Thomas and I just got back from the La Plata town hall meeting, and the council voted to send a letter to the State Highway Administration (SHA) recommending AGAINST a traffic light at 301 and Oriole Lane in La Plata, MD.
There was a very large crowd of people in attendance, mostly residents of the subdivisions that would be affected by the Kohl's development plan. Quite a few people spoke out regarding both Kohl's and the traffic light proposal, and they were in large part opposed to the potential development.
There's a few thoughts that have been running through my mind since the meeting, and I think it's important to look at this development plan from all angles.
TRAFFIC CONCERNS
People are worried about drivers using their community as a pass-through to get to Kohl's. I agree that traffic will become more problematic as people look to these communities as a short cut to their destination, and people should be concerned.
Residents have been told that Oriole Ln. itself cannot be closed because of emergency vehicle access. Several residents have pitched the idea of closing off the community access to Rt. 301 completely by closing Oriole Ln. I think that the idea of shutting off access into the community is a smart idea!
How about this: Turn that section of Oriole Ln. between where Kohl's entrance is and where the Hawthorne Green homes begin into a restriced use (i.e., emergency vehicles only) zone? This would allow Police, Fire and EMS access while preventing people from cutting through the area for convenience.
HOME VALUE CONCERNS
I've heard a lot of people voicing concern over what this Kohl's project is going to do to their home values. In previous posts I mentioned that people who may have a view of the proposed project are at risk of home devaluation. This proposal affects more than just those specific homes in Hawthorne Green, however, and I will discuss the potential impact further in my next post.
~Jonathan Benya
I work as part of Team Benya At Century 21 New Millennium in Southern Maryland. We make it our primary goal to work hard and provide the most honest information available in today's changing market.
KB Homes Pulls Out Of More Markets
Winter's almost over, here's a few final winter bird photos to enjoy!
Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Working Hard!
Hey, Who's Side is this Builder On??
Charles County Perc Testing 2008 is open!
Charles County Maryland Foreclosure Report: March, 2008
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2008 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
J. McCright- I think you make some excellent points here! It's important for citizens such as yourself to be vocal about your concerns to help ensure the quality of life that you currently enjoy. While the property in question is zoned commercial and has been for quite some time, the region needs to take into account the fact that people live in immediate proximity, and much like the Target construction, there are needs and concerns of the surrounding residents that MUST be taken into account.
Let's hope that any development project that ends up going through there will help to protect the residents concerns and interests.