March 2008 Archives

Break out the chains and your copies of "We Shall Overcome"! It is time to affix yourself to the nearest Metro bus.

That was the consensus of the March 19th community meeting held to share information about the proposed development of the Metro "common" and discuss what the city's next step should be in opposing it.

A large number of people attended, many of them activists who have been working on the issue for the last ten years. Not least of them were the city councilmembers, mayor, and staff (and former mayor Cathy Porter who also attended) who over the last decade have passed six resolutions, buttonholed every politician with an ounce of influence over WMATA, testified at numerous meetings, written stacks of letters, and otherwise put many hours of effort into opposing the development.

Some very irate citizens want the city council to get a grip. On the city staff. By the scruff of the neck. Some council members are eager to do so.

The reason for this griping and gripping is The Survey, the one that asks "What should the city council do" about the proposed development on the green common and parking lot surrounding Takoma Metro station. Perhaps you saw it, Dear Reader, as it slithered out of your city newsletter. Or perhaps you browsed over to the city website and filled out the online version there. Maybe you filled it out twice, a dozen, or hundreds of times! And then you downloaded the pdf to your printer and printed out thousands of copies which you surreptitiously delivered one at a time, wearing a series of disguises, to the municipal building!

“Wow, this is going to be a huge impact. This will drive people crazy.” said Takoma Park councilmember Colleen Clay.

Mayor Bruce Williams was apparently already driven crazy. He was squinting like a vengeful Clint Eastwood at the groveling band of sorry-excuse mongers standing before the council podium.

The band, otherwise known as the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), was at the March 3 city council meeting to present that public agency’s plan to replace and relocate old water and sewer pipelines on Sligo Creek Parkway this summer. The parkway, a well-used commuter route, will be torn up and closed to traffic.

The mayor and council took WSSC’s assurances that the job would take 90 days (6 months at the very most, they said later), with enough grains of salt to start a pretzel factory.