Forest Drive

The Annapolis City Council voted last night to reject a "window-dressing" resolution that would have imposed a moratorium on development in the congested Forest Drive corridor.5/85/8 TC While agreeing that traffic-choked Forest Drive is indeed a problem, council members voted 6-3 against the resolution because it required that Anne Arundel County impose a moratorium first."It's not a moratorium," said Alderman Carl O. Snowden, a Ward 5 Democrat. "The county has clearly indicated that it's not planning on imposing a moratorium.

Close to the southern boundary of Annapolis, near the mouth of the 340-acre park deemed the jewel of Anne Arundel County's park system, proposed developments have sparked citywide debate on how to protect trees. These last two big tracts of undeveloped forest along Forest Drive are projected to become the site of hundreds of homes and a senior community. Plans for that development have drawn 1,500 petition signatures and opposition from 19 environmental and community groups. "People get really upset when they see the last of the forests going down, and they ask hard questions like, 'Shouldn't they be protected?

Forest Drive was named for the trees that once lined its path. Now the traffic-choked Annapolis street is synonymous with gridlock.Last night, a city-sponsored committee conducted the first of several town meetings aimed at solving the street's problems -- from poor sidewalks to clogged intersections."

A state agency with headquarters in Annapolis will plant 120 trees to replace sickly ones it cut down and donate 240 more to the city for its reforestation projects. Officials from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund and the city will hold a tree-planting ceremony Tuesday in the Primrose Acres community, which abuts the agency's office on Forest Drive. In the spring, MAIF officials removed 120 trees from the parking lot behind its headquarters at 1750 Forest Drive. The white pine trees, which were planted behind the building in the late 1960s, had root problems, had been damaged by wind and were hazardous to agency employees and several houses in the community behind the MAIF building.

It's morning rush hour and Forest Drive in Annapolis is overflowing with trucks, buses and automobiles that crawl from one light to the next. Even the slightest fender bender here could cause a traffic jam that would nearly cripple the city.As development along this road, one of three main routes in and out of the state capital, has mushroomed, so have the traffic jams and accidents.Last Friday, an 11-year-old boy ran into traffic on Forest Drive and was struck by a car. He is in critical condition at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

The Annapolis city council is poised to vote tonight on two applications requesting the annexation of 140 acres of Anne Arundel County land.If the applications are approved, the council would hold public hearings on zoning the properties to allow developers to build on the two parcels, located on the Annapolis Neck Peninsula.Over the past few weeks, city officials have met with area residents to address their concerns. Neighbors say they are worried that continued development could pollute a nearby environmentally sensitive area and increase traffic on Forest Drive, the main artery through the peninsula.

A state agency with headquarters in Annapolis will plant 120 trees to replace sickly ones it cut down and donate 240 more to the city for its reforestation projects. Officials from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund and the city will hold a tree-planting ceremony Tuesday in the Primrose Acres community, which abuts the agency's office on Forest Drive. In the spring, MAIF officials removed 120 trees from the parking lot behind its headquarters at 1750 Forest Drive. The white pine trees, which were planted behind the building in the late 1960s, had root problems, had been damaged by wind and were hazardous to agency employees and several houses in the community behind the MAIF building.

Recent growth has led Manis & Wright Realty to move its offices to Clocktower Place on Forest Drive in Annapolis.The new 2,443 square-foot office will more than double the size of the firm's West Streetlocation.Founded three years ago, the realty company specializes in both residential properties and commercial sales and leasing in the GreaterAnnapolis and Anne Arundel County area.The firm employs 25 licensed real estate agents.

Residents of the Forest Villa community of Annapolis demanded satisfaction from the State Highway Administration -- and got it.At a news conference yesterday, Annapolis Ward 3 Alderman Sam Gilmer and Forest Villa residents praised a plan that will allow eastbound vehicles from Forest Drive to enter the community directly.A previous plan called for an unbroken median island on Forest Drive, extending from Chinquapin Round Road to Bywater Road. The island would have forced Forest Villa residents to make U-turns at either end of the island to enter their community by Louis Drive.

Annapolis Neck Peninsula residents claimed a tiny victory yesterday in their fight to keep the city of Annapolis from swallowing whole tracts for developers.Although the city council annexed another 140 acres on Monday, city officials agreed to halt development on the properties until traffic problems on Forest Drive are addressed.The developers of the annexed land say the temporary halt is not a problem.Alan J. Hyatt, an Annapolis lawyer representing the developers for the Crisland Corp.

With four annexation cases looming, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and some city council members are at odds over whether - and how - Annapolis should expand. At the center of the debate are competing visions for Annapolis: Should the city be an urban, pedestrian-friendly city or a suburban, SUV-friendly place? And then there are some who think the city should not expand at all. Moyer believes the choice is clear: Annexations should conform to the urban "mixed-use" character of a city, a contrast to general development patterns in recent years.

Annapolis man dies as his minivan hits Forest Drive house A 63-year-old Annapolis man was killed early yesterday when his minivan crashed into a house on Forest Drive, Annapolis police said. Accident investigators said it appeared that Clarence Vernon Burch III of the 200 block of Harbor Gates Drive died of a medical condition, possibly a heart attack. There was no evidence that Burch tried to use his brakes as his 2001 Dodge Caravan minivan swerved from the eastbound lanes of Forest Drive about 1:40 a.m. and into a house in the 2000 block of Forest Drive, said Officer Hal Dalton, a city police spokesman.

Police increase patrol along bicycle trail after attack on teen County police said they increased patrols along the Baltimore-Annapolis bicycle trail yesterday after an attack on a 14-year-old girl. The teen-ager was on the trail near Harundale Mall late Saturday night when she was approached by a man who followed her to Morningside Drive and then grabbed her by the back of the neck and attempted to abduct her, police said. The girl fought back and managed to escape, according to police reports.

A Safeway Food & Drug store on Forest Drive closed yesterday after a small electrical fire in a back room knocked out all telephone and power lines to the store, Annapolis fire officials said.Officials said they hope the store will open today because the damage was minimal, but that might not happen unless an emergency generator is brought in to restore power."We hope to re-open the store in the next couple of days, but we're optimistically hoping it'll be tomorrow," Greg TenEyck, director of public affairs for Safeway Inc., said yesterday.

Annapolis Neck Peninsula residents claimed a tiny victory yesterday in their fight to keep the city of Annapolis from swallowing whole tracts for developers.Although the city council annexed another 140 acres on Monday, city officials agreed to halt development on the properties until traffic problems on Forest Drive are addressed.The developers of the annexed land say the temporary halt is not a problem.Alan J. Hyatt, an Annapolis lawyer representing the developers for the Crisland Corp.

The Annapolis city council is poised to vote tonight on two applications requesting the annexation of 140 acres of Anne Arundel County land.If the applications are approved, the council would hold public hearings on zoning the properties to allow developers to build on the two parcels, located on the Annapolis Neck Peninsula.Over the past few weeks, city officials have met with area residents to address their concerns. Neighbors say they are worried that continued development could pollute a nearby environmentally sensitive area and increase traffic on Forest Drive, the main artery through the peninsula.

The narrow downtown streets of Annapolis are so clogged with traffic that the main corridors into and around the historic city must be improved to avoid gridlock, a consultant has found.In a preliminary report on traffic conditions in Maryland's capital, Kellerco, a consulting company from Fairfax, Va., has underscored the importance of three major thoroughfares -- Rowe Boulevard, Forest Drive and West Street.The study is the second phase of a transportation master plan being developed by the city.

More than 50 residents of the Annapolis Neck Peninsula packed a city council hearing last night to oppose two Annapolis applications to annex 140 acres of county land.Residents urged officials to temporarily stop the annexation and halt further development until congestion is eased in the traffic-choked Forest Drive corridor.But Richard Hillman, former Annapolis mayor who is chairman of the city's Planning Commission, told the residents, "This is a matter between the owners of the property and the city.

More than 50 residents of the Annapolis Neck Peninsula packed a city council hearing last night to oppose two Annapolis applications to annex 140 acres of county land.Residents urged officials to temporarily stop the annexation and halt further development until congestion is eased in the traffic-choked Forest Drive corridor.But Richard Hillman, former Annapolis mayor who is chairman of the city's Planning Commission, told the residents, "This is a matter between the owners of the property and the city.

Rush to annex property ruins plan for peninsulaWe are being faced with a rush to annex property into the city of Annapolis. Five petitions have recently been filed with an additional petition currently under consideration by Annapolis.These annexation petitions include more than 350 acres, approximately 1,200 housing units and the rezoning of more than 40 acres along the Forest Drive corridor.The magnitude of these proposals destroys any concept of comprehensive planning for the Annapolis Neck peninsula.