Why is Kinder Road Being Widened?
A stretch of Kinder Road in Severna Park is under construction, and a reader wants to know who is doing the work and why.
Work along Kinder Road in Severna Park has some residents asking who is doing what and why.
Photos (6)
Photos
A reader asks: what's up with the widening of a 600-foot portion of Kinder Road by Jumpers Hole Road? " No one in the neighborhood was notified of this work. I find this to be a colossal waste of money."
Matt Diehl, with the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works, always helpful when Patch has a question pertaining to our roads, provides the answers here.
I want to know why the county is widening a 600-foot portion of Kinder Road by Jumpers Hole Road?
The developer defaulted on this subdivision project after a majority
build out but before the requirements within the Public Works Agreement
were complete. This is a traffic safety requirement of the developer for
homes built facing the existing roadway.
No one in the neighborhood was notified of this work.
This information was also provided to Diane Jennings of the county executive's office from Deputy Director of the Bureau of Highways Greg Africa:
"As with our road maintenance and repair projects, we inform, leave
door hangers, and post the road with announcements regarding the
impending work so there is minimal interference with access to their
homes.
However, this section of Kinder Road has the park on the north
side and the backyard fences of residences on the south sides. There
was no interference with access to any homes. Thus, no notification was
provided. In addition, Kinder Road is not and will not be closed to
traffic. The road work is performed in a manner that allows for traffic
to flow with the use of flag persons."
Diehl: I will add that every subdivision has a public meeting prior to
approval. This allows the community to review proposed plans for all
work and register concerns. Plans presented include the above-mentioned
PWA requirements.
I have not known of any storm water problems in this area, nor has our community association.
Stormwater is a tremendous problem in this county and in the state.
Local, state and federal governments are actively working to address the
problem in efforts to improve the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways.
It will get worse if required improvements like this are incomplete due
to developer default.
Why is this being done without the neighborhood's permission or
notification?
Again, every proposed subdivision development is required to have a
public meeting prior to approval. This allows the community to review
proposed plans for all work and register concerns. Plans presented
include the above-mentioned PWA requirements
Chartwell's Community Association Roads and Safety liasion, Orhan Omer, was told that this work was being done by a builder, not with county funds. This is not the case, according to the County Executive's Office.
Bureau of Highways is using the developer's forfeited $150,000 bond
and $40,000 to complete the necessary work and ensure that development does not outpace supporting infrastructure.
The breakdown of the work is:
$40K-Utillity Pole Relcoation
$80K-Stormwater Basin
$70K-Road Widening/Resurface
($40K of the roadwork is county funds to complete 600 feet of resurfacing
from Wembly to the speed bump)
About this column: Patch answers, or finds someone to answer, a question submitted by a reader on any topic relating to the community. Email leslie.hunt@patch.com if you have a community concern.
Editor's Note: This Q&A was updated to reflect that Diane Jennings of the county executive's office was the person to receive the response from Deputy Director of the Bureau of Highways Greg Africa.
Has the work along Kinder Road affected your community or daily lifestyle?
Tell us in the comments.
Concerned Citizen
10:59 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
No one on the street where this is being completed was actually notified. Sorry, but that is an actual fact. Moreover, Mr. Diehl is apparently not familiar with the actual project. He is quoted as providing the reason for the project as being, "This is a traffic safety requirement of the developer for homes built facing the existing roadway"...............well, take a peak and you will see there are no houses facing the existing roadway. AA County is paying $190,000 for a project because of "houses facing the roadway", however, no one bothered to take a look and see that there are only backs of houses. The real "safety issue" is that traffic is now closer to the backyards of children at play. Shame on you.
Wendy
10:26 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Concerned Citizen:
I suggest you more carefully read what the bureaucrat stated:
"...we inform, leave door hangers, and post the road with announcements regarding the impending work so there is minimal interference with access to their homes. However, this section of Kinder Road has the park on the north
side and the backyard fences of residences on the south sides. There
was no interference with access to any homes. Thus, no notification was
provided."
Leslie Hunt
11:53 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
Editor's Note: This Q&A was updated to reflect that Diane Jennings of the county executive's office was the person to receive the response from Deputy Director of the Bureau of Highways Greg Africa. (not the Patch reader as stated in original post). Just an FYI, Patch correction.
Neighborhood Resident
2:54 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
Thank you to the Patch for covering this story. It is surely an example of a bureaucracy out of control and county government running without any deliberate thought. I expected better of our civil servants and our elected representatives.
Unfortunately, the county’s responses misrepresent the facts in many ways.
‘The developer defaulted on this subdivision project.’
There has been no subdivision constructed in the community (Chartwell) in twenty years. If the community has been thriving without this widening for that long, why must it occur now?
“This is a traffic safety requirement of the developer for homes built facing the existing roadway.” “…this section of Kinder Road has the park on the north side and the backyard fences of residences on the south sides.”
The second of these contradictory quotes is the more accurate (as can be seen in the photos accompanying the article). There is absolutely no safety requirement for this project as there are no homes facing the road.
“I will add that every subdivision has a public meeting prior to approval. This allows the community to review proposed plans for all work and register concerns.”
None of the residents adjacent to the project were notified this work was taking place or presented plans prior to award of the contract. If that had been the case, many of the concerns could have been addressed.
Wendy
10:42 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011
I am curious what subdivision developer defaulted? Obviously it is a not yet built nearby subdivision, maybe for the development on the southwest corner of Jumpers Hole and Kinder Road? The 'safety issue' I assume has to do with stormwater runoff, not a drieway access issue, but it would be nice to have that clarified. I understand that the county only physically notifies property owners of impending road maintenance work when the work may interfere with access to a persons property and that is not the case in this instance. As to why the work is being done in the first place, I understand that it was imposed as part of the Public Works Agreement secured at the time of the approval of the subdivision - which is a public approval process. Thanks.
Hamilton Tyler
2:54 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
Read the quote above concerning the cost. The County is not paying the $150,000 - it came from a bond purchased by the original developer. This work relates to the existing project of Chartwell, not any new project.
Neighborhood Resident
3:14 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
The county is adding $40,000 to the cost of the project (total cost of $190,000). This $40k is about what a new teacher would earn. We also need to ask if this is the best use of the $150,000 bond the county collected. The project will increase the speed of traffic on Kinder road and provide more capacity where none is required. Chartwell residents wanting to cross Kinder Road to visit the park will have to increase their vigilance with the faster traffic. This is expecially true for those visiting the Tot-Lot adjacent to the work area.
Chartwell Resident
1:26 pm on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
After reviewing a few comments, it appears that as soon as one fact has been debunked, a brand new response is provided. For example, when I pointed out that Mr. Diehl said, "This is a traffic safety requirement of the developer for homes built facing the existing roadway" and the fact is there are no homes facing the roadway a brand new "safety" issue has been raised. The new issue of "storm water runoff". Being a resident of this street for over 10 years and after speaking to neighbors of equal and longer lengths of residency, it is confirmed by all......Kinder has NEVER had a standing water problem at this section or just below, or just above. Honestly, despite any type of storm it simply has never happened. If this were about water runoff, I assure you that drain systems can be installed without asphalt. Instead of spending money from a bond just because it was there, let's work on making the red tape involved go away. This should have been evaluated for the debunked reasons and the county should have been allowed to use the funds for things that are actually needed. The truth is there is no water issue on this section of Kinder. The widened street is going to cause real safety issues. As mentioned by "Neighborhood Resident" a widened street is going to increase speed on the street. Cars and trucks will now be closer to children at play. And the poor excuse that a street must be widened to install a drain is plain silly.
ron
7:59 am on Saturday, April 28, 2012
any further explanations from DPW?
why was the road widened?
what is the county going to do to slow down traffic?
i'm a resident whose property backs onto this section of kinder