Bamboo Bombards Rt. 1 in University Park

If you've ever tried to walk or run on the sidewalk of southbound of Rt.1 in University Park, this video is likely a familiar sight.

A large patch of running bamboo is encroaching upon the sidewalk just north of Queens Chapel Road, between Beachwood and Pineway Roads.

Councilman Len Carey (Ward 4) has been getting complaints from residents that the bamboo makes the sidewalk difficult to navigate.

According to University Park Public Works Director Mickey Beall, clearing the sidewalk right-of-way on Rt. 1 is the responsibility of the state.

"The right-of-way does not extend very far beyond the sidewalk. It's the states responsibility, though they do not regularly clear it," Beall said at Monday's town meeting.

The town could go in and just clear the bamboo from the sidewalk, but Beall worries that would set a precedent of the town clearing walkways that are resident responsibilities.

The swath of offending bamboo, said Beall, essentially belongs to on resident.

"It should be an issue of the property owner maintaining their property," he said.

Carey remanded the issue to the Public Facilities Committee for further discussion. They will try to assess if the town can enact or amend any current ordinances to require home owners to clear bamboo and other shrubbery from right-of-ways.

The town currently had a grass ordinance that required home owners to keep grass 12 inches or shorter, but that ordinance is not applicable in this case, according to the town's legal counsel Sue Ellen Furgeson.