Assessments were due on 1 July!
Parking and Traffic Survey
We do have a committee that is currently looking at parking and traffic issues. The committee made its first report at the last board meeting. Additional information gathering is to take place before any final recommendations are made. In conjunction with this work, the results of the 2000 survey are being published. We had responses from 61 of the 195 units in our community.
To the question as to how many cars are normally parked in Leewood for occupants of your home, the responses were as follows:
One car 24
Two cars 33
Three cars 4
Question |
Yes |
No |
Unknown |
No answer |
| Do you feel there is adequate parking |
35 |
23 |
0 |
3 |
| Do you think that stops signs should be installed to slow or reduce traffic |
29 |
29 |
0 |
3 |
| Do you think speed bumps should be installed to slow or reduce traffic |
27 |
33 |
0 |
1 |
| Do you think a speed limit should be posted? |
27 |
28 |
2 |
4 |
| For those who responded, the average speed suggested was 17 miles per hour. |
|
|
|
|
| Should there be a time limit on how long a car can be parked without being moved |
38 |
19 |
1 |
3 |
| Should cars that have been parked and not moved for more than 14 days be towed if the owner of the car is not known |
36 |
20 |
1 |
4 |
Regarding the question on adequate parking, the results by street were as follows:
Street
|
Adequate
|
Not Adequate
|
Leestone St.
|
9
|
9
|
| Leestone Court |
4
|
2
|
Bradwood Court
|
7
|
4
|
Leebrad Street
|
9
|
4
|
Bradgen Court
|
5
|
4
|
No Street Given - 1
|
|
|
Comments were numerous which seems to indicate that parking and traffic is a hot topic for our neighborhood. The comments were as follows:
- I think that cars that have not been moved in 30 days should be removed after attempts at finding an owner have failed
- [There is adequate parking] unless homes have more than 2 cars which is true in about 33% or more of the time
- If one reads DMV rules, if not posted, speed limit in residential area is 25 mph (pg. 2-16 of 97/98 Driver's Manual)
- [Should there be a time limit on how long a car can be parked without being moved?] No, however, more enforcement should be given to cars with invalid tags/county or inspection stickers (pg. 1-3 of Manual)
- I have had violators leave cars in authorized spaces while we have been on vacation for more than 14 days.
- Need some rules re: car repairs. Hove seen neighbors change oil/batteries, clean motors and wash the residue into storm drains or leave oil slicks on streets.
- blinking caution lights at entrances
- I'd really like to have traffic lights on the Backlick & Braddock Roads. It's so hard to make these turns (esp. left turn) on those roads when I get out of my house
- I do really think that we should install traffic lights.
- Parking is not a problem and is a real advantage of the community. A light is necessary at entrance at Braddock. Someone may get in an accident soon if this is not addressed.
- Too many residents allow friends to use Leewood for parking their cars while away for vacation
- We need to look carefully and thoroughly into families parking more than two cars within the development.
- Large trucks and vans need to be careful how they park and block the view of others.
- Neighbors need to be reminded in snow/ice storms that if they did not clean out a parking space they should not assume they can benefit from someone else's labor and time.
- No one household should park 4 vehicles and take up spaces that others might need.
- Board needs to hear resident's complaints, not just ignore them when it comes to parking. This is a sore subject on Bradgen Court.
- Also neighbors bringing company vehicles home should not take up space for family cars.
- Cars should be towed after 30 days if owner not known.
- We need more guest parking. My husband and I have large families and have problems with adequate parking when they visit.
- Now that there is more & more traffic cutting through, the noise level is higher. Speed bumps & speed limits, circles, "no through traffic" no motorcycles or loud sports cars
- Cars should not be towed if in owner's reserved spot
- Need flashing yellow at 2 main entrances!
- Register all resident cars -issue stickers- ticket & tow improperly registered per VA code
- Cars -no commercial vehicles- taxi cabs, etc.-no work trucks
- One car has been parked for several weeks at a time in my parking area -the neighbors all complain about it - it is never parked in the [owner's] parking area. It has been happening for a long time.
- Require all visitors to display temporary permit (provided by property owner) while parked in Leewood.
- [There should be a time limit on how long a car is parked without being moved] only if it has expired registration inspection tags or if its owner is unknown.
- [Towing cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days] First of all, every attempt to locate driver/owner should be made. I believe this is a rarity and don't want to make a new policy when situations arise. Usually, there are other circumstances - for example out of town travel, illness, etc.
- Some carpool folks park everyday in our lot subdivision. Should this be enforced?
- [There should be a time limit on how long a car is parked without being moved] and residents would notify board of the circumstances
- [Towing cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days] Be careful that we're not becoming a police state. Thirty days with posted info might work.
- Three stop signs for motorists turning onto Leebrad. I've almost been hit several times (and not by people just cutting through Leewood). Or if not a stop sign, at least yield.
- More speed bumps place the greatest burden on the resident.
- There are lots of people who have more than two cars and they take all the parking spaces. I think we should do something about this problem.
- Stop signs should be installed for safety at Leestone Ct., maybe Bradwood Ct. Configuration is not right to slow people down. Speed bumps would be ineffective for majority of speeders - trucks, SUVs. To slow traffic, if it is needed, put in circles at intersections - well known calming measure that actually works - even VDOT prefers them.
- I am not sure that in this day and time it [a speed limit] would make a difference
- People are reasonable about parking spots
- How are you going to know the owners of all the cars; who's responsible for damage to towed cars
- There is adequate parking on Leestone Ct. Not sure for the entire community.
- The number of speed bumps we have now is adequate.
- Much more important than the questions above is the increasing difficulty of getting out of or into Leewood from Braddock & Backlick. Can anything be done?
- We could charge residents for cars over the one allotted space.
- 14 days is not long enough. It should be more like two months for towing.
- Cars parked 14 days or more should be towed only if no one in the community knows the owner. Or that it is determined whether the owner may be away for an extended period of time.
- Bradwood Court would be nice [would have adequate parking] with 3 more spaces
- [Stop signs should be installed at] Leestone Ct. & Leebrad, Bradgen Ct. & Leebrad, Bradwood Court & Leebrad
- We have enough speed bumps
- [Cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days should be towed if parked] in unreserved space.
- [There should be] limits on non-resident parking.
- [There should be] extended parking on Braddock Mews Pl.
- Parking on Leestone Street -I get a new scratch on my car almost everyday [while it is parked on Leestone Street].
- Free parking spaces not distributed very well especially first section of Bradwood Court.
- Parking is good in my area though I understand it is much worse. Cur through traffic continues to be a problem. I think stop signs would help.
- Too many people use Leebrad as a short cut to avoid backup traffic at Backlick and Braddock
- [Towing cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days] might be tricky
- [Cars should be towed if] parked and not moved for over 30 days except if in a reserved spot.
- I think there should be a limit on how many cars can be parked in Leewood per family. Some families consist of two people and they have three to four cars, which take blank spaces from other people in Leewood.
- Illegal parking and long-term parking are not enforced.
- If you want to do the above [towing], you need to have a system (e.g., stickers, permits) to identify owners
- [Towing cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days -] This might be tricky.
- Many cars are stored here especially in the summer -tow them after 14 days.
- Illegally parked cars should get difficult to remove window stickers. They endanger us by blocking fire lanes.
- Curbs (no parking areas) should be painted "No Parking" or "No Parking Fire Lane"
- Why not issue Leewood parking decals to identify authorized vehicles?
- Please do not clutter the neighborhood with signs and more speed bumps.
- How would you identify whether the owner was known [before towing the car]? Who makes that determination? I can foresee times when people's cars would be towed mistakenly.
- No parking signs should be posted where no parking is permitted or paint curbs yellow like the rest of the U.S. to indicate no parking is permitted
- It's unfortunate that Leewood does not have a playground - but I worry about the kids playing in the streets. It is especially dangerous in the summer when more kids are out - especially when kids weave around the cars on bikes.
- Try yield signs first (sides should yield to throughs)
- [Towing cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days should be allowed] if [car] is not properly tagged.
- [Posting speed limits] can't hurt but won't help
- How [do you] know if a car was moved [to determine how long it has been parked without being moved]?
- Not sure if it would be legal [to post a speed limit]
- [There should be a time limit on how long a car can be parked without being moved if the car is] not tagged.
- [If cars that have been parked and not moved for over 14 days are to be towed], would we be required to register our cars with LHA? If not, how would you know ownership? Whenever a car changes, owner would file form informing LHA?
- If you have any additional comments or did not participate in the survey, you can contact or send comments to Chris Taylor who is heading up the parking and traffic committee.
President's Notes by Leona Taylor
It has been a busy month!
ARC first notices were sent out this month. In addition, a few second notices were issued. The board will be considering at the next board meeting in July whether other second notices and hearing notices will be issued. In addition, we have sent two older cases to the attorney for collection of penalties and assistance with next steps in terms of enforcement. If you received a notice and believe it is in error, please contact Pam Stover. We have discovered a few translation/transcription errors in converting the inspection notes and prior database history to the new database. So please just let us know if you think there is a problem. Also, because of our due process procedures, you may receive more than one notice. As you may know, our process requires a first notice that comes from the ARC, a second notice that the board delivers, and finally a hearing notice that also comes directly from the board. So you may be receiving a second notice regarding older violations on your property and a first notice for new violations.
If you do need to make repairs to your property, our list of recommended contractors is posted on the website. You can also call Mary Ann Wilson if you do not have access to the website. As you complete any projects, please do not forget to call Mary Ann and let her know whether you would recommend (or not recommend) the contractor for other jobs.
A big thank you to Barbara Rolling for coordinating the window cleaning services. I had my windows done for the first time since I moved here in 1991, and they look fabulous! We hope to provide this group service again next year. Thanks again to Barbara for initiating the idea and making it happen. Assessment notices went out for the third quarter assessments. If your account is paid up, you received only a post card. Those in arrears received a more "personal" letter. In addition, we sent one case to the attorney for collection. Please pay your assessment on time to save us the time and expense of later collection efforts.
For anyone with an inclination for investing, we have $30,000 of funds in our reserve account that are currently sitting in an enhanced money market account waiting to be invested in longer term investments. If anyone wants to help in determining investment options, please give me a call. Also, if anyone is interested in helping out with POA resale packets or with grounds and maintenance, please give Al Sanford a call. He is currently pulling triple duty with the POA, grounds and maintenance and his secretarial duties.
The parking committee gave a report at the last board meeting. Preliminary findings indicate that some parking problems vary over time. A hypothetical example would be a house containing four adults all of whom have their own vehicles, creating parking congestion around that unit. Once ownership of the unit changes or some of the adults leave, the parking congestion would disappear. Therefore, isolating and identifying the problems is difficult. It was recommended by the committee and approved by the board that certain individual residents be authorized to issue parking tickets in addition to the board members who currently have authority to issue tickets. This is especially useful for those blocks where board members do not currently reside. The committee is also looking into the potential of adding additional parking spaces should that be considered a necessity. The committee is scheduled to meet again (date to be published by the committee) to work on additional fact finding. Any residents are welcome to participate and should contact Chris Taylor.For our next meeting,
We expect to cover:
- Update on the tot lot survey
- Update from the traffic and parking committee
- Review of ARC violations for issuance of hearing notices
PLAYGROUND/TOT LOT
Last month an article and survey was placed in the newsletter about the possibilityof a playground and/or tot lot in the Leewood community. We have received several responses pro and con concerning the tot lot (16 surveys received: 7 in favor, 7 not in favor, and 2 neutral). We would like to hear from more of you!!!!!!! The following is the article and survey from last month in case you did not get a chance to read it or have misplaced the survey. Please fill it out and let your voice be heard. The survey results will be published in the August newsletter.
How would you like to potentially increase the property value of your home, have more time to chat with your neighbors, and have a safe and fun place for the children of Leewood to play? We would like to research the possibility of a playground and/or tot lot in the Leewood community (This does not mean it will happen; we are just interested in looking into owners' and residents' opinions, cost analysis, location, insurance liability, etc.). The following survey is to poll initial opinions on a tot lot in the Leewood community. You may mail the survey to the Association post office box (PO Box 1421 Springfield, VA 22151),drop it by 5267 Bradgen Ct., contact us via e-mail (Robert and Cathy Brent at the4brents@hotmail.com), or give us a call at (703) 354-0486. You may also at any time contact any member of the board with regard to the tot lot proposal. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Yes_____ No_____ I have children/grandchildren/frequent visitors between the ages of birth - 8 yrs.
Yes______ No____ I would be in favor of a tot lot (pending research and approval of cost, location, insurance liabilities, etc.).
Yes_______ No____ I would like to be on a committee to research the possibility of a tot lot in the Leewood community.
What are your current opinions about a tot lot?
Any concern (other than the above mentioned) you would like to have addressed? ____________________________________________________
Name and Address: ________________ ____________________________________________
Sincerely,
The Brent Family
Robert, Cathy, Kevin and Nathan Brent
Zoning Changes
When certain county zoning changes are proposed, notices are sent to the property owners adjacent to the proposed site of the zoning change. For changes around our neighborhood, such notices would go to the individual homeowners, not to the association. For instance, the proposed changes for the Arden Courts facility would go to owners of the homes on Bradwood Court facing the property, not to all owners in Leewood. Therefore, if you receive such notices of a proposed zoning change, please alert a Board member. This will allow the association an opportunity to consider whether to go on record as for or opposed to any proposed change.
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