The original item was published from February 15, 2021 12:21 PM to March 15, 2021 3:53 PM
The Georgia Scenic Byway Program was established in 1993. It designates highways, streets, roads or routes that feature intrinsic qualities that should be enhanced. The Scenic Byway program is an economic development tool that defines the character and appeal of unique areas of the State. Designation as a Georgia Scenic Byway limits the construction of new billboards in the corridor, but otherwise imposes no additional regulations.
There are 15 corridors in the State that have been designated as Georgia Scenic Byways. More information on each Byway, along with a map of designated routes, can be found on the website of the Georgia Department of Transportation. The proposed South Douglas Scenic Byway would connect to the South Fulton Scenic Byway in the historic town center of Campbellton. Douglas County was a stakeholder in a recent master plan completed for historic Campbellton.
The intrinsic qualities of a Scenic Byway describe its scenic, cultural, natural, archaeological, historic and recreational values. The proposed South Douglas Scenic Byway is rich in all of these values. Each is defined briefly below,* and will be explored in more detail in later posts.
Archaeological: Those characteristics of the byway corridor that are physical evidence of historic or prehistoric human life or activity.
Cultural: The evidence and expressions of the customs or traditions of a distinct group of people that are still currently practiced.
Historic: Legacies of the past that are distinctly associated with physical elements of the landscape, and reflect the actions of people, including buildings, settlement patterns and other examples of human activity.
Natural: Those features in the visual environment that are in a relatively undisturbed state, including geological formation, fossils, landform, water bodies, vegetation and wildlife.
Recreational: Outdoor recreational activities directly associated with and dependent upon the natural and cultural elements of the corridors landscape, including active and passive recreational experience.
Scenic: The heightened visual experience derived from the view of natural and manmade elements of the visual environment of the scenic byway corridor.
*Descriptions are excerpted from the Intrinsic Qualities Definitions found on the Georgia Department of Transportation Website.