From Hiram Lodgepole
Maybe it was ironical weather related ‘pay back’ syndrome, but the Grande Opening of Bel Air’s Main street last Saturday sure smacked of the laggards who were in charge of the work getting done in a timely fashion…
Albeit, the weather, delays and material underages all will affect every construction job there is…but the town suffered immeasurable loses when the work drug on, and some folks went out of business as a result…those good folks who chose Bel Air to open a business will not be back…and Bel Air’s employees like Chris Schlehr and Carol Diebel better wise up to the fact that like animals of the land who become extinct…so too will good, community minded people, men and women who work hard, and offer something more than a product for sale on Main street…they too become extinct and resulting ‘filler’ might not be as beneficial or welcomed as what was once here…sure the days of Johnny Hubel and Dave Coen, and Charley Lutz and Ruth Foard are gone…but in their place others will come, and Bel Air needs to nurture those kind of people, after all, the aforementioned built the town’s reputation for fairness and square-dealing…
How much of the crap that went on during the so-called Main Street Re-Vitalization…would have gone un-accounted for when the ‘old timers’ were in control?….I think they would not tolerate the likes of the current Town Hall occupants quite so apathetically…..
Now before the folks in question get their drawers all in a wad…just ask the average taxpayers, or visitors or better yet merchants in Bel Air…for their take…
I’m not alone in these thoughts…
It just hurt some good people…and they are gone…extinct from the streets that are now new and fresh…wouldn’t it be ironic if Bel Air threw a party and no body came…only because they didn’t like the way the town is run…
Funny, it didn’t used to be that way…
While I’m not in agreement with all of that, I will say that I absolutely loved that brand new street signs were put on all the new polls. Sure, none of the old signs had lost their brilliance, and the paint on the “old” Kimmy Way sign was hardly dry, but why not buy a new sign?
The flooding on the sidewalks in Saturday’s storm was ominous since the flood planning hasn’t had time to break down from how it was designed yet, but it doesn’t regularly pour as much as it did Saturday, either.
It does look better than I expected. The street had to be reworked, and the sidewalk was absolutely perilous, with people falling on the cracks regularly. It will be an improvement to the town.
Random comments to Lodgepole – my take as a taxpayer and 40 year resident of Bel Air:
Exactly how poor was the performance by the construction folks? You talk about the “laggards” and say that “the work drug on”. How badly did they miss any deadlines?
I don’t believe that the businesses that left recently directly blamed the construction for their closing. Do you have any specifics? Maybe it was just time for them to retire or move in a different direction with their lives.
I’m not a fan of several of the present commissioners, but some of “old timers” who used to be in control were at least as bad if not worse.
Finally, I seem to remember the previous rebuilding of Main Street to be much more traumatic for the town. Main Street was closed for long periods of time, stores and offices were inaccessible, and the inconvenience was much worse. I believe it was handled much better this time.
Once again I find myself on the same side as my esteemed colleague, Phil Dirt. If you had occasion to speak to some of the merchants, like the fine ladies at Tiny Toes, they’d tell you that the construction work was done with the utmost care and always with the merchants in mind.
At one point, the “laggards” you speak of actually carried strollers and packages over the construction areas to help customers access the stores.
If you watched the day-to-day of the project, it went as quickly and efficiently as it could have under the circumstances.
There were no extended closures during daylight hours, and there weren’t long stretches of roadway torn up three feet into the substrate.
(There are plenty of pics of the last big fix, if you can’t remember it)
If you have an axe to grind with Chris Schlehr or Carol Deibel, that’s another topic for another day. How much of his or her fingerprint do you see in this project anyway?
Are THEY responsible for Hirsch’s going OOB? Don’t think so. Show me another small town haberdasher ANYWHERE that hung on as long as he did.
Lutz’s? In the age of Best Buy and Home Depot? Not a chance.
Give it a year. the vacants on Main will be filled and growing, either in spite of or because of the Streetscape Project…
Mi barrio es primo!
Does anyone feel the way I do about the concrete median strip in front of the courthouse? I guess it was placed there to slow the drivers down but it only tends to confuse them. How long before someone fresh off a night of drinking at Looney’s or the Greene Turtle hits it dead on? Surprisingly, it hasn’t happened yet. As for the perpetual problem of parking downtown, it appears to me that spaces have been lost due to the configuration of the curbing. There used to be parking for about 5 cars or so in front of the sheriff’s department and BB&T bank, but now it looks as though there’s only room for 3. I imagine the curbing is that way all the way down the street. New businesses? I’d love to see some new restaurants, pubs, cafes, whatever you want to call them. No matter how many new restaurants are built in Bel Air, there’s always a wait. All in all, I think it is a job well done, as least that bizarre split sidewalk is gone from the front of Boyd & Fulford.
Blue- I give that median a month, maybe two, before it is up under the transfer case of somebody’s SUV.
I think the original re-design had the old fountain moving out into the center of the street. Imagine THAT headache.
The loss of parking spaces was also poor planning. The original design had all of the spaces converted to head-in diagonal parking. Thank god they scrapped that.
I feel that the inconvenience of the construction was handled well, however, I wonder if the speed of the project could have been accelerated. In other parts of the country, road project contracts are written with time frames incorporated. There are financial penalties for running the project over-time and financial rewards for completing early. Perhaps local municipalities here should look into this for future projects. I, too, am disappointed by the further restriction of available parking spaces. I am not
a fan of the curved curbs outlining the parking spaces as I feel that it further complicates parallel parking.
I understand that the businesses are expected to maintain the flower beds in front of their establishments. Will this really work over the long haul? Just some thoughts!
I totally agree with the article. they have really messed bel air up. the wonderful old bel air is gone. thirty yesars ago they made a mistake and they repeated it again. harry truman said learn from your mistakes.
The Town of Bel Air has no Soul …. and the people at the controls don’t care!
Like a ship adrift with no home port. Meter maids running around with there
fat ticket books just perched and waiting for the kill. The Town is NON user
friendly. You can put makeup on a pig, but its still a pig…… The parking
design is terrible, but the parking meters are state of the art…. Let’s compare
the town of Havre de Grace., now thats a town with some Soul… Some might say
well move to the town by the river, hmmmm not a bad idea. Tell your friends your going to Bel Air, 9 out of 10 say ” I hate to go to Town ” The tire companys
must a got a kick back, look at all the tire rubber left on the new curbing…
I say out with the present Town officials, and lets get some new blood. Starting
with the Police Chief on up…. You can’t make chicken soup, out of chicken poop.
Gotta go to Bel Air Monday …. Looking forward……NOT!
Yes boxman come to Havre de Grace…
Just be care full not to out-step your boundary’s. I’ll help you.
Rule #1. You must acknowledge any delusional power trip that any relative of his Eminence Wayne Dougherty, Mayor and Grand Wizard of social affairs is on at any time.
Rule #2. You must not post in the Dagger unless your in support of him.
Rule #3. If you want a boat in the marina you must accept Amish traditions of shunning and waive your constitutional rights.
Rule #4. You must acknowledge that in HdG the law is not for all to obey…its for the “BOSSES” to “use against you when they see fit”, (jerry fraley, HdG city yacht basin manager, 2007).
Rule#5. If you make a citizen comment at a meeting remember that your free to speak providing that’s its not a legal, personnel, or confidential issue. In other words shut up, pay your taxes or else, and mind your manners you piece of s%&$ peasant.
With these few rules you will find your stay in HdG very nice. Where else can you actually live in a different type of government right here in the united States.
Go Dagger !
Go Dagger !
We now have a citizen’s report from Haver de grace. a view from a man on the street . I would think Haver de grace might not be the best choice in liveing conditions.
A mayor & council that’s kaput. & just recently elected.
I have not seen the strip…I am aware that in recent years that our street engineers are not thinking clearly. Traffic circles that serve no purpose except to be there…weird high curbed streetscapes that destroy your doors…all add to a driver unfriendliness in many places.
I remember when road sections on the New Jersey Turnpike were cut in “v”,s , and not strait across the lane, so that you hit them one tire at a time…it was great….where does the accumulated knowledge go?
I once read a working paper by the DOD that stated that we could not invent the computer without the computer with today’s engineers
Go Dagger !
Three days to tie Main Street in Bel Air to the Marina Mafia! A new record!!
It’s all Fred Simmons’ fault!
Hey Boxman:
Havre de Grace is a city, not a town. Get with the program.