Report of Broadneck Federation
Meeting
Announcements
From: Stan
Johnson Please forward this as you see fit. My apologies for not making the board meeting this month; late breaking events prevented me from attending. Two topics were presented at last night's meeting: 1) Update of the Bay Bridge redecking project: Redecking of the westbound span from 8:00 p.m. till 5:00 a.m. begins tonight. Requires closing of the westbound span and redirection of traffic onto the eastbound span each night and reverse process early in the morning. 300 prefabricated panels will replace sections of the current roadbed; completion planned by the fall of 2009. The nights they will be working are determined by 2006 traffic studies that tell them when (days and in some cases the hours) traffic load will allow the closing of the span. Each night will have a 6:00 p.m. check to determine whether to proceed based on weather and other possible contingencies. And, other maintenance work on the bridge could cause further delays. Thus, It is highly recommended bridge travelers check the day's status/plans for the bridge at www.baybridge.com or by calling 1-877-BAYSPAN. MdTA will be very aggressive in enforcing the 45 MPH speed limit; this is a work zone and fines will be doubled. Interesting side note: a) the majority of delays on the bridge are due to breakdowns and motorists out of gas; b) MdTA does some 4,000 driveovers (for folks too afraid of the height to drive over) a year. 2) Goddard School plans for replacement of "Little Wonders" Nursery School at 443 College Parkway Goddard School has applied for a Special Exception to the R5 zoning in the area to build a "high end" child care center at the location formerly occupied by the nursery school (it's known as the "purple building"). Goddard is a franchise operation, and the presentation was given by the owner/franchisee, Greg and Sarah Martin. The proposal is to raze the current building and build a facility on the 1.17 acre plot with capacity of 141 children, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, and staff of 20. If the special exception is approved, a site development plan application must then be approved by the county before they can build. In parallel with this a traffic impact study will also be done and a strategy for the roads developed. It could be 2 years before school opens, if approved. Discussion centered on the traffic jams the local residents are experiencing on College Parkway and the difficulties in just getting into and out of their communities during busy hours. Ensuring the satisfactory consideration of this must be a big part of the development plan. The county has previously rejected requests for additional traffic lights on College Parkway because there are already too many, too close together, and not capable of being synchronized. The discussion then moved to a challenge for the need for a new facility by some local folks who currently operate day care centers in the area. Goddard believes the business case is there, and asserts that 3700 children under the age of 6 live within 3 miles of the target location. The challengers suggested that the County would verify that referrals for day care are down and that demographic trends in the county do not support the need for more day care (also noting the restrictions for new housing to the over 55 community); others in the room stated that BRAC will mean higher demand is coming. There will be no meeting in December and Broadneck Federation president is attempting to schedule a "county legislators meeting" in Annapolis in January. This would be open to all IHGE members and I'll keep you informed. Regards, Stan Johnson |
(revised Dec 2007)