If you look down Tifton’s streets, what will you see?

A boom, a big boom.

And I’m not talking about window-shattering movie pyrotechnics.

I’m talking about a business boom.

In the past week or so here at the Gazette, it seemed we got word nearly every day of businesses, either new or existing, popping up and moving in, especially in the downtown area. As someone who has either walked or drove down those streets for over 30 years, it is very exciting. The proposed reworking and revitalization of Commerce Way only adds to that excitement.

I’m sure plenty of you have drove into sleepy towns where the life in the streets has just dwindled off with the paint of old buildings no one cares for anymore. All boarded up and broken, with only a fading for sale or for rent sign to give them any hope. What once was a center of commerce and socialization is laid waste to nothing but an empty shell of concrete and brick. For a long time, Commerce Way has been slipping dangerously close to being that shell.

That doesn’t have to be its future though, and with a vote from our city council, it won’t be. Trey Gavin and Pete Pryzenski are right. Commerce Way can be a gateway into downtown Tifton, reflecting what Tifton itself should be: the “travel gateway” of South Georgia. Our town can form a foundation of hospitality, tourism and the charm of the South Georgia life. It has the potential to attract not only people from the immediate area, but from all over Georgia and anyone traveling down our several highways, as well as I-75.

Revitalizing Commerce Way improves our chances to get people to stop and explore. If you come off I-75 going into downtown, it’s the first street you see. The proposed one-way street designation would also allow travelers to naturally be led in the direction of 3rd Street and other downtown streets.

In addition to the presented increased parking spaces and dining area, adding more greenery and even art to the area would give the space even more dimension, while also paying homage to our agriculture roots as well as our budding arts culture.

It is my sincere hope that the city will back Gavin’s proposals for Commerce and even revitalize the street beyond that. Fixing it up has the potential to encourage even more business to open in the vacant places. Breathing new life into Tifton’s street gives us more potential to see more economic impact as people get out and travel again.

Mary Beth Yeary is a page designer with The Tifton Gazette, The Valdosta Daily Times and The Moultrie Observer.