Wednesday, March 05, 2008
HeraldTrib Today, March 5, 2008
Since I’m on the pedestrian topic, I’ll point out yesterday’s story about the renovation of N. Henderson Road at N. Thomas Street. A portion of the design is at right (Thomas Street runs vertically). Notice how the crosswalks over Henderson are “zebra striped” but those over Thomas Street are only the parallel lines. I asked Dan Reinhard, a county engineer, about this, and he said that’s just how the traffic people do it. So, I called Jose Thommana, a transportation program manager with the county. Why not zebra stripes on all four sides, I wondered. He gave me one answer I expected (and do not really like, I must admit): if you put them everywhere, then no one pays attention to them. I do not totally buy that, but I have not studied it as much as the pros. The answer, that made more sense was, of course, money related. The parallel lines cost about $200 to $300 dollars. The zebra striping can hit $2,000. The paint is not actually a paint, he said, but a durable plastic with glass beads inside it to make it reflective at night and during rain storms. When one starts counting all the intersections in the county, no doubt the extra cost adds up. I suppose I should be happy the county recognizes Henderson as a busy enough arterial for zebra striping. The letters this week, got readers reacting. Even the innocuously titled “Letter: Watch Where You Drop Milkweed Seeds” got a comment. But the one to generate quite a bit of action was Nancy Bukar’s question asking what to do about people who walk across The Chatham Condominium’s property on their way to the Assembly of God Church for a free dinner. People had reactions and ideas. Check out the letter and reactions, below. The discussions surrounding of the Buckingham retail redevelopment at the corner of N. Glebe Road at N. Pershing Drive continues tonight with the DRC meeting, 6:30. Representatives from the developer, Georgetown Strategic Capital, will be on hand to show new drawings and discuss plans with county staff and DRC volunteers. 
By the end of the month, or early next month, the county will be seeking community input on the plan, said Rebbecah Ballo in the Historic Affairs office. “It’s as far as it can go without the community input,” she said. The plans for the corner might go before the planning commission (a major step toward implementation) before that group takes a break for the summer. I cannot go to tonight's DRC meeting, so if someone else wants to check it out and then drop an email to me, that would be great. (For some stories on the plans, click here, and here) Did you have troubles using the county’s computer system to sign your kids up for summer camp? So did I. Write me an email detailing the problems, and I’ll send them on to a person I know who can handle these sorts of problems. (heraldtrib@gmail.com) I keep thinking what a pain the system is, but then I really wonder what the people who don’t have computers, or have limited access to computers, do. How are they not totally shut out of the system?--ST Today's Headlines: Headlines from Earlier in the Week:
The Week’s Headlines…
As always, you can scroll down to see all the recent stories, or simply click the links below (if the link doesn't work, scroll down to find the story, and email to tell me what's busted: heraldtrib@gmail.com --Steve Thurston).
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