Dear neighbors,
The saga of our neglected entryway on 202 continues. Please see the notes below from another neighbor, Sue Weber. She would like to have the neighbors write to the township officers and push for a solution. Previous notes have been from Gwen Douse. Will you please respond to Sue directly if you are interested in joining her efforts? Her email is cheezhds@
aol.com. You can copy Gwen also at
gdouse@comcast.net.
There are 3 notes below that Sue wrote to Larry Comunale at the township offices. Some of the same material has been shared via previous emails but I think you should get the sense of the development. You can refer to my previous emails (mostly of Gwen's letters) on July 18, July 24, July 31 and Sept 11. (I was on vacation break in August!)
The last note at the bottom is a letter from Larry Comunale dated Oct 4 - yesterday. It does offer some more positive news. This letter from him and the recent one from Kate do seem to offer some hope that plantings will be done for us.
There were a few people who expressed interest in maintaining the "gardens" ourselves again. Perhaps we should wait until this request to the township is done to see if we need to do that. Hopefully we will not!
Thank you,
Carol Pfister
Letter sent July 17 to township
As a 20 year resident of Gwynedd Knoll in Lower Gwynedd, I have been closely following the communications about the impact of the 202 bypass on our community. When we were consulted about the potential traffic issues and the sound barrier wall, I participated in expressing my preferences, assuming our neighborhood's opinions were actually being considered. Feeling discouraged and dismissed by the state and local politicians' lip service involved, I bowed out. It felt like a waste of time.
At this juncture, I feel compelled to speak up again. The once beautiful and welcoming perimeter of our community has been destroyed. The sound barrier along Rt. 202 and Hancock is an eyesore. My neighbors and I never thought we would be surrounded by the ugly, sterile, red wall. We voted on the visual examples of brick supplied by the state and local authorities and were under the impression that the interior and exterior walls would be the same. But it has been completed and we are stuck with it.
However, it is completely unacceptable that we are left without any shrubbery, ivy, or trees to mask or at least soften the impact of that awful looking wall. Driving up the 202 bypass beyond Gwynedd Knoll is impressive. The landscaping is thoughtfully placed and is thriving nicely. Why is our community being left without the same? Why is our community the sole eyesore on the 202 bypass? Why has this entire process been dragged out with a multitude of "continued reviews" and excuses? We represent approximately 190 families, who are your constituents. We voted you into office. It is your obligation to address and remedy this ongoing saga and bring an end to it. We will not give up and accept this situation. We will continue to demand that our community's once beautiful, treed entrance
be landscaped and enhanced as promised by our state and local officials. We want results NOW!
Susan & Andrew Weber
Registered Voters
1625 Claudia Way
North Wales, PA 19454
Lower Gwynedd
Lettter sent September 26, 2013 Dear Mr. Comunale,
I am writing to follow up on your letter acknowledging our concern about the lack of landscaping on Rte 202 adjacent to the Gwynedd Knoll subdivision in Lower Gwynedd. Your letter was dated July 18,2013. Not surprisingly, we have yet to hear anything further of substance from the Lower Gwynedd Board of Supervisors, Kate Harper or a representative from PENNDOT.
The missing GWYNEDD KNOLL entryway signs have yet to be found or replaced. The weeds are growing out of control. Trash has been tossed along the roadside. Nothing has been mowed or maintained and there has been no additional landscaping of any kind put in place. Shame on everyone who is choosing to ignore this eyesore that we, the residents of Gwynedd Knoll, have been left to deal with! It is an embarrassment for us and should be an embarrassment for the township.
If we were looking to purchase a home in Lower Gwynedd, Gwynedd Knoll would out of the running due to the unsightly entrance from Rte 202. Our property values and potential resale opportunities are bound to be impacted by the neglected entryway and atrocious, neglected 'sound barrier'. One would think that the supervisors of this township would prefer to have such a large community and its perimeter maintain its visual appeal and property values for tax purposes, if for no other reason. Clearly supporting and working toward a solution with the constituents of this community has not been a priority.
It has been suggested that the residents plant and maintain the 202 roadside area along the wall. How ridiculous! Heavy equipment needs to brought in to mow and to dig holes for planting shrubbery and trees. I don't know of any homeowners in our community who have reason to own appropriate equipment, nor are any of us willing to risk our lives hauling and planting nursery stock along a major highway, even if we did have access to said equipment.
So kindly explain to us how "the township is continuing to work with PennDot to address our concerns." The only explanations we have seen in the insulting correspondence from PennDot and Kate Harper is that "there is no more funding." They clearly have no intention on working with our community at all. So, it seems that the township is stuck with this problem and it is time for some creative problem solving to address the unfinished Rte202 boundary of Lower Gwynedd Township. Our neighborhood's interests have been ignored for far too long. We are anticipating your response.
Sincerely,
Susan & Andrew Weber
1625 Claudia Way
Lower Gwynedd
> On Jul 18, 2013, at 3:03 PM, Larry Comunale <
lcomunale@lowergwynedd.org> wrote:
>
> Dear Mr. And Mrs. Weber,
>
> I wanted to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail. I know Rep. Kate Harper has responded. The Township will continue to work with PennDOT to address your concerns.
>
> Larry Comunale
> Township Manager
> Lower Gwynedd Township
Letter on September 27:Dear Larry,
I've already heard from one of my neighbors in response to the letter I sent you last night. (We have a neighborhood distribution email for matters of interest.) This individual was furious after passing a work crew just north of Gwynedd Knoll on Rte. 202. The crew was installing more fencing, a new stone bridge and additional shrubs, trees and wildflowers! Where did this money come from?
Once again it is a blatant insult to the 190 families of Gwynedd Knoll to see the Hancock Rd - Rte 63 stretch of newly installed highway and sound barrier completely ignored while nearby areas are being enhanced. We may not all be in contact with your board of supervisors, but I can assure you that the Gwynedd Knoll Community notices what is happening and they are furious. We would like an explanation. How and why has funding been appropriated to those areas and not to the perimeter of our community? We expect the township to investigate now and to work on our behalf to ensure that we are served justly. Again, we await your reply.
Susan & Andrew Weber
1625 Claudia Way
Lower Gwynedd
Letter received October 4 from township: Mr. and Mrs. Weber:I am sending this e-mail as a follow-up to your recent e-mails expressing frustration with the landscaping along Route 202. Your e-mails were forwarded to the Board of Supervisors. The Township is willing to explore creative approaches to improving the landscaping along Route 202. Hopefully solutions would include PennDOT, the residents of Gwynedd Knoll and the Towsnhip.We have asked PennDOT for a list of exactly what is yet to be done along the Lower Gwynedd portion of the project. We know the contractor had to replant ivy and we are not sure if that has been done. We were pleased that Representative Harper was able to get PennDOT to place extra plantings at Hancock Road. I know she has worked diligently on our behalf to try to address everyone's concerns. On a related matter, no one seems to know what happened to the Gwynedd Knoll signs that were at the entrance.Relative to your specific question regarding recent plantings, we are told that, other than the wildflowers, this is simply the contractor replacing dead trees that were part of the original contract. We are told that more replacement planting will occur in the future.The Township will continue to assist the residents and PennDOT to improve the appearance of this portion of the Township. While the overall responsibility for landscaping and maintenance rests with PennDOT, the Township is willing to explore ways to make this area more visually pleasing. For example, this may include some enhancement to the ivy that will eventually cover the sound walls. I will share with you the information I am requesting from PennDOT when it is received. If you and any of your neighbors wish to meet with representatives from the Township, please let me know. Larry ComunaleTownship Manager
