Reply to Sidewalk in Bethesda to keep kids and adults safe.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I mentioned this issue on another thread. I live on a busy street but my kids are ultimately much safer because we have proper sidewalks. The county should make sidewalks a priority, especially around schools. For example, a few years ago MCPS spent millions to construct [b]Silver Creek Middle School, but most of the neighborhood around the school has no sidewalks[/b].[/quote]

Quite a few of us in this neighborhood put a huge effort in to try and get sidewalks about 18 months ago. We got it through a county feasibility study, but the neighborhood opposition was extraordinary. The county now won't even hold the public hearing that they're required to hold as the next step in the process. A handful of people controlling the HOA and some very vocally opposed neighbors who called council members and county staff daily have effectively shut this down. Very unkind things were said on the listserv and directly to faces of families and neighbors in support of sidewalks. It's been painful to live through and really damaging to neighborhood relationships. We dread the day that there is an accident involving a neighbor (kid or adult) that makes this seem urgent. It shouldn't take a death to get action on sidewalks. My heart just breaks today reading about the child in Bradley Hills; I can't even fathom the pain of her family, school friends, and community.[/quote]

What's their problem with sidewalks?!

I live in Kentlands, where we have sidewalks throughout the entire neighborhood. It keeps everyone safer. [/quote]

Specific complaints raised by neighbors: Too many trees will have to be removed; they don't want to be sued if they fail to clear the sidewalk of snow (county liability policies haven't helped here); "most" children go to private school anyway so why does it matter (wish I were joking about that one and it's not even true); no speed bumps should be installed either because it will take longer to get to the Safeway (again, wish I were joking); oh, and sidewalks reduce property values (also not true).[/quote]

When there was a sidewalk proposal in Wyngate several years ago, one of the objections was: what do we need a sidewalk for, nobody walks here anyway.[/quote]

Maybe if there were sidewalks, people would walk more!

This is one of the many reasons we live in a walkable MoCo neighborhood. [/quote]

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