Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Managing the influx of cars has multiple answers, but the Riverdale Park council seeks to keep pedestrian safety at the fore.
When talking about pedestrian safety, traffic and Cafritz, it’s pretty easy to get lost in the conversation. The most recent traffic impact study is, according to Councilman Alan Thompson (Ward 2), nearly three inches thick, being about 400 pages long. There are other documents to be read as well, such as a report that studies the effects of four designs of right turn road lanes on pedestrian safety. In short, like the rest of the Cafritz development, there’s a lot to consider. Projected traffic increase due to Cafritz is, as Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler (Ward 1), says, a “double-edged sword.” “Retail and commercial needs [traffic] to be viable yet it is the bane of residential communities,” Ebbeler said. A natural solution would be to …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
A rundown of the May 6 special legislative session in Riverdale Park.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Part of the proceeds from Saturday's event will benefit National Parkinsons Foundation.
Yes, it's Cinco de Mayo this Sunday, but Town Center Market in Riverdale Park will be hosting their Cuatro de Mayo party on Saturday. From 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., the market will have food and drinks (some alcoholic) available for sale as well as free gifts to offer patrons. The event will be held at 4705 Queensbury Road.
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Town of Riverdale Park gives annual donations of public money to the organization.
Two senior officials with the Riverdale Park Arts Council have resigned after it was discovered that several thousand dollars had disappeared from the organization's coffers over a period of months last year. The council is supported, in part, by public funds from the Town of Riverdale Park. RPAC President Jeffrey Yorke wrote in an email to Mayor Vernon Archer on Feb. 12, obtained by Patch, that the council had “learned of a grievous act” committed by one of its board members. Yorke requested a confidential meeting with Archer. Yorke said in the email that the board member had taken “verbal ‘responsibility’ for felonious actions.” RPAC was founded in 2008 to "promote local arts with the goal of making our town a more vibrant and livable …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Though Calvert Tract is in conversations with UMD, there has been no formal agreement.
Less than three weeks before its next appearance before the Prince George’s County Planning Board, Calvert Tract LLC has not secured property for the bridge over the CSX tracks that is required before construction can begin. Developers have been in conversations with the University of Maryland in an attempt to secure property for the crossing but have yet to receive a commitment, according to Larry Taub, a lawyer for Calvert Tract. “There is no letter,” Taub said. Initially, Calvert Tract approached the American Center for Physics with an offer to purchase land from its campus for the bridge, but that proposal was rejected in March. And while Taub and his colleagues were adamant that they had not secured commitment from UMD, they did …
Monday, April 22, 2013
Now that developers have begun building out the Town Center, what businesses would you like to see set up shop?
Now that developers have started building out the Riverdale Park Town Center, readying the space for tenants, the possibility of business setting up shop in the long vacant building seems closer to a reality. According to the Douglas Development, a total of 18,839 sqft. is available for rent—9,514 sqft. on the first floor and 9,325 sqft. on the second floor. Spaces vary in size from 834 sqft. to 7,953 sqft. but some spaces could be combined if a larger area was requested. The first floor of the Town Center is ideal for retail shops and restaurants and the second space could be used for offices, according to Kira Bates, a public relations specialist working for Douglas Development. If you could pick what businesses would move into the …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Fresh, local food, meats, flowers and more will also be on sale during Thursday's market.
Sunny skies, mild temperatures and crab cakes will all be in Riverdale Park on Thursday, just in time for the town's weekly farmers market. From 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the town center parking lot, residents can enjoy local fare and flowers from the following vendors: Thursday marks the debut of Shells Yes! Crab Cake Company, selling crab cakes and soups. Market regulars Reuben's Crepes, The Verandah and Geppetto Catering will also be on hand selling hot food for dinner on the spot. Zeke's will also be selling fresh coffee and beans to take home and, Stone Hearth Bakery will be selling their regular assortment of breads and treats. As if all that delicious food weren't enough, this week's musical guest is local folk singer Bob Clayton.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Local residents are leading efforts at increasing efficiency and environmentally minded actions in the town.
It takes more than recycling to get a municipal certification by Sustainable Maryland—and the Green Team of Riverdale Park is prepared to lead the action. It has been a hectic past few months for Ashley Wilburn. She is a graduate student studying environmental management at the University of Maryland and in January, along with three other people, Wilburn ramped up the Green Team efforts to get the town certified. Wilburn says the goal of the certification is to reduce costs through efficiency,to educate and promote stewardship of the environment and to instill pride in communities. The path to certification involves earning points for every action towards sustainability a community takes. Actions include hosting a farmers markets, creating…
Friday, April 5, 2013
Residents turned out in droves for the first open air market of the season in Riverdale Park.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Eight days shy of the election filing deadline, and no candidates have officially declared intent to run for office in Riverdale Park.
As the April 11 deadline to file for the spring elections in Riverdale Park approaches, only one thing is missing—candidates. This is not cause for concern, according to Riverdale Park Mayor Vernon Archer, who said in previous years candidates have waited until closer to the deadline to file. “That’s basically been my experience, that everybody comes in at the last few days,” said Archer, who has served four terms as mayor. The mayor and four of the six incumbent council members have said they intend to file soon. If all of the incumbents submit their paperwork, and no additional candidates file in the next eight days, all the races will be uncontested. In the 2011 election, there were no contested races in Riverdale Park. “I don’t know …
Alan Thompson
10:49 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
I walk all of those intersections, Pachacutec, and think the Cafritz development, as proposed, will be much, much better than those intersections are, because it's designed from the ground up to slow down traffic and be pedestrian friendly. Yes, it could be better, but we've had to balance vehicles and pedestrians; the balance we came to leans heavily towards the pedestrians (but we will be … more ›