R U READY 2 RAFT?

Okay – For a long time now I’ve been avoiding addressing this question on this blog. Why? Maybe I was afraid of being accused of being negative or cynical (I notice that that keeps happening to folks who ask questions about Columbus's whitewater project.), maybe I didn’t want to hurt certain folks’ feelings or make them mad … maybe I’m just chicken. Maybe I wanted to keep this blog mostly positive. But after a bit of soul-searchin’ I finally decided that this whole blog would be completely bogus if I did not address this most important question for our time and our place. So, here it is -- my answer:

NO, I R NOT READY 2 RAFT. I DEFINITELY R NOT READY.

My first reservation has to do with aesthetics. The vista there at Eagle and Phenix dam is inarguably the most beautiful scene in Columbus. It’s certainly the most photographed, the most often rendered by artists. We’ve put it on postcards, on calendars, on websites, on letterhead … First Baptist Church even features it in one of their current television ads!

You know that sculpture of the girl that’s up high on the Riverwalk behind Synovus? That lifelike sculpture of the artist girl?

Well guess what she's drawing:

And now what are we doing? Well, we’re taking this most beautiful vista in the whole region, and we’re altering it. Messin’ with it. Who knows what this beautiful spot will look like when the whitewater project is completed? Do we really want to alter the most beautiful spot in the region?

My second reservation has to do with the fact that the dams that are scheduled to be “breached” are historic structures. We have already lost far too many historic structures on the riverfront and in adjacent downtown Columbus. Do we really want to lose two more?

Fred’s been on a letter writing campaign to try and figure out if there is any comprehensive plan to take advantage of this rare opportunity to execute an archaeological survey – to look carefully at how and when the dams were originally constructed. We just learned, finally, after weeks and weeks of asking, that a contract has very recently been awarded to a fine firm – Southern Research Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc -- but the contract is late in coming (Construction on the course began weeks ago!), and we understand that it is very limited in scope.

My third reservation has to do with the economic projections. Just about the last thing I’d ever claim to be is an economist, but the figures seem inflated. Is the whitewater project really going to create 700 jobs in Columbus? Is it really going to bring in 150,000 visitors each year, producing 40 million dollars in economic impact? At least one expert is skeptical:

From a report by WTVM’s Phil Scoggins --

I talked with the [U.S. National Whitewater] center's director, Jeff Wise, about the Columbus whitewater project. He says, "I do believe from what I've seen that they're going to be able to create some pretty compelling whitewater (in Columbus)." He goes on to say, "If you open up that whitewater component by removing those dams, I guarantee you that people will come down to that river. I have no doubt about that."
Wise was not so certain about the ability of a whitewater experience to generate enough revenue to make it profitable. He adds, "I'm a huge fan of what you're doing if it's about building a compelling part of your downtown. I think that's the reason to do it. But if somebody's looking for something that's going to pay for itself off of rafting revenue, that's scary."

My friend Marquette McKnight and her firm, Media, Marketing … and More!, have done a fantastic job of promoting the whitewater project. Truly, they have. I admire their work. Some of the rest of us, though, have waited far too long to ask questions.

I hope that I’m wrong. I hope that the whitewater course is beautiful, that the appropriate archaeological work is done, that the whitewater project generates even more jobs and revenue than projected. We’ll see.