Although 30 people proposed or upvoted a sidewalk connector between the south end neighborhood and the civic center -- twice as many as the next most popular idea on the Transportation Plan forum, it was once again left out of the report being presented to the City Council.

It's not clear to me who reviews the Speak Up HVL forum feedback, or how it is decided whether to incorporate any of it in the next iteration of the proposal. I'm also unclear as to whether the proposed Transportation Plan abrogates other actions of the City Council.

In the case of the 42nd Ave. and Decatur St. sidewalk connector, it was proposed 10 years ago by the Neighborhood Design Center, and accepted by the City Council. The City dragged its feet on implementing it because, according to staff, the owners of the adjacent large parcel were planning to develop it for new residences, and at that time, would be required to install sidewalk at their expense. However, that redevelopment did not happen and the owners say they have no plans for it to happen in the future.

In 2007, the CIty developed a Sidewalk Policy and amended it in 2016 (see http://www.hyattsville.org/DocumentCenter/View/3790/Sidewalk-Policy?bidId= ). According to the policy, a sidewalk should be built on one side of these blocks (it meets all the criteria). Was the contractor who developed the draft Transportation Plan even aware of the policy, and if they were, how did it decide whether or not to implement it in the places where it would apply? As it happens, very few new sidewalks are proposed, which would seem to be a de facto repudiation of an important policy passed not once, but twice, by the City Council. At the very least, the City Council should make clear the relationship between this Plan, if adopted, and the existing Sidewalk Policy.

My neighbors and I strongly encourage the City Council to include the 42nd and Decatur sidewalk connector in the Transportation Plan in order to make a necessary improvement in the safety of pedestrians -- especially schoolchildren -- currently competing with motor vehicles on a narrow and low-visibility section of road in south Hyattsville.

It is hard to imagine how a connection between 39th Avenue and Nicholson Street will help the neighborhood. The loss of large trees and a safe children's play space would greatly outweigh anything gained by having another through street. The culdesac at the corner of 39th and Madison provides a safe, flat area for children to bike and skate. My daughter learned to ride her bike there because 39th Avenue and the connecting blocks at the top of the hill are all too steep for a young bike rider. In addition, even though the city treats the streets, they become treacherous for drivers in the winter. More than once, we have witnessed cars struggling to get up 39th Avenue on a snowy or icy day. Adding more drivers cutting through the neighborhood on the 39th Avenue will only increase the problem of unsafe streets, especially in winter weather, and the loss of trees and recreation space would harm the character of this corner of the city.

A major omission is the long-standing pedestrian-safety problem due to lack of sidewalk on 42nd Ave. between Crittenden and Decatur and on Decatur between 42nd and 42nd Pl. Given just the number of children who use that route to and from school in the morning, and the lack of alternate, safe routes to the civic center of Hyattsville from the southside of the Historic District, I would hope that the City would follow its Sidewalk Enhancement Policy in at least this one case. In fact, 10 years ago the Neighborhood Design Center formally requested the City to install sidewalks there as part of the trail-access project on Crittenden St. I've heard a number of neighbors complain about how uncomfortable it is to drive that block of 42nd Ave. due to the narrowness, lack of sight lines, and frequent presence of children and other pedestrians on the roadway. It's not great for drivers or pedestrians. But let's at least fix this for the children in our community, if nothing else.

There is no safe passage for cyclists or pedestrians along Route 1/Rhode Island Ave between the southern end of the Trolley Trail and the Anacostia trail system. Installing a sidewalk and bike lane along this stretch would make so many people happy - especially with all the new businesses coming in along Route 1. I can't believe it's not part of the draft plan.