Community Issues In The Community

Submitted By bobby8668
Words: 840
Pages: 4

Central Issue The Community, as described above, is a lovely community. There are nice homes, well-lit streets, families can be seen walking outside, and yards are kept clean and tidy. One of the few problems that could be seen was safety of the residents due to traffic, lack of sidewalks, and distance to bus stops. The community is made up of all ages of people and these safety concerns are appropriate for all ages. This community was very well-to-do and it was difficult to find any problems. When speaking with the Yorktown Civic Association President, he was also at a loss to address any problems in the Community. He spoke of this close knit community and how they quickly address any problems that arise. When asked if there were any complaints that came up at local meetings, he said the only thing community members complained about was traffic. When questioned about the sidewalks, he said yes, they were a problem, but the problem was being addressed with the county. The county funds these types of projects and it takes many years to fund, and then complete them. The Yorktown Civic Association put together a neighborhood Conservation Plan, part of it addressed the problem of safety in the area: (Haring, 2005) The problems of lack of sidewalks and traffic, are numbers one and two, respectively, on the Conservation Plan. This Plan was a result of surveys sent to 1065 neighborhood homes. This Community realizes that they are already a great place to live, but continue to strive for perfection, enhancing on what beauty they already see in their Community. The Conservation Plan, which is addressed to the Arlington County Board, addresses many problems, including: Pedestrian Safety and Sidewalks, Traffic, Commercial Activity, Parks, Schools, Street Lights and Power Lines, Public Safety, Land Use and Zoning, and Preservation and Neighborhood Beautification. The document, dated March 11, 2005, is the most recent data available concerning this area. (Haring, 2005) This document is very detailed and has specific recommendations by the Civic Association President. Although there were many issues addressed in the Conservation Plan, the top priority of the Community, and also what this group found to be a problem was the lack of sidewalks and dangerous traffic in the area. This problem significantly affects the people of this Community.

Conclusions This group had a very hard time finding a problem to address in this Community. We were adept at finding the problem of sidewalks and how it related to safety. The problem, as we later found out, was already being addressed by the Community. A Plan was sent to the County Board in 2005 to correct these, and many other problems. The corrections to be implemented are construction of sidewalks where there is a 60% petition of residents, and County funding of sidewalks where there is 100% support from residents. The problem of safety due to traffic was addressed. The suggestions were: left turn lanes onto Lee Highway, inclusion of some of the neighborhood streets in the Arlington Arterial Street Traffic Calming Program, installation of speed humps, installation of stop signs, construction of bus shelters, and parking zoning in the neighborhood. This group could not have thought of better solutions to the problems. These solutions were extremely thorough and concise. The outcome, should