could arise.  A well known running club—The Good Life City Runners—provided volunteers for a water station at the half-way point.  Around this same time in the Spring of 2019, The City of Albany began making great strides on their portion of the trail in the downtown area.  All signs pointed to a successful completion following several years of planning and execution.

Why is failure now suddenly an option?

I began working for Delta Airlines as an engineer on September 8, 2005, about one week before the airline filed for bankruptcy.  In the months that followed, blame and excuses prevailed, so the executive team hired a professional training company to hold an intense seminar for all management employees on the topic of Personal Responsibility.  Through this and similar efforts, Delta not only survived bankruptcy, but also endured a hostile takeover bid from another major airline through its “Keep Delta My Delta” campaign.  Delta eventually became the world’s largest and arguably most successful commercial airline.  Since that experience I have been a lifetime subscriber to the notion of personal responsibility.  Given my position to lead and execute in an area of my life, I cannot possibly evade responsibility for its achievements and setbacks.  This applies to my family, church, business, and community.

At this point in the Rails to Trails project our elected officials have become personally responsible for its success or failure.  If they choose to wash their hands of it, the failure is on their shoulders.  This includes Lee County, even if they aren’t under contractual obligation to participate.  If our commissioners choose to see it through, whatever successes arise from it will be celebrated as their doing, and rightly so.  At least one Albany commissioner has said he’s not sure the citizens of his district want this project to finish.  Why suddenly reject an important infrastructure project based on vague narratives of public opinion, especially after so many predecessors embraced it?  Imagine if our Albany welcome sign project, facing similar rhetoric, had been so casually dismissed.  For five years city leaders have championed this trail project.  Now is not the time to reject it as simply unwanted.

Lee officials profess deep concern for the health of their fellow citizens, going so far as to bet the county’s economic security on a new rural hospital!  Rails to Trails is not only a preventive health service to the community, but it also carries far less risk.  For a Lee commissioner to suddenly cite concerns of litigation is bizarre to me.  I venture to wonder if that reason may be a pretext for avoiding some other complication, though I admit this is speculation.  I am more certain of this fact—simply conducting any degree of business these days exposes an organization to litigation.  The county rightly maintains the resources to defend itself in the course of business, and it can easily overcome minor legal matters associated with the trail project.  To use their own words, Lee County can and should become party to this endeavor for the benefit of their community. 

While I take liberties to openly comment on recent developments of the Rails to Trails project, I do so in the interest of bettering the community at large.  I’ve lived by and enjoyed public nature trails during my time in Atlanta, and my family now frequents the downtown Riverwalk in Albany.  I stand proudly behind my belief that this trail project will be a long-term benefit for citizens in Albany, Dougherty County, and Lee County.  To anyone voicing safety concerns, I offer this comfort—those wishing to harm others rarely take the open, paved road.  A well-traveled, concrete path is much safer than an abandoned rail bed.  At this time I simply ask other citizens who want this trail in our community to let your opinion and support be heard.  Please let our elected officials know that you fully endorse their efforts to see the Rails to Trails project completed, and give them the confidence to embrace their responsibility to see it through.