2 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting — October 25, 2012 5. OLD BUSINESS (CONT.) A. South Side Development Area (1) continued... Matt Hanover: 4130 S. Fellows. I've previously spoken in support of Option A -1. We love our neighborhood. Frankly, the best case scenario would be us keeping our home. But I still have concerns that aren't being addressed by this plan. In previous meetings it's been stated that our road is at capacity. Now I know there are other roads that handle significantly more traffic than ours: Miami, I forget some of the other ones he mentioned. And I appreciate that, but frankly, I bought my house at this traffic level. And I paid for my house at this traffic level. Arid I am fearful that my property values are going to diminish because of any increased traffic. So, this is the plan that you decide to take and I fully appreciate that. If we had addressed this project from the beginning this way, I think everyone would probably have been more amenable towards it, but I don't know why we would wait to see if traffic counts increase significantly - - -I think any traffic increase is a problem. If this is the route the Commission decides to take today, then I would suggest we should automatically install speed bumps, or a stop sign at Walter or a stop sign at Chippewa. I think that we need to take the steps to slow the traffic down immediately. I mean we're talking about a couple of speed bumps and a couple of stop signs here. I feel like we're gambling with my family's safety. My kids play on the street every day. Again, I appreciate there are other streets that can handle the higher traffic, and I appreciate that our street may be able to handle more traffic, but that's not the neighborhood I bought into. That's not the neighborhood that any of these people bought into. So, I feel, if this is the route we decide to take, which previous to today was unacceptable to a lot of people (this is essentially not doing anything), we need to take the minimum steps that would have extremely minimal costs to at least minimize the danger to the public. Lynn Bishop: 4230 S. Fellows. My husband bought our house in 1999 and I agree with the Hanovers. When you look at the street now, it is already a fail. We talk about maintaining the integrity, but the integrity had already been lost. And I understand that other streets can handle more traffic than what we have; however, I would like a comparison of how big their front yards are, or how fqi; their front door is from the road, because we have very miniscule front yards on Fellows. That makes a big difference and it's already at a large fail. We do not let our three small children play in the yard -- -they do not play in the front, they do not ride their bikes, they do not ride their scooters, they don't do that at all because of the traffic that is already there and the way that it speeds through. We're at the park by Walter where there's a slight hill and getting the kids out every morning for school is difficult. It's even worse when it's icy because even if a car is going five or ten miles over the speed limit they slide right over that hill and into our yard. So, to me the integrity has been lost. It's not an issue of maintaining, it's already gone. So, also with this, I know you mentioned with INDOT as saying the number of cars, but we think for a year or so, but it wouldn't be that, but I'm not looking for a year. I want my children to grow up in a wonderful town in South Bend like I did. And I want them to want to stay here in South Bend. So, instead of saying that this will be good for a year or so, I'd like to say what's 17