Long-Awaited Leeds Avenue Work to Begin
Residents hopes are up for new sidewalks, curbs and road surface from Linden Avenue to Southwestern Boulevard.
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Work on the long-awaited project to upgrade Leeds Avenue with sidewalks and curbs is slated to begin in early April and will be completed by the fall, officials told Arbutus Patch.
Lacking contiguous sidewalks, navigating Leeds Avenue has always been treacherous for pedestrians and wheeled transportation such as strollers and wheelchairs. Some sections of the path along the street are little more than muddy ruts.
Last summer, county executive Kevin Kamenetz announced a $3.16 million project to construct sidewalks, curbs, new storm drains, and a new paved road surface for Leeds Avenue from Linden Avenue to Southwestern Boulevard.
The project will begin the week of April 9, according to county public works spokesperson David Fidler, and is expected to last 12 to 18 months.
"I'll believe it when I see it," said Leeds Avenue resident Melinda Adamz, who formed a group to push for a safer and pedestrian-friendly street.
"We've heard this so many times before," Adamz said. "I've seen surveyors out there four times over the years."
Coming up next: Removing the ramp from Leeds to northbound I-695, which state officials have said will happen when the Beltway bridge over Leeds is replaced.
Sunny Rhodes
8:03 am on Thursday, March 8, 2012
Please note that all this "cheerleading" about the Leeds sidewalk improvements avoids the topic of the 695N ramp removal, traffic control, and lighting. OF COURSE. This is how they spin the facts. We may get sidewalks. Maybe. -More pedestrians and an unchecked speeding problem, which is of interest to zero state, federal and county officials. Better pavement for speeders + more pedestrian targets = more dead and injured. Arbutus is not Annapolis or Roland Park. Our deaths and injuries do not matter. I have contacted officials from the bottom to the top of their food chain and the answer is always the same. It sounds like this: pass-the-buck. Oddly, no one seems to have the power to fix the lethal speeding problem due to the ramp but each of them has a stake in leaving the ramp untouched to the demise of the pedestrians. Oddly, residents are NOT important enough to be granted traffic management on Leeds because NOT enough of us have died. HOWEVER, in spite of our lack of death volume, traffic volume makes the ramp "vital and necessary". SO, THIS MEANS that the state and county use right-of-way to keep the ramp on Leeds Avenue but REFUSE fair use considerations for pedestrians. It turns out, the neither the state or county own Leeds Avenue. I checked. It also turns out that there are Constitutional Right rules that kick in when government agencies choose one group of users of others; non-pedestrian users over pedestrians. -Interesting times ahead for We the People.
tbw
8:25 am on Friday, March 9, 2012
Speaking of how 'They" spin the facts...
Please provide traffic count and death statistics to back up your Doomsday claims.
If neither the state nor county owns Leeds Ave, then perhaps you can direct your comments to the actual owner(s).
"We the People" sounds more like "Me the Ranter"
al walker
7:08 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
man cant you just be happy your getting sidewalks and gutters. lighten up.