Bel Air residents in the Cedarday and the Estates at Cedarday developments are fighting plans that they say will extend Cedarday Drive to create a major traffic thoroughfare through their neighborhood, reducing home values and family security. The group is lobbying Harford County Government to instead make improvements to the exiting Cedar Lane as an access road connecting Wheel Road and MD Rt. 136. In addition to collecting nearly 175 signatures on a petition, the group has created the fact sheet below, which was provided to The Dagger by co-author Amy Jahnigen.
From Friends of Cedarday:
There is a meeting scheduled with the Department of Public Works for Tuesday, June 21, at 6:00 pm in the Auditorium at Patterson Mill High/Middle School.
As widely reported recently, Harford County is quickly moving to extend Cedarday Drive, which currently ends within the Cedarday development, through what is now woods, to the new Cedar Lane Athletic Fields just off Rte 136 (Creswell Road).
The Cedarday community believes that many important issues related to this extension, such as speeding, traffic volume, and neighborhood impact, were never studied. Input from the community was also never obtained. The impact of changing Cedarday Drive to Collector Road Status and extending it through our neighborhoods to Route 136, would, we believe, be highly detrimental in many ways: lowering our property values; putting our children at risk; changing for the worse the kind of neighborhood we live in.
The Friends of Cedarday are requesting that the extension project be held so that these studies and community inputs can occur.
At this meeting, Harford County’s Chief Engineer, Jeffrey Stratmeyer, will be present, and will answer questions. Also expected to attend is County Councilperson Mary Ann Lisanti, who represents this neighborhood.
The Friends of Cedarday feel that this meeting is the appropriate place for concerned citizens to demonstrate to the DPW and elected representatives the many concerns that exist, and the complexity of the situation. The public is invited to attend, and the Friends of Cedarday urge everybody to please bring everyone in the household!
For more information, please visit www.cedardaydrive.com.
Note: The Friends of Cedarday are a group of residents of both Cedarday and the Estates at Cedarday, who are concerned about the safety and security of the two neighborhoods. The Friends of Cedarday understand the importance and significance of planning in Harford County. The Friends of Cedarday seek to unify the many concerns of both neighborhoods in relation to the proposed changes to Cedarday Drive.
From the “Fight the Bypass” fact sheet:
Support Access, Fight the Bypass!
Against Cedarday Drive as a Bypass
We are for road access, but there are safer options!
Did you know:
– Instead of Improving the Cedar Lane Road, Harford County is planning to create a bypass through our quiet neighborhoods by extending Cedarday Drive to connect to Cedar Lane next to to the park, converting it to a thoroughfare.
– If you have ever seen 543 at rush hour, this change will not be small. If not, check it out, before it becomes part of your daily reality with a view from your front door or neighboring street.
– By classifiying Cedarday Drive as a “collector” road similar to Singer and Shucks Roads, speed bumps CANNOT legally be installed because it will impede the traffic flow they are expecting. The county stated they “want” traffic to cut through our neighborhood to get to 136, Cedar Lane Park and I-95.
– The proposed road is designed as a MAIN EXIT for Cedar Lane Regional Park (which currently hosts thousands of people each day of the week, with a $2M expansion in the works)
– Cedar Lane to Cedarday Drive to Cedar Lane is planned as a POSTED detour route for the 2nd phase of the Wheel Road reconstruction. This means all of South Bel Air will be using OUR community road as a shortcut to Rts. 136, 543 and I-95 N.
– Is this a community access road for the “benefit of our community” or a shortcut for all of Bel Air South impacting our family security, home values, appearance and the dynamics of our community?
– Do you enjoy watching your kids play on the streets and sidewalks with their bikes, trikes and scooters?
– Do you enjoy parking on our streets when you have parties?
– 15% of the homes in Cedarday and Estates at Cedarday are on Cedarday Drive — the values of these homes will drop, impacting the values of the ENTIRE community. (comparitive market analysis)
– The speed limit for the new stretch of road is planned as 35 mph down a steep grade, increasing a drivers speed as they enter our community.
– No traffic studies were done! Will this planned bypass even be able to handle the potential massive amounts of traffic?
– No recent public hearing has been held to date and none are planned to allow residents of the impacted communities to weigh in and express concerns.
– When you made your decision to buy in this neighborhood, did you anticipate sitting on a major thouroughfare?
Please act now!! Sign Our Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/CEDARDAY
Dear “Friends of Cedarday”,
First of all, I challenge your “nom de plume”. You are not “friends” of ALL Cedarday residents. In fact, you are a minority group of selfish individuals who don’t want increased traffic along Cedarday Drive. YOU do not represent the majority of us residents in our community. YOU bought your homes within the last few years, with the knowledge that Cedarday Drive was going to be completed. In fact, Toll Brothers had already constructed the “Bridge to Nowhere” and all of the infrastructure relating to the same PRIOR to YOUR houses being constructed. This bridge,etc. was constructed as a reqirement from Harford County Government, but at Toll Brothers expense of approximately 3 MILLION DOLLARS! This extension is NOT a “bypass”, as you call it. It is (in fact), a part of the long range design of our neighborhood road network! In fact, if all homeowners were polled, I am certain that the majority of us would be in FAVOR of the approved plan to extend Cedarday Drive! It would be convenient for ALL of us to use on a daily basis, AND it would actually improve response time in the event of an emergency. I’ve been here quite a few years, and I welcome the extension of Cedarday Drive. I’m certain that the vociferous minority of our residents won’t convince the “powers that be” to change the approved (and partially implemented) traffic pattern for our lovely development! Listen up Harford County…Stick to your guns!
P.S. Many of your “Did you Know” bullets are either factually incorrect, or intentionally misleading. Shame on you!
Wrong fact: Speed limit will be 25, NOT 35.
Wrong Fact #2
It’s not going to become a “thoroughfare.” It will be a windy road, not a smart OR logical shortcut for anyone.
The vast majority of peopel who would use the road actually LIVE there!
“When you made your decision to buy in this neighborhood, did you anticipate sitting on a major thouroughfare?”
My question would be: When you purchased your home did you do your homework? Often, the plans are there for road changes, but buyers don’t investigate.
In a neighborhood I am familiar with, the neighborhood bought the property where the thouroughfare would be. Guess what? The county couldn’t break through because it did not own the land. I read often about how unhappy people are when things are going to change, but usually the plan (or problem) was in place before purchase. The example that always comes to my mind is the family that purchases in the country and then doesn’t like farm smells: buyer beware.
May not be true in this case, but your point is very valid.
I knew in early 2007 before I moved to Harford County about the entire plan to reconstruct the 24/924 interchange.
If you don’t know about it until the day the trucks arrive, that’s your fault.
You should come to the meeting to have your voice heard. If our viewpoint is in the minority, then we will able to see how much support there is “for” the project. Would love to hear from you again and tell us about your “war stories” from being a fireman and how that doesn’t apply to the safety of our kids! You should be ashamed of yourself as a previous civil servant…
I’ll be at the meeting, but rest assured, human nature dictates that folks who are against something always show up in higher percentages than folks who are for something (no matter what the issue).
Cedar Day newbies with their undies in a bunch. This won’t ramp up traffic. If anyhting it will ease it during sporting events.
Another misleading stat in the Cedar Day “Fact Sheet”
Speed limit is actually planned to be 25 mph NOT 35 as per the letter Harco sent me a couple weeks ago.
Calm down, people.
The fact is, most buyers were aware that the bridge to nowhere would go somewhere at some point in time. And the time is now. And whether you want the road or do not want the road, now is the time to actually look at the latest 2010 revision for the road and determine that improvements can be made for the safety of all of us. I feel that is the point we can all agree on. The actual on paper plans do state 35mph. And it has been stated by the DPW that it will be 25mph. And since the road has not been built yet, we have a chance as a community to have it built with the safety devices in place from day one. Not let’s build and they will come and we’ll see how it goes. At the end of the day, the people driving through will come and go, all who live here will have to live with what is built and the impact it will have on the community good and bad.
Lets get real. Connecting a road won’t hurt our property values. It may have gotten lost in the shouting, but I personally think making sure the speed limit is at or near 25 mph should go FAR to ensure the road is safe for kids. That’s the most important thing here. Otherwise it’s all distraction. Progress is a good thing.