PLEASE SIGN BY DECEMBER 17, 2009 AS THE PETITION WILL BE EMAILED DIRECTLY TO SONJI MOSLEY, CITY OF CHARLOTTE PROJECT MANAGER, ON DECEMBER 18, 2009. The City of Charlotte held a public meeting on December 2, 2009 with the residents impacted by the sidewalk project on Murrayhill Road and Wedgewood Drive. Attendees were asked to complete a form with questions, comments, and suggestions so that the City may revise it's design to accommodate residents' suggestions where possible. We are petitioning the City to reduce the size of the sidewalk and planting section. Per discussions with City personnel, the sidewalk project will move forward with or without homeowner's approval of the project; however, the City commented at the meeting that they will be receptive to comments regarding the size of the sidewalk and planting section if an overwhelming majority of homeowners have similar comments/suggestions. Construction is slated for early 2010. The following comments were consistent among all that attended the meeting on December 2nd. We are concerned with the proposed size of the overall sidewalk (sidewalk and planting section). The sidewalk will be constructed on Murrayhill Road between Woodlawn Road and Lamont Drive on the odd numbered side of the street and on Wedgewood Drive between Murrayhill Road and Seneca Place on the odd numbered side of the street. The City is proposing a 5-foot sidewalk in addition to a 5-foot planting section between the curb and the sidewalk, which will place pedestrian traffic 10 feet closer to our homes at a minimum. Our collective concerns are as follows: • Safety: Pedestrians (friendly neighbors and criminals) will now be much closer to our front doors and this is a safety concern for us and our families. We want pedestrian traffic as far away from our front doors as possible. • User Friendly: The proposed sidewalks will intercept the driveways where cars are usually parked making the sidewalk unusable. Most people will choose to walk around the cars in the street and not use the sidewalk where the path is blocked. • Damage to Personal Property: As noted above, the proposed sidewalks will intercept the driveways where cars are usually parked. This places pedestrian traffic (again, friendly neighbors and criminals) closer to the cars in our driveways and the possibility of someone causing damage (intentional or unintentional) to our cars, motorcycles or other personal property will increase exponentially. • Neighborhood Aesthetics: Most of the homes in the neighborhood have large trees, beautiful lawns and immaculate landscaping. Adding a 5-foot planting section and 5-foot sidewalk would significantly diminish the aesthetics of many of the yards in the neighborhood. • Cost to Taxpayers: The cost of this project could be significantly reduced if the width of the sidewalk were reduced. We are in challenging economic times and the City would benefit from reducing the size of the sidewalk and utilizing the funds saved to build sidewalks in other neighborhoods that are in need. Suggested Improvement to the Design We suggest that the City revise the design to reduce the planting section to 2 feet and reduce the size of the sidewalk to bridge the gap between what the City is proposing and what the neighborhood residents think is reasonable for our neighborhood. A 5-foot sidewalk and 5-foot planting section is excessive for our old, established neighborhood. City and Consultant Resources Present at December Meeting Charlotte Engineering & Property Management: Sonji Mosley, Project Manager 704-336-3214 [email protected] Bette Frederick, State Program Manager 704-336-4723 [email protected] Lori Adante, Administrator Charlotte Department of Transportation: Vivian Coleman, Pedestrian Planner 704-353-0481 [email protected] Scott Correll, Assistant Pedestrian Planner 704-432-5219 [email protected] Tom Sorrentino, Design Project Manager 704-336-2261 [email protected] PBS&J Consulting (not employed by the City): Mike Dozzi, Lead Design Engineer 704-522-7275 [email protected] Samantha Miller, Design Engineer 704-522-7275 [email protected]