Great meeting tonight at the Calvary Pentecostal Church. No speaking in tongues, but plenty of speaking, some passionate pleas and more well-intentioned general statements of concern from Councilman Eugene. Stay tuned...there might be change a-brewin' at the neighborhood's most talked about intersection.
The upshot is this...after hearing from neighborhood watchcat Carrie (of Hawthorne Street Blog) and agitator-in-chief Maddie Fix-Hansen (who's mom got hit by a car) and Mac McConnell (who's been trying to make the corner safer for years) and Noah Budnick (from Transportation Alternatives and resident of Clarkson Ave) and Annie Williams (of Woodruff Ave Block Association) and moms and dads and newcomers and old-timers...the DOT rep who came to hear us will go home tonight with a perception that neighborhood residents are sick of being third-class citizens when it comes to City scrutiny, services and funding. We'll do our best to hold the DOT and the Councilman to their word...that this is a priority for them, that a proper study and strategy will be developed, and that we'll hear about it in a follow-up meeting no later than mid-July.
Nice job Maddie et al. Let's keep up the pressure.
2 comments:
Tim, thanks for the props. We do need bodies, and live ones, to continue to make this happen!
Neighbors, this may seem like "just how it is", but it doesn't have to be this way. It is not normal to have to hold your breath and hope to live as you cross a street. It is not necessary to flip your lid as you try to figure out when and how you can turn left or right through our neighborhood corners and negotiate unmarked lanes on poorly paved streets. It can change as soon as DOT decides not to neglect our chaotic corners.
Interview with Eugene ever happen? I keep checking YouTube but no love.
Post a Comment