Residents, DeMatha Officials Talk Traffic

Officials from the city of Hyattsville, and surrounding neighborhood residents gathered in the Lustine Center for a public meeting last night to try and hash out a middle-of-the-road solution for traffic problems both sides agree are caused by school activities. 

"The goal is to make everybody happy," said DeMatha Dean of Students Dave Garner in an interview after the meeting. "Traffic flow in the morning and afternoon is definitely an issue."

The meeting was held after the Hyattsville City Council voted in January to table and  

That proposal would have restricted parking between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays on the East side of 44th Avenue between Madison and Oglethorpe streets. They also call for the installation of no parking signs on both sides of Madison Street between 44th and Baltimore avenues effective between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.

did not sit well with some residents who already feel squeezed by the tight competition for parking spots caused by neighbors and school patrons alike. 

"In general, I am frustrated mostly by the lack of parking in our neighborhood," said Longfellow Street resident Brent Roberts. "The idea that some of the only extra spots that we have that we are allowed to park in are going to disappear because DeMatha raised their hand and said they had a problem is frustrating to me."

His wife Bridgette Roberts also attended the meeting and said she was pleased with the discussion. Unlike her husband, she said she was fine with the restricted parking during limited hours of the day. 

"I think it's hard because there's no ideal solution," said Bridgette. "Anything that solves the problem completely for DeMatha is going to inconvenience residents, so there has to be some sort of happy medium."

Among the ideas batted around as an alternative proposal were suggestions to make some neighborhood streets one-way to help guide traffic flow more efficiently. 

Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Purvis, who moderated the DeMatha parking discussion, said he was pleased with the meeting. He also stressed that no decisions on parking in the area are permanent. 

"If one of these ideas doesn't work, it's not like we've failed," said Purvis. "We'll have another meeting and work out another solution."