Residents working to protect their neighborhood

Above: Families band together at the spot that would mark access for a 180 unit condo development. (Photo by Beth Melo) Below: Courtney Winand & Samantha Binswanger helped raise money to protect their neighborhood. (Contributed photo)

Residents abutting the proposed Park Central 40B project have banded together. Families on Bantry Road, Tara Road, and Blackthorn Road held a fundraiser on yesterday to “protect their neighborhood”.

Some of the neighbors have hired a lawyer to guide them in efforts. Funds raised by the Family Fun Fair and Tag Sale were to help. They also used the event to raise community awareness about the impact of the project scale.

The residents are concerned about a projected 350% more cars in their neighborhood.

Capital Group Properties’ latest traffic plan would route most of the traffic onto Flagg Road. Neighbors worry that commuters will seek to avoid the backup queue to Route 9 by using the secondary access road.

Secondary access would be via Bantry Road, leading to Tara and/or Blackthorn Road. Residents of that area describe it as a quiet neighborhood with 45 homes. The proposed development is for 180 condo units.

Neighbors are also concerned about the development’s impact on Flagg Road towards Route 30. At public meetings, many have argued that the winding country road is too narrow in spots to accommodate the traffic. As the road has no sidewalks, residents claim pedestrian safety is at risk.

As part of Sunday’s fundraising, families held a bake sale, lemonade stand, and sold face painting.

Nearby, adults answered questions and shared their warning flyer:

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY IS AT RISK . . .

THE PARK CENTRAL 40B PROJECT:

Capital Group Properties is planning to build a 180 Unit 40B Condominium Project on 13 acres of the recently purchased 110 acre parcel adjacent to our neighborhood and is planning to access this enormous development through two entry/exit points in this neighborhood. One entry will be at the Bantry Road cul-de-sac (where our tag sale is being held) and one at the top of Tara Road around the corner…

The majority of this traffic will be routed through the Bantry/Tara/Blackthorn neighborhood all feeding onto Flagg road (numbers below). With narrow streets, numerous blind turns and driveways and steep grade, these roads are not adequately designed to handle an increase in traffic of this magnitude and create a significant safety risk for the residence of this area.

(To see the full flyer, click here)

According to one resident, Sunday’s event was a success. Some that attended even made donations without buying anything.

For past coverage of the proposed Park Central development, click here.