As you know, a NAC 6/ NAC 9 meeting was held on October 15th at the Talley Recreation Center. There was a very good turnout of our interested neighbor group members. Also in attendance were: Chief Kim Dine city police, our "beat" officer S.E. Maples and partner, Stephanie Ambush city NAC liaison, Steve Johnson from the city Traffic Engineering Department, Rick Puller Director of Campus Safety and Richard Kahley Finance and Administration Facilities Hood College.
What we learned:
- For the period September 17th to October 14th:
- The police responded to 471 calls for service resulting in 11 arrests in NAC 6
- The police responded to 375 calls for service resulting in 10 arrests in NAC 9
For traffic complaints of all types, speeding , parking, etc. call the non-emergency number for the police 301-600-2102. You will report the problem to the on-duty supervisor, who will relay it for action.
We will have to be persistent in our calls to get any action. The police voiced empathy for our situation, but at the same time stated they do not monitor or take action on these situations without significant citizen input.
It was also noted that typically "people perceive that cars are speeding when they really are not. The Chief admitted that the flashing speed monitor signs move around the city. They are frequently out of service because they are battery operated, and replacing batteries is not a priority.
Response to parking and traffic violations is very much complaint driven. If we want action- we must complain.
Anyone who attended the breakfast at Hood College heard the position of Hood College. The new information is that if you have an issue with a vehicle that you can identify as a Hood College student, faculty/staff member or service vehicle, record the information and call Rick Puller at 301-696-3548, or email him the information at puller@hood.edu. He has promised to follow up with every identified "offender"to try to dissuade them from the objectionable behavior.
If you have questions or concerns about construction/development expansion on the Hood campus, contact Richard Kahley. He can be reached at 301-696-3545, or by email at kahley@hood.edu.
From the traffic engineers office we learned that crosswalk signals are to be installed soon at the intersection of 7th Street and Fairview Avenue. They favor signage in our area with "No parking here to corner" over yellow painted curbs. If you have a handicapped parking permit, you qualify for designated reserved handicapped parking in front of your residence. We must go through a formal process to request any change to our streets in regards to parking restrictions, traffic calming, signals and signage, speed reduction, etc. Essentially we need to consider what we would like to see happen, and petition the city for action. You can go to www.cityoffrederick.com, look for Departments, then click on Engineering, click on Traffic. Thoughts? Comments?
The next NAC meeting will be at the Talley Recreation Center on November 19th at 7:00pm on the third floor.
As a matter of "housekeeping" I have had to adjust our email address. Please make a note that the correct email address is now hood-neighbors@comcast.net. The dash between hood and neighbors is new.
Thanks so much to all who attended and have forwarded comments to me. Keep it coming! It would be helpful if you would indicate on any email to me whether or not we have your permission to post it to our blog site.
Kim Madden for Hood Neighbors
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