New library for Leonardtown - location?

[mitzi]

I drove down Lawrence Avenue yesterday to see where the new library would go there. There is NO WAY that little street could handle the additional traffic. Turning onto Lawrence Avenue from Route 5 heading north would be both dangerous and cause traffic to back up. The assurance that we could park in the Mattingly-Gardiner parking lot is generous, but what about when there is a funeral? Does it make sense to rely on that parking lot?

Exactly! I'm glad someone understands what I'm talking about. Mattingly-Gardiner's parking is not big and can be filled when there is a funeral or an evening visitation. Where's the library folk going to park then if their parking lot is full? Anywhere they think they're entitled to, just like people do when there are festivities going on in town. Running the 4-way stop even with the blinking red light, no consideration to the pedestrians walking around. I've had cars come within a foot of me when I'm in the crosswalk. This is a bad idea. Obviously the town officials aren't taking full consideration of the residents.

 

[resident21613]

I would imagine most northbound traffic would go to the Washington street light or use fenwick extended once it is built.

If so much traffic comes from California and hollywood, why not build a library there? I am not a huge fan of the county surrounding leonardtown corporate limits with development district. It seems to me this is usurping the effectiveness of leonardtown's planning process.

 

[BernieP]

Yes, but is it a large enough segment to justify large use of public funds. Yes, people like vinyl, but record stores are not making a comeback.

was visiting my old stomping grounds and that's where I saw the NEW pressings for sale, yes, a music store that sold records (and also books and such).

 

[luvmygdaughters]

Exactly! I'm glad someone understands what I'm talking about. Mattingly-Gardiner's parking is not big and can be filled when there is a funeral or an evening visitation. Where's the library folk going to park then if their parking lot is full? Anywhere they think they're entitled to, just like people do when there are festivities going on in town. Running the 4-way stop even with the blinking red light, no consideration to the pedestrians walking around. I've had cars come within a foot of me when I'm in the crosswalk. This is a bad idea. Obviously the town officials aren't taking full consideration of the residents.

I totally agree with you Mitzi. I also live in that area and don't believe that the Lawrence Ave corridor can handle the amount of traffic this would cause. I would also like to add that whenever there is a function on the square in Leonardtown, which seems to be just about every weekend in the summer, the parking is at a premium. I have seen people blocking driveways on Lawrence as well as the other streets by the firehouse. I was coming home from Mckays on Sunday and a car that was parked on Lawrence had been hit by another car coming down the street and pushed up onto the sidewalk. I can only imagine this kind of thing would happen more frequently if the library was built there.

 

[bluetorch]

I'm in there all the time, and you are right, the meeting rooms are always full, the computers in constant use, and I think it's location is important to that aspect. I would say a lot of Lex Parks traffic is pedestrian. And right now L-towns isn't, but how much of that is due to having to walk 1 mile or so to get to it?

Personally, I think the Lawrence Ave location is a terrible idea. It would work in a county where there's a library branch for every township but in our county, we only have three branches. The current Leonardtown library supports not just Leonardtown but also Hollywood, California, Callaway, Loveville, etc. It would be a bad investment for the library to be located on Lawrence Ave as it would outgrow it quickly. Building on the Hayden Farm property is a future-proof investment that supports the needs of the library and the area itself. Even the Library staff firmly believes this... http://www.stmalib.org/new-library-for-st-marys-county/

 

[awpitt]

What happens to the old library building and land?

I think there was mention of county office space and storage.

 

[luvmygdaughters]

Speaking of buildings in Leonardtown, has anybody heard if anything is going in the old Mercantile/PNC bank building in town? That is a good sized building, seems a shame to have it set empty. And no...I'm not proposing they should put the library in there.

 

[mitzi]

I totally agree with you Mitzi. I also live in that area and don't believe that the Lawrence Ave corridor can handle the amount of traffic this would cause. I would also like to add that whenever there is a function on the square in Leonardtown, which seems to be just about every weekend in the summer, the parking is at a premium. I have seen people blocking driveways on Lawrence as well as the other streets by the firehouse. I was coming home from Mckays on Sunday and a car that was parked on Lawrence had been hit by another car coming down the street and pushed up onto the sidewalk. I can only imagine this kind of thing would happen more frequently if the library was built there.

I saw the same thing about 2 weeks ago. Hit and run on a car parked in front of it's house. Yes, they block the driveways. The apartment building at the end (before you go down to the water, beside Winegardner) their parking lot is used for parking also. Court days, festivals, etc. There have been times cars were parked so close to my friend's car, she couldn't even get in it. People use that parking lot also to cut over from Lawrence to Washington (or vise versa). People, it is NOT a road. People live there and try to walk across it with cars barreling thru. I think I've b*tched enough on this issue lol.

 

[luvmygdaughters]

LOL, but its the truth. Unless you live in the heart of Leonardtown, people have no idea about the amount of traffic that comes thru there every day. I forgot to mention the Pub. On a Thursday or Friday night, there is no parking in Leonardtown in the vicinity of the Pub, including the post office.

 

[alex]

The Town wants something retail to go into the old PNC building. When the county original bought the Leonard's Grant property they held a meeting with the school, the town, the library and the county and proposed a middle school, an elementary school and library on that site. When it was actually getting close to building a library at the 11th hour, then Mayor Norris, decides to through a monkey wrench into the plan and stated he wanted it downtown. The last set of commissioners wimped out on a decision and just dumped the whole idea of a new library. It appears as if the new Mayor Burris is cut from the same cloth and trying to do the same thing. Also, the "free" property in downtown does not provide room for any growth that might be needed.

 

[mitzi]

LOL, but its the truth. Unless you live in the heart of Leonardtown, people have no idea about the amount of traffic that comes thru there every day. I forgot to mention the Pub. On a Thursday or Friday night, there is no parking in Leonardtown in the vicinity of the Pub, including the post office.

The small apartment building on Shadrick has a tiny parking area for their tenants. Signs are up saying "Tenants Only, Others Will Be Towed". Many times during one of the festivities or overflow from the Pub, I see cars being towed out. Someone enforces it and they should. Why people think they can block where people live is beyond me. I think the festivities are a lot of fun and good for the businesses, don't get me wrong. Consideration is needed from the people attending. Come to think of it, this Sunday is the car show! Oh boy! Better get your shopping done early so you can get home and park in front of your home and not a 1/2 mile or more down the street. I visited my friend today and not one space was left in her parking lot, must have been a busy court day.

 

[Restless]

Mitzi, be sure to email the County Commissioners with your observations about parking and traffic on Lawrence Avenue. They need to hear input from those who are going to be affected if a library is build back there.

 

[mitzi]

Mitzi, be sure to email the County Commissioners with your observations about parking and traffic on Lawrence Avenue. They need to hear input from those who are going to be affected if a library is build back there.

I will do that!

 

[jibbl421]

I would like to know where the 800-1000 people a day number comes from though.

As I look at the Hayden Farm Educational and Recreational Master Plan, there is no sight of either a library nor the Garvey Center. (Granted, this is the plan that was presented to the mayor and town council.) If they end up putting the library and senior center on that property you can pretty much eliminate four athletic fields, including the stadium/track. (Which is something that is not needed at that location.)

The 800-1000 people a day come from the library's own usage statistics, tallied daily with electronic people-counters at each public entrance and averaged over time. On peak days it can be even more!

The current master plan for the Hayden property does not include the library because it was removed when the previous board of commissioners cancelled the project in favor of renovating the existing building. The master plan that was originally created in 2009 does show how the library would fit: http://www.stmalib.org/wp-content/u...-Plan-Charrette-for-Hayden-Farm-Property1.pdf

 

[LtownTaxpayer]

The 800-1000 people a day come from the library's own usage statistics, tallied daily with electronic people-counters at each public entrance and averaged over time. On peak days it can be even more!

The current master plan for the Hayden property does not include the library because it was removed when the previous board of commissioners cancelled the project in favor of renovating the existing building. The master plan that was originally created in 2009 does show how the library would fit: http://www.stmalib.org/wp-content/u...-Plan-Charrette-for-Hayden-Farm-Property1.pdf

Does the people counter activate at the front door or the entrance to the library itself? Because my children have made multiple trips from the library proper to the water fountains and rest rooms, and shouldn't be counted multiple times.