Cedarday Residents, County Officials Spar Over Road Extension

Emotions ran high Tuesday night at during a public hearing to discuss multiple Harford County road improvements scheduled through 2013.

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During about two hours of heated dialogue, at least 50 community members crammed into a hallway outside the cafeteria to ask for a delay in plans to extend Cedarday Drive to Maryland Route 136. Simultaneous work sessions to discuss improvements to Wheel Road and Patterson Mill Road took place inside the cafeteria. (Click on video.)

Harford County Director of Public Works Bob Cooper and two of his colleagues briefed more than 100 residents before they broke into four groups. The most intense discussion took place with Cedarday residents after they requested a move into the more secluded hallway.

Project engineer Jeffrey Stratmeyer led the dialogue and was later joined by County Executive David Craig’s Chief of Staff Aaron Tomarchio and planning and zoning Director Pete Gutwald.

Wearing red shirts as a sign of unity to “stop” the extension, the “Friends of Cedarday” group said joining Cedarday Drive to Route 136 would make their community unsafe and devalue their properties.

Community members suggested several alternatives to the proposal: a dirt road, a one-way street, stop signs and even a gate. Stratmeyer ruled out the latter two for legal reasons, but said the others would be shared with the administration before Wednesday’s pre-bid process for construction on the project.

While residents acknowledged they received answers, they said the response has been a series of "no’s."

"They weren't, 'No’s,'" Tomarchio responded. "They were, ‘Yes, let’s meet and let’s talk about them.'"

Stratmeyer said resident input has already been implemented into the plan. Construction traffic will now enter from Route 136 instead of coming through the neighborhood, for example. He also said before the group breakout that speed limits would remain at 25 mph.

Other community members suggested constructing a road through Cedar Lane Regional Park instead of Cedarday Drive. Because Cedar Lane is not wide enough, the county would need to declare eminent domain to claim the land and consider purchasing other parts from a nearby farmer.

Stratmeyer said the county has only asked for eminent domain twice in last 20 years and the process takes two to three years to implement.

Cedar Lane is already connected to Route 136, but not Wheel Road. Cedarday Drive is the opposite.

Many constituents demanded to know the whereabouts of County Councilwoman Mary Ann Lisanti, who represents the district and organized the meeting. One man suggested she had “set up” public works officials to bear the criticism. In a phone interview Thursday night, Lisanti said that was not the case.

“I told some people, ‘Yes, I would attend,’” Lisanti told Patch. “[But the administration has] done everything that I’ve asked them to do and my attendance at the meeting would do nothing more than confuse the issue. It is no longer in my purview. … It’s in David Craig’s ballpark and his people.”

Other community members were outraged that other elected officials did not attend.

"[We haven't] seen the democratic process," another resident said. "We don't feel that we have a say. Our representatives aren't here."

Harford County Sheriff Jesse Bane and state Del. Susan McComas—both elected officials—spoke with residents during and after the meeting.

“I feel like I have done everything in my power to advocate for the safety and security of this neighborhood,” Lisanti said. “If people are not satisfied with that, I’m sorry. I think their expectation of a single legislator here is unrealistic. Some people have chosen to oversimplify a situation.”

Plans for the road expansion were made in 1987 before nearby Cedar Lane Regional Park was constructed. The road extension was reaffirmed in the master plan around the year 2000. Earlier this year, the County Council approved funding for the project in the fiscal year 2012 budget.

“Let’s assume you own stock in AT&T. Do you want the 2012 implementation plan of AT&T services based on the 1987 strategic plan?" asked Cedarday resident Angel Pomales-Crespo. "Do you want the company to do their strategic planning in 1987 and transpond it back 20 years into the future? That’s the whole point.”

At the end of the discussion, Stratmeyer said he would share a list of the concerns with his "bosses."

Tomarchio added that he would try to update the community with a letter from the administration by next week.

“We [heard] loud and clear that you want more time,” Tomarchio said. “We’ll take that back to the leaders.”