Residents Support Annexation of Flower Ave, But With Stipulations

It looks like the people want control of their streets. Residents don't have much faith in the State Highway Administration when it comes to Flower Avenue. The city will take care of Flower Avenue better than the state, many of them said at Monday night's Takoma Park City Council meeting.

"It's clear that SHA will never be a good steward for the community," Flower Avenue resident Maura Parker said.

The council was gauging interest to see whether the from the state and take over the road's maintenance. Several residents wanted to make sure the city would fix the right of way on the east side of the street, which has fallen into disrepair. Other wanted safer sidewalks for those exiting and waiting for busses along the road.

If the road was annexed, ownership would be transferred 45 days after a city council vote, Deputy City Manager Suzanne Ludlow said.

But what the city would do with the road if it ended up annexing it is a ways off, she said. The city has to move quickly to gain ownership of the road to take advantage of money the state is providing to make Flower Avenue a green street. But once the ownership is transferred, the city will hold public hearings on what to do with the road, Ludlow said.