Loudoun :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Leesburg residents split on opening Catoctin Circle barrier
Posted by:
Loudoun News
()
Date: September 16, 2011 06:49AM
Leesburg residents split on opening Catoctin Circle barrier
Thursday, Sep. 15 by Laura Peters
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/leesburg_residents_split_on_opening_catoctin_circle_barrier123/
More than 30 Leesburg residents showed up for a Sept. 13 Town Council Meeting to petition to keep a barrier on Catoctin Circle and North Street.
The barrier was put in place in 1995 for road improvements. Petitioners approached the podium for more than two hours to bring their issues up to council.
The two neighborhoods in question are Exeter Hills and Lowenbach. Exeter Hills started development in 1992. Barricades were placed on the north and south sides within Lowenbach for street improvements.
Lowenbach is between Edwards Ferry Road and North Street and Exeter Hills is north of Lowenbach.
The barricade on Catoctin Circle, Queen and Washington streets were the only barricades that remained standing in 1995 because of a resolution council passed for more road improvements.
Now, the barriers still remain on Catoctin Circle, Queen and Washington streets. As construction dwindles on the road, the issue of lifting the barrier has been brought up with council.
Many residents of Catoctin Circle, Woodberry Road and Prince Street were on either side of the barrier issue. Woodberry, Prince and soon-to-be Catoctin serve as thoroughfares between Edwards Ferry Road and North Street and residents are concerned with the flow of traffic on their roads.
“ We just spent a million dollars to make a very nice basketball court for somebody on Catoctin. Prince Street does know what it’s like to have all the traffic funnel down there,” resident Larr Kelly said. “They come down Prince Street and zig-zag through our neighborhood. Share the load, so please open the road.”
In 2004, Leesburg appointed an Ad Hoc Committee made up of residents of Lowenbach and Exeter Hills to resolve the road improvement issues. What they suggested was that the roads still needed improvement, pedestrians needed sidewalks and construction for drainage needed to be done.
During the meeting on Sept. 13, many residents who reside on Catoctin Circle where the barrier is say most of the construction isn’t finished and there aren’t sidewalks to walk on.
But, town said that much of construction was halted due to the significant amount of rain during the week of Sept. 5 and there are sidewalks on one side of the street on Catoctin Circle.
“ This construction has been a bit of a pain in the neck for me. I’ve had to deal with a lot with my land and with the town,” Dana Eddy, a resident on Catoctin Circle said. “As long as you can get these improvements done I don’t have a problem with taking the barriers down. It’s just not the right time now. I bought my house knowing that that barricade would come down and I have no problem with it, but it’s just not the time for that now.”
Eddy also said the four-way stop at Catoctin Circle and Edwards Ferry Road was a big issue the town should address.
“People who stop at that four-way stop sign do not know how to use it. I’ve almost got personally hit in my own car there,” Eddy said. “They don’t know the laws of a four-way stop.”
Behind the barrier is a traffic circle at the intersection of Catoctin Circle and North Street, which was placed to alleviate traffic.
Rob Montgomery, a resident of Woodberry Road, presented council with a 100 signature petition of people who were for removing the barrier.
Since Prince Street is next to be barricaded for construction in spring 2012, Montgomery says that if Catoctin stays barricaded, then Woodberry Road would get all the traffic.
“We’re supporting keeping the roads closed, but to keep all the roads closed,” Montgomery said. “Over the years as circumstances changed - and circumstances have changed drastically - Woodberry and Prince have pretty much become major traffic channels between Edwards Ferry and North Street. And we have had more than our fair share of traffic volume.”
“We’d be sharing the load if we’d open the road,” Montgomery said.
Paul Kreingold has lived on Catoctin Circle for more than 26 years and he wants the barricade to stay up until the project is completely finished.
“Basically since 1995, there was a promise that until the whole project was done the barriers would stay closed, purely for safety reasons,” Kreingold said. “That promise was kept through many, many councils, it was recommitted when the Ad Hoc Committee was formed 10 years later and it was maintained through three mayors.”
Kreingold said if the council went against that promise of the road being completely finished, it would be going against years of commitment to residents.
The topic of the Catoctin Circle barrier was to be discussed prior to the Sept. 13 meeting at a work session. The council was unable to hold quorum during their Sept. 12 work session and will put the topic on the agenda for their Sept. 26 work session.
Construction on Queen and Washington streets is slated to start in the summer of 2013. Blue Ridge Avenue will be completed in segments. The entire project is expected to be completed by summer of 2014.
The barrier at Catoctin Circle and North Street is set to be lifted after construction on Catoctin Circle is finished. Some residents on Catoctin Circle don’t want the barrier to be lifted because they fear there will be an increase in traffic and not all of the construction is finished. Times-Mirror Staff Photo/ Laura Peters
Attachments:
Thursday, Sep. 15 by Laura Peters
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/leesburg_residents_split_on_opening_catoctin_circle_barrier123/
More than 30 Leesburg residents showed up for a Sept. 13 Town Council Meeting to petition to keep a barrier on Catoctin Circle and North Street.
The barrier was put in place in 1995 for road improvements. Petitioners approached the podium for more than two hours to bring their issues up to council.
The two neighborhoods in question are Exeter Hills and Lowenbach. Exeter Hills started development in 1992. Barricades were placed on the north and south sides within Lowenbach for street improvements.
Lowenbach is between Edwards Ferry Road and North Street and Exeter Hills is north of Lowenbach.
The barricade on Catoctin Circle, Queen and Washington streets were the only barricades that remained standing in 1995 because of a resolution council passed for more road improvements.
Now, the barriers still remain on Catoctin Circle, Queen and Washington streets. As construction dwindles on the road, the issue of lifting the barrier has been brought up with council.
Many residents of Catoctin Circle, Woodberry Road and Prince Street were on either side of the barrier issue. Woodberry, Prince and soon-to-be Catoctin serve as thoroughfares between Edwards Ferry Road and North Street and residents are concerned with the flow of traffic on their roads.
“ We just spent a million dollars to make a very nice basketball court for somebody on Catoctin. Prince Street does know what it’s like to have all the traffic funnel down there,” resident Larr Kelly said. “They come down Prince Street and zig-zag through our neighborhood. Share the load, so please open the road.”
In 2004, Leesburg appointed an Ad Hoc Committee made up of residents of Lowenbach and Exeter Hills to resolve the road improvement issues. What they suggested was that the roads still needed improvement, pedestrians needed sidewalks and construction for drainage needed to be done.
During the meeting on Sept. 13, many residents who reside on Catoctin Circle where the barrier is say most of the construction isn’t finished and there aren’t sidewalks to walk on.
But, town said that much of construction was halted due to the significant amount of rain during the week of Sept. 5 and there are sidewalks on one side of the street on Catoctin Circle.
“ This construction has been a bit of a pain in the neck for me. I’ve had to deal with a lot with my land and with the town,” Dana Eddy, a resident on Catoctin Circle said. “As long as you can get these improvements done I don’t have a problem with taking the barriers down. It’s just not the right time now. I bought my house knowing that that barricade would come down and I have no problem with it, but it’s just not the time for that now.”
Eddy also said the four-way stop at Catoctin Circle and Edwards Ferry Road was a big issue the town should address.
“People who stop at that four-way stop sign do not know how to use it. I’ve almost got personally hit in my own car there,” Eddy said. “They don’t know the laws of a four-way stop.”
Behind the barrier is a traffic circle at the intersection of Catoctin Circle and North Street, which was placed to alleviate traffic.
Rob Montgomery, a resident of Woodberry Road, presented council with a 100 signature petition of people who were for removing the barrier.
Since Prince Street is next to be barricaded for construction in spring 2012, Montgomery says that if Catoctin stays barricaded, then Woodberry Road would get all the traffic.
“We’re supporting keeping the roads closed, but to keep all the roads closed,” Montgomery said. “Over the years as circumstances changed - and circumstances have changed drastically - Woodberry and Prince have pretty much become major traffic channels between Edwards Ferry and North Street. And we have had more than our fair share of traffic volume.”
“We’d be sharing the load if we’d open the road,” Montgomery said.
Paul Kreingold has lived on Catoctin Circle for more than 26 years and he wants the barricade to stay up until the project is completely finished.
“Basically since 1995, there was a promise that until the whole project was done the barriers would stay closed, purely for safety reasons,” Kreingold said. “That promise was kept through many, many councils, it was recommitted when the Ad Hoc Committee was formed 10 years later and it was maintained through three mayors.”
Kreingold said if the council went against that promise of the road being completely finished, it would be going against years of commitment to residents.
The topic of the Catoctin Circle barrier was to be discussed prior to the Sept. 13 meeting at a work session. The council was unable to hold quorum during their Sept. 12 work session and will put the topic on the agenda for their Sept. 26 work session.
Construction on Queen and Washington streets is slated to start in the summer of 2013. Blue Ridge Avenue will be completed in segments. The entire project is expected to be completed by summer of 2014.
The barrier at Catoctin Circle and North Street is set to be lifted after construction on Catoctin Circle is finished. Some residents on Catoctin Circle don’t want the barrier to be lifted because they fear there will be an increase in traffic and not all of the construction is finished. Times-Mirror Staff Photo/ Laura Peters
Attachments:
Re: Leesburg residents split on opening Catoctin Circle barrier
Posted by:
Geez
()
Date: September 30, 2011 06:54AM
*sigh*
Re: Leesburg residents split on opening Catoctin Circle barrier
Posted by:
J. Seipel
()
Date: October 06, 2011 05:28PM
I have lived in Exeter hills for 15 years the barricades were supposed to come down when the neighborhood was done. We lobbied to get a speed bump and circles to calm traffic. Now it is time to complete the town plan!