One bike/pedestrian easement will close, another will be improved

The old easement has attracted graffiti for years. The newer pedestrian/bicycle easement is about 100' down the road, and will be widened as part of the Saltzman project.

When the alignment of Saltzman Road was changed back in 1990, the road that connected it into the Terra Linda neighborhood was closed (vacated). Back then, connectivity wasn’t as important an issue, and Terra Linda residents didn’t like the traffic cutting through their neighborhood to go to the Cornell/Murray shopping areas and other destinations.

An easement remained, however, classified as a “temporary pedestrian/bicycle easement for the public,,, until such time as like access is provided in another location.” This easement has served as an important ped/bike connection to the shopping area and parts southwest for many area residents.

Later, two small easements (Saltzman Court. and Abby Court) were created when new development south of Saltzman occurred. Recently, the homeowners adjacent to the older easement requested a “vacation” by the county, so that the property would become private.

CPO 1’s Connecting Neighborhoods subcommittee was alerted to the action by County Planning Commissioner Mary Manseau, who just happened to be at a Board of County Commissioners (BCC) work session when it came up. The subcommittee wrote to the BCC protesting the vacation, but at their May 25 meeting, the BCC approved the vacation. Out-of-direction travel is always a concern, but the BCC felt that the additional 200 feet or so of extra distance would not prove too much of an obstacle.

Due in part to the interest in this route from the community, however, the BCC pledged to do further improvements to the Abby Court opening as part of the Saltzman project. The opening will be widened and additional signage will be provided, and hopefully a bit of grading will eliminate the humps between the new road grade and the sidewalk on Abby Court.

Manseau said of the Connecting Neighborhoods letter, “Without a doubt, these improvements would not be occurring if it had not been for the efforts you put out in identifying the existing deficiencies of the ‘like accesses.’”

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