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Fayetteville vs.Riverdale: The Captain D’s comparison

By J. Frank Lynch

Back a quarter century ago when Jimmy Carter was still in the White House, I was in Stella Mitchell’s art class at the old Fayette County Junior High which you now know as East Fayette Elementary.

Mrs. Mitchell was forced to teach art in a trailer parked out by the gym, which wouldn’t have been so bad I suppose except the trailer wasn’t hooked up to running water.

One day when Mrs. Mitchell made a run to the main building to fetch water to rinse the paint brushes, things got a little rowdy in the art trailer. Upon returning, an angry Mrs. Mitchell declared, “You’re so loud they can hear you in Riverdale!”

We got quiet, but privately all these years I’ve considered the absurdity of that notion — Riverdale was at least 10 miles away!

Even so, it wasn’t uncommon during that time for folks to note the rapidly changing landscape that was rural-to-suburban Fayette County and lament, “One day you won’t be able to tell where Fayetteville stops and Riverdale begins!”

Some would call those words prophetic. Today, to the casual observer or somebody passing through, it might appear that one town just bleeds right into the other.

But to the growing chorus of folks who insist Fayetteville is turning into Riverdale, I beg this advice: Take a closer look.

I’ve lived in Fayette County nearly my entire life, and I can assure you that the less-than-favorable opinion Fayette Countians have for Riverdale (and much of Clayton County) is nothing new. It has been around as long as I can remember.

And though for years we in Fayette have been accused of staring down our noses at our neighbors to the north and east, I’d insist that it’s not about class, race or economics. It’s really about smart vs. irresponsible urban planning, and about establishing standards for growth vs. having no standards at all.

It’s about embracing a common sense approach to the future.

Fayette County knows Riverdale all too well. Forever it seems, Ga. Highway 85 north has been the quickest and most direct route to downtown Atlanta from Fayetteville. We have noted with a curse each new gas station, fast-food outlet and traffic light that has gone up between the county line and I-75 through the years.

The end result, of course, is that the heart of Riverdale is just plain ugly — that straight-shot, five-mile, six-lane stretch of Hwy. 85 we all abhor.

(I was driving through Riverdale once with an out-of-town friend who declared it the ugliest, endless commercial strip he’d ever seen — and he was from Florida!)

Fayetteville leaders don’t get proper credit in their efforts to avoid repeating the mistakes of Riverdale. They’ve been trying for years, and they’ve done a pretty good job. While I admit the mile or so of Hwy. 85 North from the Courthouse Square to Ga. Highway 314 could use some more work, you’ve got to admit it’s one of the least offensive commercial corridors in metro Atlanta — certainly unworthy of the jabs many Peachtree Citians toss at the fair county seat.

And from there north to the Pavilion, both Hwys. 85 and 314 are practically Peachtree City-esque with signage, landscaping and the like.

Those kinds of things, while seemingly unimportant to the passing eye, are the growth standards I’m talking about. That’s what separates Fayetteville from Riverdale.

The best way of illustrating what’s different about “us” vs. “them” is something I call “The Captain D’s Model.”

I first noticed it one day while stopped for gas at the Quik Trip in Riverdale. Glancing north, I noted an outlet of the fast-food fish chain on the corner and was amazed at the almost criminal hodgepodge of urban clutter that stretched into the horizon.

I took a picture.

The next day, I set out to take a similar photo of the Fayetteville Captain D’s and was proud of what I found. I’ve reproduced both photos here and I ask you simply: Which represents the kind of place you’d want to invest in, work in, and live in?

If I’m right about this, your answer speaks for itself.

So you see, Fayetteville is not turning into Riverdale by a long shot. If anything, Fayette County continues to move away from the poor development choices and bad planning examples that have been set by our neighbors.

Simply, it comes down to building the kind of community where people will want to live for generations to come, versus one that doesn’t offer much promise. It comes down to living in a community that you think is worth fighting for, versus one where it appears people don’t give a damn.