Bring Joe’s Electric Bus to Route 1

At a meeting in June of 2007, a group of Route 1 area residents had a chance to talk frankly with SHA Administrator Neil Pederson about transportation issues, congestion, capacity, possible improvements and Route 1. During the meeting, Riverdale Park resident Joe Kelly popped out with a great idea that’s been talked about since with [...]

Countywide Visioning Process Launches

Friday brought the second one-day economic outlook forum called “Envision Prince George’s” sponsored by the Prince George’s County Planning Department of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), along with the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Prince George’s County government. And while the morning was interesting and worthwhile, the afternoon presentations [...]

Heads Up on Schools

A couple time-sensitive items about schools for readers to follow:
On Monday, December 3, tune to WAMU radio (88.5 FM). Dr. John Deasy joins Kojo Nnamdi in the studio live from noon to 1:00 pm. Likely topics include a preview of the planned PreK-8 restructuring of county elementary and middle schools. We may [...]

Infrastructure & Good Neighbors

“Infrastructure,” says Goldhagen, summing it all up, “is where architecture and politics merge.”
So architectural historian Sarah Goldhagen wraps up a recent and provocative interview with the Boston Globe that is essential reading if you care about infrastructure. And, we know you do.
Goldhagen says to think of it as a detective story. A bridge collapses in [...]

Ah, Route 1 on the Riviera

We are back from our luxurious sojourn on the Riviera where we never thought a bit about traffic on Route 1, pedestrian safety, transit, TIFs and school seats.
OK, we lied. We have been thinking and meeting incessantly about all of the above and just have not had time to report back. So, a quick round [...]

Our Fortunes & the Cafritz Family

This weekend the Cafritz Property development team will unveil their concept plan for the 35.8 acre site.
Sat., Sept. 15 10-12 am
Tues., Sept. 18 7-9 pm
Riverdale Elementary School, 5006 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, MD.
Expect it to be heavy on retail and very dense. This site is just a couple acres smaller than East [...]

School Surcharge 101

Despite what developers say, in Prince George’s County they do not pay an impact fee–they pay a surcharge. What is the difference? Pretty big. An impact fee assigns funds to the area impacted by the development. The law in Prince George’s County, which I believe originated at the state delegation level, collects a surcharge from [...]

East Campus Community Input Begins

Tonight the first meeting of the East Campus Community Review Steering Committee will take place. Perhaps the University’s ambivalence about this process is reflected in the schizoid nature of the committee’s name: is this a community review group or a steering committee? The University has studiously avoided calling the group an advisory body and no [...]

Worries & Action

Route 1 Growth began with a series of, well…, worries, as we wondered what changes rapid development would bring to our crazy quilt of Rt. 1 communities and neighborhoods.

How will our already taxed infrastructure hold up, particularly Rt. 1 and E-W Hwy.?
What is the environmental cost?
Can our neighborhoods and towns maintain their history and sense [...]

POV: Concern Grows in University Hills

University Hills is a quiet neighborhood bordered by Adelphi Road, University Blvd., Northwestern High School and the University Hills Park and Duck Pond, a popular destination for both locals and people from as far away as the District. Our children attend University Park Elementary School, a mere mile away. A few minutes’ drive gets us [...]

Where Were the Brownies?

I attended the presentation of the proposed Landy development last Tuesday. And while there were no brownies or slick promotional pieces like at the Cafritz meetings, a fair bit of information was imparted to the community members.
New designs for the buildings took center stage at the meeting. Slated to house 1216 apartments, they [...]

Landy’s Pros & Cons

Tonight the Hyattsville and University Park councils discuss the Landy Property, 1100-1300 units to be built on Belcrest Road behind Northwestern High School, and tomorrow Hyattsville hosts a public meeting for the same project. Citizens and council members will be operating without benefit of the M-NCPPC’s staff report or recommendations, which strikes us as more [...]

Where will my kids go to school?

This will be one of the first questions parents ask as they consider moving to the Cafritz or Landy developments. The quality of area schools, particularly elementary schools, is frequently used as a major selling point for parents or planning-to-be-parents–and easily can make or break a [...]

Hello, did you hear?

News of plans for the Cafritz property meetings, combined with the Landy property plans (pdf)—plus East Campus, EYA, Univ. Town Center, PG Plaza Metro and more—spurred area residents to begin a conversation about growth in our community and the infrastructure needed to support it. Where are we headed? Join us as we consider the ways [...]