Tartaro: "Minimum" Sidewalk Vision Not Final Plan

Hyattsville Mayor Marc Tartaro wants to make one thing clear: a description, offered by him during last Monday's meeting of the Hyattsville City Council of the minimum sidewalk network he'd like to see in University Hills, is in no way his final proposal for pedestrian pathways through the neighborhood.

In a Sunday evening phone call to Hyattsville Patch editor Michael Theis, and through city spokesperson Abby Sandel on Monday, Tartaro reiterated that his "minimum point of departure" for University Hills sidewalks, as he described it during last Monday's meeting, was intended as a starting point for discussions as the city council prepares to make a decision on how to proceed with the neighborhood streetscape overhaul.

He said a map published by Hyattsville Patch attempting to depict Tartaro's minimum vision for the neighborhood was inaccurate in certain areas, though he declined to detail those inaccuracies. The map in question was derived from an earlier map provided by the city of Hyattsville. The city map depicted proposed sidewalk installation options for the streets of University Hills, with the options colored in green (for primary routes), blue (for secondary routes), purple (for existing sidewalk) and orange (for proposed stormwater enhancements). 

During last Monday's meeting, Tartaro referenced the city map while discussing of his "minimum point of departure", saying that it would roughly encompass the areas highlighted in green.

Those green routes include sidewalks going down both sides of Wells Boulevard, as well as sidewalks on both sides of the 3400 block of Stanford Street and the 3190 block of Gumwood Drive.  

Sandel, on Monday, said that Mayor Tartaro "is not sure he has an opinion" yet on Wells Blvd. regarding single or double sidewalks. 

The city council is expected to take up the University Hills Green Streets project again at its next meeting on Monday, March 18 at the Hyattsville Municipal Building.

Update - March 11, 8:30 p.m. - Further underscoring the sensitivity with which Mayor Tartaro is handling the University Hills streetscape discussions, Sandel issued the following brief note after this article went live. It reads in full:

"The Mayor wanted to emphasize that city council will ultimately make decisions regarding sidewalks in University Hills."