[RP TownTalk] Children in streets - Ravenswood Road area

Thu May 12 20:39:50 UTC 2016

Awesome idea!
On May 12, 2016 4:27 PM, <andrew.ninnemann at gmail.com> wrote:

> This is a really great point, Adrian.  An additional option that I have
> seen University Park use in specific areas that you didn't happen to
> mention was disallowing entry for non-residents between say 7 am-10 am and
> 3pm-7pm.
>
> Worth considering such options, as well.
>
> Thanks,
> Andrew Ninnemann
>
> On May 12, 2016, at 3:57 PM, adrian limmen <adrianlimmen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for your email.
>
> I see people using this area as a cut through all the time.
>
> My opinion is that kids should feel safe riding their bikes and playing in
> the neighborhood.  This area does not need traffic that passes through.  If
> you don't live here, have business here or are not visiting someone here
> you do not really need to be here.  The people that live here should be
> extra careful.  That's all I am saying.  Kids will play in the streets no
> matter what you say to the parents. It may not be ideal but I would rather
> kids choose to go outside and socialize then sit inside and just play video
> games. (As much as I love video games)
>
> I believe we could do with more speed-bumps, especially on Ravenswood.
> How fast do you really need to go?  That's my opinion.
>
> That "secret" cut through is coming back and coming back strong once we
> have a bridge that goes from here to the new Riverdale Park Station.  You
> will see a major increase in traffic trying to avoid 410. Wouldn't you if
> you had that as an option?
>
> Anyway I hope we can manage to get this taken care of before its a
> problem.  Thanks for bringing it up, I have been thinking about it for a
> long time.
>
> Take care!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 3:05 PM, Audrey Bragg <abragg7393 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I live on Ravenswood and don't find any extra cars down at this end
>> speeding or cutting through.  However I do object to the children playing
>> in the street.  Its a tragedy  waiting to happen.  The street was made for
>> cars, not children on low to the ground toys.  Many drivers have to stop
>> for these children (both ways) and then they really can't see them since
>> they are "driving their toys" between parked vehicles and you don't know
>> where they are and can't see them that low to the ground.  There are no
>> parents in sight.  I totally agree something needs to be done and I believe
>> talking to the parents is a first step.  The children up on that corner can
>> ride their trikes in the dead end street where there are no cars and/or on
>> the sidewalk where they won't get hit.  We already have speed bumps on
>> Ravenswood.  I do believe when we had the "secret" outlet back by erco we
>> did have some cut through traffic.  However, with the closure of that I
>> don't see many cut through anymore.  When I see children playing in the
>> street I always tell them to get on the sidewalk.  I have gotten yelled at
>> by parents telling me it is none of my business.  My answer to them is "Yes
>> it is my business.  I am responsible for keeping children safe.  Especially
>> when no one else seems to be watching over them"  I raised children here in
>> Riverdale and they were not allowed to play in the street.  I took mine to
>> the bike trail to ride bikes or trikes.  Its safer.  Roads really were made
>> for cars.  I plan to go to the public safety meeting tonight, too.
>> Audrey Bragg
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: adrian limmen <adrianlimmen at gmail.com>
>> To: TownTalk at riverdale-park.org <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
>> Sent: Thu, May 12, 2016 2:31 pm
>> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Children in streets - Ravenswood Road area
>>
>> I sent this before but I received an auto message that the moderator had
>> to review it first.  Looks like it never made it to the group.
>>
>> As much as the kids and parents should be aware of traffic we should also
>> focus more of our attention on the growing number of cars abusing our
>> neighborhood as a cut through. We are seeing more and more traffic
>> especially on Ravenswood Rd.  Cars that cut through don’t stop at the stop
>> sign on Ravenswood and 48th where all the kids seem to be playing.  I
>> think many are people are using our area to circumvent traffic on 410 and
>> cutting through Ravenswood to get to their destination outside of our
>> neighborhood.  With Whole Foods coming the potential cut through traffic
>> will increase dramatically.  Could we do something to make it much less
>> attractive to vehicles trying to save a few minutes?  The kids should be
>> able to ride their bikes and play on our neighborhood streets without
>> worry.  Hyattsville and University Park have some interesting ways of
>> managing their neighborhood traffic.  They have more *one way streets*, *speed
>> bumps, concrete blockades* and *traffic patterns* that make it annoying
>> to try weaving through their neighborhoods to get around busier roads.
>>
>> Here are a few things I think Riverdale could do to make it safer for the
>> children on our streets.
>>
>> 1.       *Letters to the neighbors. *Not everyone is on this list serv.
>> We should hand deliver a letter to all the houses in the area with requests
>> to inform their children to be more careful as well as neighborhood drivers
>> to keep their eyes open. I would volunteer to do this for all houses
>> starting on Lafayette and heading east to the park.
>>
>> 2.       *More speed bumps.* People race through the neighborhood at
>> high speeds especially at night. More speed bumps would slow them down.
>> Some kind of enforcement would also slow them down.
>> 3.       *Children playing signs.* Something that could help keep people
>> alert.
>> 4.       *Stopping people from using our area as a cut through.* How can
>> we make it less desirable to use our area to avoid 410 traffic or as a
>> quick way to get to the new Whole Foods? Maybe something like the “do not
>> enter” signs on Queensbury road in Hyattsville that do not apply to
>> residents but people just passing through at certain times of the day.  A
>> few more one way streets and police to enforce it.  Imagine if Ravenswood
>> road was a one way street that you could only travel east.  Cars would be
>> much less likely to want to go through the area since it makes it that much
>> harder to get to their destination, and possibly deter traffic from cutting
>> through the neighborhood overall.
>>
>> Since I am not a traffic specialist I am only making suggestions based on
>> what I see in the area that seems to work.  I would love to see the city
>> make a stronger effort to consider what Wholefoods could be doing to our
>> area in terms of traffic and our children.  How can we make it less
>> attractive to use our area as a cut through?  How can we inform the parents
>> and children of the neighborhood to be more careful as we work on making
>> the town safer for them to play in?
>>
>> It would be great if someone could add something like this to the agenda
>> to the Public Safety Committee Meeting on Thursday, May 12, 2016, at 6:30
>> p.m. in the Conference Room of Town Hall (5008 Queensbury Road). Can anyone
>> come?  Did they ever send out an agenda?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Adrian
>> Ravenswood Rd
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Fri, May 6, 2016 at 8:27 AM, S Collins <ugglywump at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> There'd been 2 posts last months about kids playing in the street on
>>>> Ravenswood Road; just a note to say I've noticed a bunch of kids playing in
>>>> the streets as well, don't know if it's the same group or not (about 8-10
>>>> elementary school-age kids).  I don't drive and when I get a cab to come
>>>> home from the store, several times the cab has had to slow down to a stop
>>>> in the 4700/4800 block of Ravenswood, as this group of children is out in
>>>> the street on bikes or playing.  They make no move to get out of the way of
>>>> the cab.  Yesterday, I left my apt. and saw this same bunch of kids walking
>>>> from Ravenswood up Lafayette, in the street w/ their bikes and scooters,
>>>> just goofing around.  They were almost under the EW Highway overpass and a
>>>> pickup truck came around the corner at speed and had to swerve way to the
>>>> left to avoid hitting the children.  I yelled at them to get out of the
>>>> street or they could get hurt, but either their English isn't that good or
>>>> they were just ignoring me, as they made no effort to get out of the way.
>>>> I know kids need a place to play, I know children tend to be careless, but
>>>> if this keeps up, sooner or later one or more of these children is going to
>>>> get hit by a car, or cause an accident if a vehicle has to swerve around
>>>> them and ends up hitting another vehicle.  Can't say what should or could
>>>> be done, I know the police cannot 'babysit' a particular area all the time.
>>>> Perhaps the school could send out a flyer, telling parents to watch over
>>>> their children, or maybe handouts at the Farmers' Market or the "Night Out
>>>> Against Crime" event?  Esp. with summer vacation coming up, children will
>>>> be out and about more than ever.  At any rate, drivers in the area, please,
>>>> please be careful.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> TownTalk mailing list
>>>> To post to the list, send mail to TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
>>>> TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for automated subscription
>>>> processing only
>>>> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
>>>>
>>>> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
>>>> http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Adrian
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Adrian
>> _______________________________________________
>> TownTalk mailing list
>> To post to the list, send mail to TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
>> TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for automated subscription
>> processing only
>> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
>>
>> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
>> http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Adrian
>
> _______________________________________________
> TownTalk mailing list
> To post to the list, send mail to TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
> TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for automated subscription
> processing only
> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
>
> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
> http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20160512/2891247e/attachment.html>