7A, 2013 Pavement Management Program - Public Hearing Ridgewood, Asbury, Edgewater, and Glenhill Neighborhood

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Glen Hill Road The widths of all of our streets vary from 25-36'. Instead of these varying widths, I would like to suggest building streets in the neighborhood at 24' wide, a width that would more appropriately handle our neighborhood's lower volume of traffic. By constructing streets to this narrower width the remaining space can then be used for rain gardens. For example Glen Hill Avenue from Asbury to Ridgewood Road is 30' wide; making this section a 24' roadway would provide six feet that could be used for rainwater storage(not counting the residential boulevard for each home). This also would reduce the amount of impervious surface that would need to be managed. Asbury Avenue Asbury Avenue from Glen Hill to Edgewater serves as a route for at most 10 houses. The width of this section of Asbury is 30'. The feasibility report designates the Northwestern College side of the road as a rain garden. However much of that side has a steep slope with many shrubs growing on it, and since Northwestern College has a busy road on the other side of the fence, this shrub border acts as a much needed buffer to the sound coming from that road as well as to its view, and the view of the many buildings and college layout that so significantly contrasts with our neighborhood. This sloping section of boulevard would be unsuitable to water storage. The only way to create enough area flat enough to hold water would be to do significant clearing and grubbing. A retaining wall, should it be needed, would be expensive to build and maintain. By narrowing the street 6' much of the converted road bed could be easily used as a rain garden. I've attached two pictures facing north and south on Asbury in front of my house taken this weekend, showing that the normal road traffic doesn't now use the whole width of the road. Notice the snow and leaves stuck to the road on the College side—the space between the leaves was created by rivulet's of water flowing through the leaves during a fall rain storm, not by tire tracks. By making the new road 24' wide we would have a road as wide as we are effectively using now that would cost less to build, and would reduce the neighborhood's need for water storage. Ridgewood The road section to the beach property serves only two homes and would not need to be redone to its current width of between 29 and 33'. If it were narrowed to 24' there would be space for a rain garden along the wetland side that would require less clearing and grubbing. Edgewater Avenue Edgewater is currently 25' and would benefit from a slightly narrower street. Overall then, my view is that a 24' wide road would be appropriate and adequate for our neighborhood usage, would provide several areas alongside the road that could be used for rainwater storage, and also reduce our construction costs. Thanks for your consideration, Nancy Jacobson 3188 Asbury Ave 2