Contributor Opinion by Monique DeFrees: Orwellian Neighborhood

>My block is receiving a facelift of new curbs, gutters and sidewalks. I for one am quite thrilled with the prospect of new curbs and gutters. Living in the lowest part of my block I have witnessed the sewers in front of my house not accept anymore strormwater, forcing the remains into the street, roaring down my yard and into my basement.

Plus, I’ve always been a fan of the sidewalks in our city. Having walked my dog and strolled my children on them for years, I have come to appreciate them very much. The only down side I see to having a sidewalk on both sides of the street now is that I will have to share foot traffic with the other side of the street, making spontaneous meetings less frequent.

Oh, but I just remembered the other downside to getting the new sidewalks, other than the debris and the port-a-potty parked in my neighbor’s yard: all those trees that had to be cut down. I realize that some trees must come down to make way for the construction. Two trees came down in front of my house. They were young and not too large yet so it wasn’t too heart breaking. Other trees that were taken down, though, were very large and it was quite sad and unsightly to see them removed. Once again, I just assumed that was the price of the construction and we would have to accept it.

Imagine my surprise when I am strolling down the brand-new-sparkly sidewalk and I see the new sidewalk make a little detour around a tree. “That’s odd,” I think. “If it was possible to detour the sidewalk around this tree than why wasn’t it possible to detour the sidewalk around other trees just as large as this one?”

Every time I walk down the sidewalk now, and pass by that one saved tree, I can’t help but wonder if Orwell had written about a neighborhood where some properties are more equal than others.

I’ve already told my husband that when the construction reaches our house I will be standing outside in front of our azalea protecting it from destruction. The sidewalk will just have to make another detour. I know it’s just an azalea, but it is breathtaking when in bloom. More than one stranger has knocked on my door in the spring to comment on its beauty and ask me what I have done to make it bloom so fabulously. I have to admit that I do nothing to it. I was just lucky enough to move onto the property it already inhabited. In my opinion, the beauty of that azalea makes it just as equal as the tree that was spared. It’s just too bad the other large trees on our block were not deemed as equal.

This is a contributor opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such opinions for consideration by emailing rockvillecentral@gmail.com — the more voices the better. We especially welcome people who disagree with us. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

POTD: Stakeout

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This stake suddenly appeared on my lawn yesterday. Those initials, which stand for “Right Of Way,” worry me! Look, I already have a sidewalk.

A Neighborhood’s Best Friend

Anyone who saw “>I Am Legend,” the top box office draw this past weekend, knows a beloved dog plays a pivotal role. Ironically, she is the humanizing glue in a story about humanity hanging on by a thread. Writers of these post-apocalyptic stories often offer dogs as a small sign of hope – think “Terminator” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” Perhaps it’s because they live in neighborhoods, as I do, where neighbors might not know each other’s names but they know the names of each other’s dogs, as we discovered at last summer’s neighborhood block party.

One thing that makes my West End neighborhood particularly dog and people friendly is that it’s walkable thanks to sidewalks. Even on the coldest days our dogs draw us out of our houses. They glue us together in ways we might not be aware of – I silently mourned the loss of a neighbor’s lab after the dog was noticeably absent from her daily walks. They may even make you do something you’d never do otherwise. As I struggled to carry my injured 40 pound mutt up Nelson one summer afternoon a woman passing offered me a ride home. We knew without the dog in the mix neither of us would ever have offered or accepted a ride to/from a stranger.

In a world that sometimes feels on the verge of apocalypse I’m grateful our neighborhood has gone to the dogs – MacGregor, Porky, Maisy, Molly, Peanut, Mocha, Java, and Trixie to name a few.

Share your favorite Rockville dog walking routes, groomers, boarding and shelter services here, in the comments section of this post.

Sidewalk Rolls Along Beall Ave.

Many loyal RC readers know that there is a city plan to extend a sidewalk along the north side of Beall Avenue from Van Buren to Owens. Presently, there is a patchwork of asphalt and brick sidewalks on different sides of the street. Pedestraians need to cross from side to side, or walk in the street.>

Tonight, city planning staff met with Beall Avenue residents for a walkthrough of the projected sidewalk from Mannakee to Owens. WECA secretary Jan Balkam served as a point of contact.

The city plans a two-foot wide strip of grass with an ADA-mandated five foot wide actual sidewalk. Only two trees (both in poor condition) will need to be cut down along this stretch.

A similar walkthrough for the 500 block of Beall Ave. will be held in August. Watch this space for more information.

The city plans for the whole thing to be complete by September 2008.

Sidewalk On Beall Ave: Meeting 6/28

Rockville Central friend and >WECA Secretary Jan Balkam writes in with this tip:

There’s going to be a meeting at 6pm on the 2th June about Phase III of the sidewalk [along the north side of Beall Ave.]. I’ve already worked on the N Washington- Luckett stretch with them. So, we need a big turn out — just for 20-30 mins — to maybe walk the 500 and 700 block of Beall. Then, as I understand it, it will be installed late Summer/early Fall this year. Our blocks will be completed by next Summer, so that’s great for all pedestrians big and small!

And this update:

[T]he gathering place for the meeting is our front lawn, 703 Beall, (where the sidewalk stops)! It’s on June 28th at 6:30pm. For the first meeting [three names deleted] turned out and it really helped them take our case seriously as there were also residents who DIDN’t want the sidewalk. So the more the merrier.

So be at Jan’s on the 28th!