Dear Narberth Friends,
Tomorrow October 3, Narberth Borough Council will decide on the immediate fate of the Narberth Avenue bridge. With repairs estimated at $250,000 and the structural integrity in question the alternative of keeping it closed until the planned reconstruction may appear to be the obvious solution.
If all plans, permits and approvals go perfectly in the next 15 months, reconstruction is slated to begin the first quarter of 2014 and expected to last 12-15 months. (This involves the same Amtrak agency that has delayed start date of the demolition of the Rockland Avenue Bridge for two years now, despite it being of much grave concern.)
If nothing is done now and our bridge remains closed for three or more years what will happen to the vitality and integrity of our town?
Who is affected by a closed bridge?
All the shop owners in Narberth. When residents of the Narberth Southside and Merion neighborhoods, need to drive around the borough, they end up shopping elsewhere. Sure, they can and do walk into the borough, but for those who run retail businesses, out of sight means out of business. Shop owners need cars to pass in front of their shops, remind shoppers Narberth stores are open and make it easy to stop and shop in Narberth.
All the homeowners on the Southside and near Narberth neighborhoods. Most residents can get over the inconvenience of having to drive around town to get to Narberth. However, when new people come to Narberth looking to buy houses, they are disconnected from the downtown that attracts so many residents to live in a walk-able community. Home values over the next four-five years will be hurt if the bridge is closed.
All the residents of Narberth. When you remove a third or quarter of your residents from easily using the downtown, the town vitality suffers, the connections of North and Southside families suffer; and the Wynnewood Avenue tunnel gets more crowded and more dangerous, backed up by additional left hand turns.
Borough council people are elected to keep Narberth a strong, independent special community. We ask you to contact your Narberth Borough Council people and ask them to support fixing the bridge.
Please contact:
Sam Quinn mquinnesq@verizon.net
Aaron Muderick aaron@muderick.com
Heidi Boise hmboise@verizon.net
Bob Wegbreit wegweg@comcast.net
Michael Alexander mike4narberth@gmail.com
Bob Weisbord bweisbord@gmail.com
Andrea Deutsch amdeut@aol.com
Narberth Borough Narberth@comcast.net
Thank you for helping us to keep our small business alive and our downtown thriving.
Sincerely,
Tracy Tumolo
Sweet Mabel Folk Art