Ingenuity Magazine Winter 2020

Pond Ingenuity Winter 2020 7 Image Courtesy: The Bowl at Sugar Hill, GA Aerial power lines were demolished and installed along roads at the rear of various multi-level buildings. From front-facing sidewalks along the main corridor no power lines can be seen. Pond had considered buried lines, but it would have been too expensive. “The City wanted to slow down traffic and maintain a residential feel, and that’s exactly what we accomplished. The road parallels State Route 20, and they didn’t want drivers coming off it barreling through the area,” said Skinner. The blend of harmonious design with practical, purposeful planning has strengthened the City’s identity, satisfying leaders’ desire to give Sugar Hill its own personality. “We realize when we come up with a good idea, even though we don’t always know exactly how to carry it out. If something’s not working, we figure out how to make it work. Our main takeaway from all of our experience is that we keep moving forward,” said Kaipo Awana, Sugar Hill’s Planning Director. City leaders are also attuned to the need for flexibility so, as that identity continues to evolve, it can be sustained. “The original downtown construction was conceived as more of a quaint idea rather than a vibrant, functional semi-urban center. In the last few years we’ve veered from the original plan, yet we’ve stuck to our vision, which grew out of community input over the last five years or so. I think in large part the community is excited about what’s going on, about our growth and all the amenities, and we are experiencing the current fruits of the plan,” said Awana.  Kevin Skinner, PE Principal and Design Director