This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

As the Ankle Turns: The Ongoing Saga of Leeds Avenue

Residents of Leeds Avenue are reviewing their constitutional rights in a case where the state and county are choosing non-pedestrians over the health and safety of pedestrians.

The irony is not lost on me. The governor did not respond to my letter about the pedestrian safety crisis on our street.

The response came from one of the Annapolis puppet mouths. Some derriere-chapeau, minion was directed to send a non-sense, boilerplate letter directing me to a website. The letter came from someone who has never taken a little stroll down Leeds Avenue. She informs me that the body count on our street is a police problem. Wow! Years of working with the police who have been consistent and dutiful in their support of this neighborhood; who have enforced, observed, measured and monitored, and some bubble-head Annapolis politico gas-bag accuses our devoted, hard-working, ever-present police of being responsible for Pedestrian Safety Crisis on Leeds Avenue.

Wow!

Find out what's happening in Arbutuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Clearly, the state will take no responsibility for the “unintended effect” of their co-opting of a county road and the resulting public health threat to the pedestrians on Leeds Avenue.

Annapolis officials blaming the police. Priceless.

Find out what's happening in Arbutuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

So, imagine my surprise when I got a call from the local precinct.  I had, in my seething letter to the Governor, mentioned that residents of Leeds intent unite, gather, protest, exercise freedom of speech as well as our other constitutional rights. We are fed up.

Turns out that, magically, my mention of holding a protest with members of the neighborhood about our deplorable pedestrian conditions made someone in the Governor’s office very interested. And, ironically, that interest somehow, inexplicably, resulted in a police officer calling me on the telephone. -Totally coincidentally, of course. The officer just wanted to be sure that I knew we needed a permit to protest. It is not hard to imagine that before a judge, worldly or other-worldly, the marionette from Annapolis would say, “Oh, your honor, we were just worried about pedestrian safety and we wanted the protesters to have a permit.” 

Though I was born at night, it wasn’t last night. I know a veiled threat when I hear one.

What the Annapolis Marionettes don’t know, adding to their mountain of ignorance is that, I wasn’t intimidated by the police officers call. The police here are great. -Really great. And, the puppet mouths in the state capitol don’t know that I come from a family of soldiers, law enforcement officers and fire fighters. They don’t know that I have attended the Citizens Police Academy and loved it. What they don’t know is that I adore and highly-regard the Wilkens Avenue Community Services team, as well as the rest of the force. Unlike the politicians, the police are here when we need them.

I guess we cannot expect our leaders in Annapolis to make safe and sensible choices for ordinary citizens. They are very busy in Annapolis. They have to think about how to support the life-styles of people with yachts and mansions; they have to manage the in-cell cable television service to criminals in the Hagerstown prison. They are very, very busy. Too busy to have any interest in preserving the human lives of ordinary folk, who have to walk to the grocery store. Or, residents who have crazy ideas that the air quality in their homes should not be toxic with exhaust from non-pedestrian users. –Exhaust from those non-humans which are backed-up 20’ feet from Leeds Avenue residents living rooms.

 I guess the official state response to our plight is “Annapolis-tough-love” for “it must be your Karma, hence your fault, to be poor, disabled, elderly, ordinary…”

The Community Service Officer was doing what he was told, of course. And, as always was courteous, helpful, and supportive. We a lovely chat, and I said I would be sure to include the officers in our efforts, as some of them live in the area and, like us, are victims of these life-threatening conditions. I will make sure the officers get one of the tee shirts. After all, the officers know the body count.

As to the talking heads in Annapolis, there is nothing new to say. -Politicians and air bags. A rough bump in the road and their reaction is exactly the same. Except, airbags actually sometimes protect people.

If you have a story about an incident on Leeds Avenue, please email it to leeds.united.pedestrians@gmail.com for inclusion in its website. You will be contacted before the story is posted. Your name will not be used if you wish to be anonymous.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Arbutus