Skip to main content

The Big Drawback



A local realtor I know posted about a dozen houses and asked, “Which one is your favorite?” Strangely enough my top two were in Oakland Mills. Probably my very favorite was a house on Wandering Way. Wandering Way is exactly as the name suggests; it meanders along at a rather casual pace until it comes to a suitably Columbian cul de sac ending.

One of the reasons I have come to adore Wandering Way is that there are a number of “original” Columbia homes which have been updated and customized by subsequent owners. It’s almost the laboratory for new thinking about our older houses. Most people in Columbia wouldn’t even know they exist, because Wandering Way is off the beaten path. You’d have to try to find it.

In the end I had to admit that this house had a drawback I couldn’t get around: no sidewalks. 

To me a neighborhood has to have sidewalks. Otherwise you are saying everyone must drive or walk in the street. It suggests that you aren’t expecting neighbors to be connected to neighbors. Sidewalks can be for roller-skating, trick-or-treating, canvassers encouraging you to vote in the Village election, people out walking for exercise, beginning bicyclists, a trip to the grocery.  I can’t understand why any neighborhood in Columbia wouldn’t have been built with sidewalks as an essential. 

I’ve heard that not everyone likes sidewalks. Somewhere in the back of my mind is a story about a neighborhood that actively fought sidewalks, but I can’t remember which one. Columbia Hills? Allview? If you know, fill me in. For that matter, if you don’t like sidewalks I’d be interested to hear your point of view. 

My little house, a quadroplex on a road dominated by single-family homes, remains my top choice because it is so easy to walk anywhere in the Village I want to go. I don’t have square feet, I don’t have acreage, but I have sidewalks. Sidewalks make for connections. Interestingly enough, our slogan in Oakland Mills is: We Value Connections.

What about you? Are you connected? Do you wish that you were? Share your views in the comments.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

  One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right.  Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events?  Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....
1 comment
Read more