School may be out, but one resident wants to open the book about parking concerns during the school year. A Walden Lake resident who lives in Westwood spoke at the June 15 meeting about the poor traffic flow at the intersection of Emerson Place and Barrett Avenue.
According to the resident, who asked to remain unnamed, parents of students who attend Walden Lake Elementary School frequently park on those two streets and block mailboxes and driveways. Some drivers also park on the lawns of residents and remain parked illegally for up to 45 minutes at a time.
Both Emerson Place and Barrett Avenue have narrow streets, and parking on both sides restricts fire and EMS vehicles from getting down the streets. The fire hydrant on Emerson has also been blocked by parked cars.
Drivers have frequently ignored the “no parking” signs on Barrett Avenue, and Emerson Place is a thru street with no outlet.
Students have also cut through the streets and neighboring houses to get to Walden Lake Elementary, and some residents have found snack bags and soda cans littered in their lawns or stuffed in the hedges.
Because of the parking, the view is obstructed when turning left from Emerson and onto Barrett, and drivers must swing wide in order to turn from Barrett onto Emerson.
WLCA President Bob Hunter drove out to the location Tuesday, June 16, after hearing the resident’s complaints.
“This is an extremely serious situation,” Hunter said.
In addition to impacting the value of their homes, both Hunter and Walden Lake residents have other concerns. If nothing is done about the parking issue, there is the possibility that a detrimental accident could occur in the future. The intersection has no crossing guards, and there is a lack of parental supervision in the flurry of drop-offs and pick-ups.
Mail carriers have had to deal with the parking issue, as well. The resident who reported the problem failed to have her mail delivered for three days because her mailbox was blocked. Additionally, there have been two collisions with mail trucks and drivers on Barrett Avenue.
Administrators at Walden Lake Elementary School reported that the traffic issue was out of their jurisdiction.
The administration believes that many parents choose to park in the Walden Lake community because of the long line on Turkey Creek Road.
Hunter believes that something needs to be done about the situation immediately.
“It’s everyone’s problem, and we can solve it,” Hunter said. “We just have to get everybody together.”
Hunter is planning for a meeting about the issue to be held before the end of the month.
ELECTION CONCERNS
Many Walden Lake residents expressed their displeasure regarding the last election for the WLCA’s Board of Directors at the June 15 meeting.
The April election was a close race between incumbent Jan Griffin and candidate Lynn Buehler. When Buehler did two separate recounts, each total was different. Buehler wanted to file for arbitration, but he could not take the financial risk and didn’t want to entrench the WLCA in lawyers’ fees because it would take away from community improvements that could be made with homeowners’ dues instead.
Jim Hall, a Walden Lake resident for nearly 15 years, was one of the volunteers that counted the votes.
“Three different counts came up with three different totals,” Hall said. “It’s embarrassing to say the least.”
In a letter that he read aloud to the board members and those that attended the meeting, Hall said he was unhappy with one board member who he believes put the community in a situation where they would have to spend thousands of dollars in arbitration. In his letter, he asked for Jan Griffin to step down, but said that her work for the community in the past did not go unnoticed.
Buehler also spoke at the meeting. He said he does not want a similar situation to occur in the future, and told the board that he would strongly recommend a new law firm based on how the previous election was handled. The WLCA’s attorney served as the supervisor of the election.
REVIEWS AND RESERVES
At the June 15 meeting, Adam Lopatin from Wells Fargo discussed crime insurance, property coverage and liability coverage with the WLCA board members.
According to President Bob Hunter, the insurance policy had not been recently reviewed.
Board members voted unanimously to increase their bond coverage from $100,000 to $600,000 to be consistent with Florida statutes.
The board also heard from a representative from GAB Robins about a reserve study.
“The reserve study looks at capital improvements we need to plan and budget for over the next few years,” Hunter said.
Starting next year, increased funds will be put aside for repairs and updates.
After recent improvements to the community, Hunter believes that the neighborhood is starting to look better.
DATES TO KNOW
BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT
When: 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11
Where: Walden Lake Park
REZONING MEETING
When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug 13
Where: John R. Trinkle Center at Hillsborough Community College
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.