Meeting Time: March 20, 2024 at 3:00pm EDT

Agenda Item

2. Discussion of an agreement between SJP Monocacy Investors, LLC and the City for the deferral of the dedication of right-of-way and the construction of a portion of Lindley Road in the EastPark subdivision

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    Margaret Procario 8 months ago

    My name is Margaret Procario, and my husband and I live on Lindley Rd. in the Eastchurch development in Frederick, MD. We support the deferral of construction of the portion of Lindley Rd. in the Eastpark subdivision that would connect to Lindley Rd. in our development. But we also strongly urge the Mayor and Aldermen to rescind the requirement that the roads be connected in the future. Connecting the portion of Lindley Rd. that intersects Schifferstadt Blvd. in the Eastpark subdivision with the portion of Lindley running to 7th St. in our development is a bad idea for 3 reasons.
    First, it will endanger the safety of our residents. If the roads are connected, traffic will likely both increase and pick up speed as it travels the straight road between 7th St. and Schifferstadt. This will create an opportunity for a tragic accident. Our children are accustomed to quiet streets, and will not easily adapt to the change on this street.
    Second, it is inconsistent with the City's requirements in the original design of the Eastchurch development. The entrances to our development have traffic-calming measures, which have been shown to reduce speeds over short distances, increase enjoyment of communities, and even reduce crime. Making Lindley Rd. a through street does the opposite of what these measures were intended to accomplish, because it will encourage increased traffic.
    Third, connecting the two portions of Lindley Rd. is a bad idea because it is unnecessary. Even the measure's proponents claim that trucks from EastPark won't need to go through our development to access preferred routes. Yet, while the Planning Commission acknowledged our concerns about safety and the enjoyment of our community, they said they were approving the connection because of its convenience for people from other neighborhoods. We find this reasoning problematic. For one thing, this so-called convenience is purely hypothetical since we don't know yet what amenities might need to be reached so quickly. Moreover, everyone from surrounding neighborhoods has easy access to the Eastpark subdivision from East Church St. and Schifferstadt Blvd. We don't feel that the "convenience" of driving a block or two less or saving a few seconds of travel time justifies endangering the safety of our residents or interfering with the enjoyment of our community. The City of Frederick should be doing everything in its power to promote quiet residential communities, not undermine them.

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    Seamus Fitzgerald 8 months ago

    Hi this is Seamus Fitzgerald, my family resides in the EastChurch neighborhood, and I am strongly in favor of deferral of the Lindley road extension. As a father of two young children, the less traffic passing through our neighborhood the better. We also hope that in the future the city will find truck access via Schifferstadt Blvd adequate to service the entire site, and that there will be no need to route heavy trucks through our neighborhood. Thank you.