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Stories from the NFCCA Newsletter, the “Northwood News” |
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Stories from the NFCCA Newsletter, the “Northwood News” |
A number of present and future issues and events that affect our community are worthy of note. These include:
Negotiations on the streetscape trash pick-up problem continue. Alan Friedman, a member of our board of directors, has negotiated with the major players in this issue. Negotiations with the County Council have not been encouraging. Although trash pickup is continuing at two other sites in the County, we have been advised that the Council will not move on this issue although the legality of the other pickups is questionable in terms of equity. Presumably, the current poor state of County finances rules out official action. We were advised to initiate a suit against the County Executive to achieve any relief. Unless we have an affluent pro bono lawyer in our midst or wish to engage in a major fund raising campaign to sue the County government, a suit would appear impracticable at present. At least one resident, who served as a volunteer trash remover and who lives near the mini-park, has complained about public health threats (rats, for example, are drawn to the site). Alan will continue to see other means until June, at which time we may have to seek a radical alternative, namely, to have the streetscape facility removed as a public nuisance.
The problem of North Four Corners Park also remains unsolved. The park was originally earmarked for improvement involving the land acquired by the County adjacent to the existing park property by the razing of a private school. Park and Planning began drawing up plans. This project has been monitored by Carol Ann Barth, who is a professional landscaper. Park and Planning has been “off-again/on-again” in scheduling period briefings on its proposals. Complicating this issue has been the emergence of a rival project, involving the same park, by the County Recreation Department, with its own planners and architect.
It became apparent to our own committee that these two branches had not been in communication with each other. The Rec Department envisages a large community center, replacing the present modest recreation building specialized in serving for the elderly (a rationale). This project, however, will take up much of the acreage of the park, bring additional parking, night lights and traffic into the area. The Rec Department also had the insensitivity to name this facility for White Oak and Kemp Mill, ignoring the fact that the name Northwood has been in place in our neighborhood for a half century. An appeal to our Councilmanic District 5 representative has resulted in consideration of alternative sites but the outcome remains clouded. How the County Executive and Council can consider the expense of planning two alternative projects on the one hand and then cut trash collection, arguing lack of funds, on the other is quite beyond us.
The renaming of the trail in the Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park should have our approval. Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, had enormous influence in the environmental movement in the United States and abroad. A modest woman working for the U.S. government, she lived for many years on the east bank of the branch and walked there many times. It is also worth noting that members of our community were and continue to be a major force in preserving the natural environment of the stream valley park. We have also worked as volunteer trail constructors under Park and Planning supervision, the result of which is an attractive and much safer trail system. There are plans to extend the trail beyond Randolph and Bonifant Roads to reach Patuxent State Park where a connection could be made with the Seneca Greenway Trail in the western County, creating a link between the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. This would create a recreational and nature trail some 90 to 100 miles in length and serve as a natural resource for years to come.
The decision to have a community forum on the proposed County-State projects to construct the ICC and ICT (Inter-county Transit Connector (formerly, the Inner Purple Line) voted in a resolution at our lst general membership meeting. Although neither of these projects is in our neighborhood, but there has been heavy debate on the cost and utility of the projects. Will the ICC reduce traffic congestion, for example, on Colesville Road? Should an east-west transit line (the Purple Line) be considered as an alternative? Is the cost of either project prohibitive in terms of money earmarked for other transportation problems in the County and State?
The forum has been planned for 12 May 2004 7;30 to 10 p.m. in our community recreation center in the North Four Corners Park. This will be a special session, taking the place of a scheduled board meeting. Normally, our general membership meetings are every other month. We will depart from this practice for the purpose of presenting the forum, which could not be fitted into the April or June meetings. We will hear presentations by representatives of the State Highway Administration(SHA) on the latest plans for the ICC, by supporters of the ICC and by its opponents. Time will then be allotted for rebuttal by the two sides, questions and answers from the audience and an association vote by members in good standing (dues paid up to date) on support of the proposed projects, opposing them or taking no position pro or con. Since our meetings are open to the public, we may have outside interested persons but these persons will not vote. Voting could be on 12 May or at June meeting depending on views of general membership.
On the reopening of Northwood High school, see the article by Michael Sauter. See Article
[Note: This column was truncated in the printed newsletter.] ■
© 2004 NFCCA [Source: https://nfcca.org/news/nn200404b.html]