OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It’s a long shot but some members of a Council Bluffs neighborhood believe they still have a chance to change some minds and keep a street in their neighborhood open.
Even though the Council Bluffs City Council has already agreed to vacate Baughn Street to make way for additional parking for the Charles E. Lakin YMCA and a new park.
When the YMCA opened its Charles E. Lakin facility in Council Bluffs, officials say they were surprised at how many people were driving in to use the Y.
John Monson, Chief Advancement Officer at the YMCA, says, “we essentially went from about 3,000 members to about 10,000, and with that came some capacity and operating concerns. Parking being one of them.”
To deal with their concerns the YMCA decided to expand parking and building a park to create a campus feel around the Y. To create that campus feeling, Baughn Street would have to be vacated.
Some neighbors believe that would force more traffic along Harmony Street and some have been pushing back on that idea.
Tony Beraldi, an area resident, says, “it’s a neighborhood and we have very few outlets in our neighborhood. This street is important to us. When that road closes, all the traffic for the YMCA is going to go right by our street. It’s actually the entrance to the YMCA and the exit is right behind my driveway.”
Tony Beraldi owns a pharmacy in Council Bluffs and he lives across the street from the Y. He believes officials did not spend enough time and did not talk to enough neighbors about closing the street.
“You don’t close a street because you want to build a park,” said Beraldi.
YMCA officials say they went through all the steps and discussed the project with everyone, including people who live in the area.
“We vetted it through the entire appropriate process in terms of the city council and zoning and approval. We recognize it’s going to create a little bit of different flow traffic for those particular neighbors right there.”
Also, the YMCA officials say closing the street will be good for the Y and the entire community.
“Removing Baughn allows us to connect one cohesive campus to the YMCA. In the process, put a beautiful outdoor park with an outdoor sports court pavilion, a shade structure, a walking trail that the whole community and members can use. Would be a benefit to the entire community, not just YMCA members.”
Right now, traffic still moves on Baughn Street but the YMCA’s project is in motion. Clearing land where the old St. Patrick Church building once stood. But Beraldi says his argument to keep the street open is down but not out.
“All we want is a compromise, they can have their parking, their park. We want to keep it safe for kids. We just want to keep our street,” says Beraldi.
YMCA officials say if anything goes as planned, kids could be playing in the new park by the summer. Council Bluffs officials say discussion of the street closure is not on the next council meeting agenda but there will be time for public comment.
The next city council meeting is Monday at 7 p.m.
Copyright 2021 WOWT. All rights reserved.
"street" - Google News
February 06, 2021 at 06:26AM
https://ift.tt/3cN0hn0
Neighbors fight to keep street open in Council Bluffs - WOWT
"street" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Ql4mmJ
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment