NORCROSS: Progress: More cons than pros?

When we moved to Georgia in the late ’80s, we moved from a fairly well-developed area of Orlando to well… the sticks of Cherokee County.

It was a culture shock, to say the least. I moved from an area where basically everything I needed or wanted was within walking distance or a mile away, to a semi-rural area where everything was at least a good five or more miles away.

I couldn’t wait for my new home to catch up to the rest of civilization, whereas my parents wanted it to stay away as long as possible.

There are pros and cons to any sort of progress. Unfortunately it seems —- mostly cons. One consequence of the sort of progress I refer to is neglect. Norcross and the rest of Southwest Gwinnett are my case-in-point.

I’ve had neighbors and politicians alike reflect on the good ol’ days of living around these parts. Some have harkened back to when Jimmy Carter Boulevard didn’t exist and others recall all the shopping and culinary fare once available.

Then progress moved on to other parts of Gwinnett, through Duluth and Snellville, eventually finding its way into the farthest reaches of the county that was not so long ago rural. That wave of progress was followed by tidal waves of apathy and neglect —- and it shows.

For all my wishing for things to change or get better, I always had one caveat —- it had to be done responsibly. We have a build-now-and-worry-about-it-later mentality that is coming back to bite us square on the behind.

Most aggravating is that most of the problems we face today were preventable.

Think about our water situation. Traffic. Crowded and poorly performing schools. Rising crime rates. All results of poor planning and mismanagement of progress.

While there are plenty of advantages regarding progress, I have to ask: was it worth it?

> Woody Bass writes Norcross.Talk at ajc.com/metro/gwinnett.