Sidewalks 2023-2024

We encourage you to review the Frequently Asked Questions here: https://bit.ly/SCAsharesSidewalkFAQsJune2024

Here’s an overview of the steps that have been taken to date in reverse chronological order:

• At the conclusion of the election at 5 PM on 21 October, Gene Phelps will shared the results (shown above) with the neighbor via SCA Announcements email list. The results were also sent directly to all voters as not all of them subscribe to the SCA Announcements email list.

• At the conclusion of the election, for the one street segment that achieve > 50% support by the residents for the addition of a sidewalk, the SCA Board submitted a request and letter of support to the Montgomery County Sidewalk Program.

• The County will then follow its process to evaluate the request, which includes asking residents for their comments.

• For any streets where the resident-approved request is subsequently approved by the County, we expect construction to occur around two years later, ie, in 2026 or 2027. This estimate is based on the sidewalk request submitted by Springfield residents and supported by the Board in 2010 and installed in 2012.

• On the 20th of October, an email was sent to all residents who had received ballots but not yet voted.

• The ElectionBuddy system was configured to send reminders to residents who have not voted at the following dates and times:

  • 9 AM Saturday 12 October

  • 9 AM Saturday 19 October

  • 9 AM Monday 21 October

• Between 11 and 21 October 2024, the Committee conducted an electronic vote asking residents to indicate their preference regarding the addition of a sidewalk in front of their house. The vote was conducted using the same secure online voting system used for SCA officer elections since 2020, ElectionBuddy (features: https://electionbuddy.com/ballot-samples/), and the same contractor, Gene Phelps.

• In early October 2024, the Committee distributed a paper flyer (see outreach #3) followed by an email alerting residents to watch for an electronic ballot.

• In September 2024, the Board met parents walking children to schools between 7:50 - 830 AM on Newington Rd at Springfield Drive and on Kirkwood Rd at Jordan Rd to hear their feedback about sidewalks. See a photo here.

• In August 2024, the Board distributed a paper flyer (see outreach #2) followed by an email explaining to residents that they will have the opportunity to vote on the addition of a sidewalk in front of their home.

• During July - October, the SCA conneced with residents in the SCA Sidewalk Discussions email list https://groups.google.com/g/sca-sidewalk-discussion responding to numerous questions about sidewalks and voting from 40+ residents.

• In July 2024, the Board distributed a paper flyer (see outreach #1) followed by an email asking residents to confirm that their email address in the SCA Directory is correct.

• In May 2024, at the Semi-Annual Community Meeting http://bit.ly/SCAslidesPDF30May2024, the Board explained the steps that it would follow leading up to a vote on the sidewalk question.

• In May 2024, in the Springfield Sentinel Newsletter (slides here: http://bit.ly/SpringfieldSentinelNewsletter10May2024), the Board published an article about the opportunity to make our neighborhood safer for children and adults by requesting that the County install sidewalks on roads that pedestrians follow to schools, bus stops, libraries, churches, and shopping. 

• In November 2023, at the Semi-Annual Community Meeting and Election (slides here: https://bit.ly/SCASlides15Nov2023), the Board explained the steps that it was following leading up to a vote on the sidewalk question.

• In October 2023, in the Springfield Sentinel Newsletter http://bit.ly/SCASentinelOctober2023 , the Board published an article about the opportunity to make our neighborhood safer for children and adults by requesting that the County install sidewalks on roads that pedestrians follow to schools, bus stops, libraries, churches, and shopping.

• In October 2023, the Board approved a motion (minutes here: https://bit.ly/SCABoardMinutes10October2023) that “The SCA Sidewalk Committee will ask residents for written support for each street on our list of where sidewalks are needed and where we achieve >50% support from respondents SCA submits requests and a letter of support from the association to the County and let the County outreach and public hearing and other processes make the final determination.”

• In September 2023, the Board hosted a webinar for Springfield residents (slides here: https://bit.ly/SCADiscussSidewalksSeptember2023) to explore the rationale for requesting the installation of sidewalks.

• In July 2023, members of the Board walked the neighborhood with a County sidewalk engineer to hear his input on possible sidewalk locations to inform our plans.

• In May 2023, at the Semi-Annual Community Meeting (slides here: http://bit.ly/SCAslidesPDF30May2024), the Board explained the steps that the Board would follow regarding the opportunity to make our neighborhood safer for children and adults by requesting that the County install sidewalks on roads that pedestrians follow to schools, bus stops, libraries, churches, and shopping.