Commissioner Sarnoff invited the Belle Meade community to Legion Park earlier this evening to discuss the on-going saga of the Belle Meade fence. Earlier this year the County Public Works Department said that erecting a fence would be considered illegal if the public right-of-way were severed.
The issue of the fence first came up last year after an armed home invasion in Belle Meade. Commissioner Sarnoff listened to the concerns of Belle Meade residents and said he would support and pay for the fence.
After the County Public Works Department issued their statement Commissioner Sarnoff looked for a compromise. The proposed $70,000 fence now includes ADA approved gates at all intersections and will also allow pedestrian and bicycle ingress and egress to and from the Belle Meade community.
What a waste of money. This fence will do nothing to deter crime. Even if the fence didn’t have a gate it wouldn’t make Belle Meade any safer. Commissioner Sarnoff was very careful to say that “for now” the gates must remain unlocked and that State law could possibly be changed if pursued. Sounds like if the fence does go up, the next step would be to put Belle Meade on lockdown.
The $70,000 to pay for the fence would come from some Quality of Life/Homeland Security Bond. What a joke. How can we possibly justify spending 70k on a fence that will do nothing to improve our quality of life in District 2. How about working with the FDOT to allocate this money to restriping Biscayne Boulevard? Let’s add parallel parking and make the Boulevard a true commercial corridor where people can actually cross the street safely. The more businesses that thrive on Biscayne Boulevard, the safer Belle Meade becomes. That’s how you improve quality of life, not throwing up a 6-foot fence that will do absolutely nothing to make us safer. This is government waste at its finest.
Please email Commissioner Sarnoff and let him know that he should allocate this money to more worthy projects that will actually improve the quality of life for District 2 residents.
2 Responses to Belle Meade and the $70,000 Fence
Leave a Reply
Contact Us!
Planetizen- The Geography of America’s Industrial Renaissance May 25, 2013After a sharp decline during the recession, an industrial expansion is helping to drive job growth in many of America’s metropolitan areas. New analysis outlines the country’s best manufacturing ‘storylines’. […]
- America’s Top Arrested Developments, In Honor of Sunday's Season 4 Premiere May 25, 2013After a seven-year hiatus, Netflix is bringing back the critically acclaimed television series Arrested Development, and with it memories of the Great Recession. […]
- Forgotten Freight Demands Frighten Transportation Planners May 25, 2013While much of the current discussion in planning centers on decreasing road capacity to promote greater pedestrian mobility, Eric Jaffe wonders if we are thinking enough about the critical and complex task of moving freight. […]
- To Pop or Not? Hirshhorn 'Bubble' Puts Museum at a Crossroads May 25, 2013Designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the Hirshhorn "Bubble" would cost $12.5 million and operate two months out of the year, creating performance and additional gallery space for the museum on the National Mall. If it actually gets built, that is. […]
- Government Report Blames City Officials and Factory Owner in Dhaka Collapse May 25, 2013Less than 24 hours after a structural engineer deemed the building unsafe, Sohel Rana ordered garment workers back on the job. […]
- Friday Funny: Pining for the Good Old Days of 'Slight' Gentrification May 24, 2013Do you treasure the good old days of $6 drafts, fancy drinks in Mason Jars, and less-snazzy Starbucks? Than you'll sympathize with Dan Hopper, who laments the changes to his neighborhood as 'slightly richer people' move in. […]
- Applying the Brakes to the Streetcar Revival May 24, 2013With Los Angeles, Charlotte, Washington D.C. and many more cities hoping on board, seats are filling up quickly on America's streetcar bandwagon. However, experts caution gung ho cities about unreal expectations for improving mobility. […]
- Dramatic Bridge Collapse Snarls Washington Traffic May 24, 2013Two cars plunged off the I-5 truss bridge, 60 miles north of Seattle, into the frigid Skagit River at the end of Thursday's commute, but no deaths nor serious injuries occurred. The likely cause appears to be a big-rig hitting the 58-year-old bridge. […]
- Can a Light Rail Stop Revive the Last African American Business Corridor in L.A.? May 24, 2013After years of discussions, arguments, and pleas, residents of the Leimert Park neighborhood in South Los Angeles won their battle for the creation of a local stop along a new light rail line soon to start construction. […]
- Why the NYC Bike Share Backlash Is a Good Thing May 24, 2013Paris, London, Copenhagen: all over the world, opponents have tried to put the brakes on bike-share programs. Then they fall in love. Is New York City next? The author of "Traffic" thinks so. […]
- The Geography of America’s Industrial Renaissance May 25, 2013
- Green Mobility Network
- An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.
Spend the money on cleaning up the Vagabond Motel, it’ll do more to make the neighborhood safer…
“In order to deter crime, a street space must be watched over by buildings with doors and windows facing it. Walls, fences, padlocks and alarm systems are all less effective at deterring crime than a simple lit window. Interestingly, no one needs to be standing in the window, a the window implies a human presence on its own – at any moment, someone could appear. So it is really the windows, not the occupants, that are the eyes on the street.” – Suburban Nation