Mayor to Meet with Upset Residents on Meredith Drive Widening

Mayor Robert Andeweg will meet tonight at 6 p.m. with Urbandale residents who are upset about plans to widen Meredith Drive.

The meeting will immediately precede the City Council meeting at 7 p.m.

"I just thought it would be better to have a little more dialogue," said Andeweg, who said he's been contacted by about 30 people who are unhappy about one or more aspects of the project.

The Urbandale City Council on April 17 hired the construction contractor for the project and approved closing the road for construction, which Andeweg said is to begin Wednesday. The project will affect access on Meredith for the entire summer and into the fall. 

Objections to Medians

One of the key objections is from residents whose access to their homes is limited because the city is adding a center median to the road. The road will become a four-lane thoroughfare between 86th Street and Northwest Urbandale Drive.

Because of the medians, some residents will only be able to turn right when they leave their home and will only be able to turn into their home from the opposite direction.

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Sarah VandeVoort complained about this "right in and right out" restriction at the April 17 City Council meeting.

She said she and her husband and their sons, who attend Des Moines Christian School, all need to go west when they leave their house in the morning, but they will only be able to turn east.

Conversely, they can only turn into their driveway from the west.

The VanderVoorts operate a vegetable farm at their home on the south side of Meredith Drive. The median will make it difficult for customers to buy their produce, she said.

The council was not persuaded, saying medians will improve safety on the road.

Unhappy Residents Petition Council for Changes

Since then, 34 residents of the Townhomes of Summer Ridge, 10100 Meredith Drive have petitioned the council, asking it to move the median that blocks the entrance to their complex. They want to be able to turn right or left out of the complex.

Another 22 residents who live north of Meredith also signed the petition. 
In a letter to the council, Roberta Goodman, writing on behalf of the townhouse residents, said that to access their complex's entrance from the east, they have three unsatisfactory options:

• Make a U-turn on Meredith at the end of the median and then turn into their entrance from  the west.
• Turn right on 102nd Street, into a residential neighborhood, turn around in someone's driveway then turn east onto Meredith from 102nd Street.
• Or take the next major street (104th Street) and travel an extra 2.5 miles (through five traffic lights, and three left turns) to get back onto Meredith so they can enter their drive from the west.

The options are similarly limited if they want to go west from their complex, Goodman said.

"Please, put yourselves in our shoes. Would you buy a home with only right in and right out drive? Would you expect your family and friends and even repair persons to drive an extra 2-3 miles to come or leave. When you or a family member experience chest pain, how would you feel about EMS personnel being delayed?" wrote Goodman.

Andeweg said that while the project will move forward, the council could make modifications, such as moving medians. "We're still gathering information," he said.