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Though it's hard to point to togetherness as a tangible accomplishment,
we've at the very least brought people together. At our meetings – such as
this one that focused on safety issues -- people have come to know one
another.
For
sure, relationships have been fostered, and people have worked together.
Though the least tangible, this is probably the most valuable thing we've
done.
SEPTA Fence - Do good fences make good neighbors? Not sure! But we do know
that this fence along Mill Road between Windsor and Stratford has helped
keep schoolchildren off the dangerous tracks. We worked with town officials
and the SEPTA Board to accomplish this. Special credit goes to Bill
Donnelly and Michael Shechtman, who worked on a petition to get this fence
built, and who followed through.
Graffiti Removed from Union Avenue Bridge - It may be a small thing, but it
bothered many neighbors to see graffiti on this bridge, near Myers
Elementary School. We worked with SEPTA officials to get the graffiti
removed.
SEPTA Bench - This may seem like an inconsequential thing... a bench... a
place to sit while waiting for a train before we got the new station. But
this bench story turned into an adventure. What happened was that an older
bench that only had a couple of planks to sit on. SEPTA removed the
bench to "repair," and there it stayed. After inquiring and complaining for
9 months, we finally got a new bench. It took about 100 phone calls spread
over that time, many coordinated through our SEPTA subcommittee.
SEPTA sign box - This sign box enables our organization to keep commuters
informed about our activities. We updated it about every 2 months. Several
neighbors have learned about MPNA through it. Neighbor Mark Cortez built the
Plexiglas and wood box, which has a little door on it -- and we again thank
him for it! Unfortunately, we cannot have it in the new station.
SEPTA Public Telephone - Not everyone has a cell phone! A pay phone was
installed on the inbound side, thanks to MPNA efforts. Helaine Zlotnick
worked on this project.
Though we don't have a heading for the work of neighbor Maureen Hicks, it's
important to say that Maureen has played an enormous role in many of the
SEPTA improvements that have been made in recent years. She has urged the
Town and SEPTA to make needed improvements, and her efforts led to million
of dollars worth of improvements. Thanks for setting a great example,
Maureen!
Heated Waiting Room at the old SEPTA Station - We have no picture for it
yet, but this one is worth posting. Sometimes it doesn't take $100,000
grant to make a difference in a neighborhood. It seems commuters were
freezing in the waiting room at the southbound SEPTA Station. Some
neighbors said it would be nice to have a heated waiting room (What a
concept!) Maybe a heater should be installed. A little investigation turned
up the fact that there was indeed a heater in the station. The problem was
that it overheated the station workers, whose work area is compartmentalized
and apart form the commuter area. Andy Rudin discovered that a simple
baffle (a metal disc that pivots) could be installed to moderate the flow of
hot air and achieve balance. Net result: everybody warm, and nobody
over-heated.
Yellow lines on Granite Road - Here's another seemingly small thing. The
problem was that motorists could not see the dividing line on the road.
(This intersection is also known as Cheltenham and Coventry Avenues, but the
road that hits Cheltenham is actually Granite.) It's actually dangerous to
drive without awareness of the proper lane since the road curves and narrows
at the same time. Calls to the Town and to Mike Swavola resulted in a
re-painting.
Bushes trimmed at dangerous Union and Mountain Intersection – Accidents were
waiting to happen at this intersection, a fact that was due in large part to
overgrown bushes. The blocked the views motorists had of one another.
Through the assiduous work of Helaine Zlotnick, this problem was resolved. |
