Merry Christmas Ardmore and Lower Merion
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Say a prayer for Ardmore this Christmas, because based on what I am reading on this blog by other bloggers as well as what actually makes it to the papers and other media outlets, Ardmore is quite simply doomed. A veritable municipal Titanic Too much development headed this way far too fast, and I hope Liz Rogan is happy with her legacy (which is merely a continuation of Reed and Taylor agendas of yore) Between whatever is going to happen with the Ardmore YMCA site, whatever is going to happen on the Ruby's Lot in Surburban Square, the cram plan for Sibley Avenue, the Dranoff Drama on the other side of the tracks, Cricket Avenue, etc, Ardmore is going to be so crammed with apartments no one is going to be able to move, breathe, or drive their car anyplace quickly. And yet there is no train station. And yet there is no real plan for traffic and parking that I can see. But no worries, everyone in Lower Merion will get raises and Doug Cleland has awesome benies and big office. But truthfully a lot of people have woken up FAR TOO LATE as to HOW BAD these projects are. Yup, planning in Ardmore is just a word (much like "hope", "change", and "forward") Check out the thoughts being left under Main Line Times: Sound Off: Share your thoughts about Ardmore Revitalization Project Published: Friday, December 21, 2012 Also check out: UPDATED: Ardmore revitalization to move forward with Cricket Lot agreement Published: Thursday, December 13, 2012 There is no planning in Ardmore or anyplace else in Lower Merion Township. Just the sound of sucking up to developers and other unsavory things. Wonder how Chris Leswing is getting along with his Brooklyn Bridge Project? You know the mythical Comprehensive Plan Update? Wow it should be as big as War and Peace by now, right? After close to what? 40 years now since 30 years was a few years ago? From Bala to Ardmore and beyond Lower Merion's character is being altered. And not for the best. Just look at Ardmore, which is well on it's way to being a more expensive version of Upper Darby isn't it? And then there is the myth of the new train station. OTHER municipalities can build them, but not Lower Merion. But Lower Merion CAN squander gobs of OPM discussing one. In 20 years when people look around Lower Merion and wonder what happened, they can thank people like Liz Rogan and Doug Cleland for the current mess, can't they? Merry Christmas Lower Merion, you are riding the Titanic now that's for sure. |
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The crazier this gets, the happier I am that I sold my car and walk everywhere now.
It'd be interesting to see what would happen if the township were to shut down certain streets to auto traffic and encourage folks to simply walk everywhere. I've been without a car for nearly 5 years now and haven't suffered any major hardship because of it.
As much as I do not want to believe the basic premise here, (Ardmore is quite simply doomed. A veritable municipal Titanic..), every time I walk around the core of the area I'm inclined to think this way anymoe. But not is such catastrophic, the world is ending terms.
Pedestrian walkability and user friendliness is, to put it simply, just abysmal. And even though you hope it's not heading in that direction, it never seems to improve.
How so? Based on the last week of walking around, little details tell the bigger picture:
- There's a low-spot in the street pavement on Lancaster Ave where rain or melted snow puddles up. It's right in front of Buckman's Ski Shop. Whenever a vehicle drives by and car the tires hit the low spot, water and slush splashed all over the pavement, and anyone walking in the splash zone. The real complaint here is it's been like this for three or four years now.
- The sidewalks in downtown are full of grit and salt and dirt. This is after only the first snowfall of the season.
- Traffic is constantly running red lights on Lancaster Ave (Anderson Ave, Station Rd, Rittenhouse Place, Argyle Rd) and on Montgomery Ave (Anderson Ave is the prime example), making for crossing the street as a pedestrian is unpleasant, unsafe ... scary at certain times. Police, coming and going to and from the township offices seem almost immune to the traffic behavior.
- I could on and on about how awful the pedestrian-vehicle interactions seem at Coulter and Anderson Ave. This is the heart of the township retail space where pedestrians are out in full force. Yet the people responsible for how it all works can't even seem to make things work right there. Details like this are what make or break quailty of life factors in an urban township like Lower Merion.
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Downtown Ardmore is so much better than it was ten years ago, with a pretty good mix of retail and most retail space occupied. It's pretty remarkable given the headwinds against local retail presented by Walmart and Target, the internet, and the lousy economy.
"Pedestrian friendly" is a phrase that gets aired frequently in the Township Building, but it doesn't translate into action on the ground. The powers that be -- commissioners, manager, police, public works -- don't do pedestrian and don't understand pedestrian. Two-foot sidewalks with cars and trucks whizzing by at 45 m.p.h.? Anderson Avenue chaos? Woodside Road sidewalk too narrow to accommodate a stroller? Soaked by cars splashing through puddles because of improperly graded roads and storm sewers? Not a problem for us, because we drive everywhere.
Like the fantasy of a "pedestrian friendly" City Avenue, where somebody trying to cross the road near Presidential Boulevard was killed last week.
"Pedestrian friendly" is a phrase that gets aired frequently in the Township Building, but it doesn't translate into action on the ground. The powers that be -- commissioners, manager, police, public works -- don't do pedestrian and don't understand pedestrian. Two-foot sidewalks with cars and trucks whizzing by at 45 m.p.h.? Anderson Avenue chaos? Woodside Road sidewalk too narrow to accommodate a stroller? Soaked by cars splashing through puddles because of improperly graded roads and storm sewers? Not a problem for us, because we drive everywhere.
Like the fantasy of a "pedestrian friendly" City Avenue, where somebody trying to cross the road near Presidential Boulevard was killed last week.
I whole heartedly, and reluctanty, agree with the doesn't translate into action on the ground statement. I'd go evenb fruther to say there's no unified approach to even make the downtown user friendly, much less other parts of the township. The practical examples are everywhere if you walk through the core downtown area everyday.
It's disappointing to talk to officials, elected or otherwise about this. A typical conversation goes something like this "Oh yes, we're going to get a traffic light put in a X &Y intersection, and the police might make a recommendation on the feasability of ......." You want to just stop them in mid sentence and point out other progressive and affluent inner-ring urban areas acorss the country have been successful in making concentrated areas highly pedestrian friendly, without having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on redevelopment projects. Why we can't simply apply lessons learned from those other areas here is yet to be explained.
Ardmore has a long way to go- Even Suburban Square is dumpy! If we do not have proper zoning soon and a council that cares about the cityW e are going to get dollar stores and check cashing agencies. We already have a good amount of pawnshops, the building blocks of the most infamous neighborhoods!
I already despise the traffic congestion in Ardmore.
How much consideration has really been given to the effects of more density and traffic?
I always viewed Ardmore and all LM/Main Line towns more akin to villages.
As a life-long LM resident, an "urban" Ardmore just won't sit well with me and will be a turn-off, but who knows, perhaps younger people will like it.
And let's hope somebody likes all this dense and (IMO) ugly construction, or Ardmore will be toast.
Look at what has been accomplished in Wayne with sensible zoning and free market initiatives without crony capitalism with giant private/public ventures where government benefits its already rich buddies.
Wayne is vibrant. It is a destination place for dining and shopping. Parking it a bit congested, yet it has retained that village feel of the traditional and historical Main Line.
That's why you will find me in Wayne so much - which is about the same distance as Ardmore for me.
Progress does not have to mean destroying the character and historical make-up of a business district when the village like feel is one of the main attractions.
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Brotherhood of Thieves ~ As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.