‘Pump up the quaint’ to build community

There was a dramatic difference between the first meeting regarding “Walkable Chadds Ford” and the second. The initial meeting in November attracted dozens of people, many of whom were Chadds Ford Township residents. Meeting number two, held on Dec. 15, drew 12 attendees and only one who lives in the township.

However, the aim was the same: figure out what’s needed to make the village of Chadds Ford a more walkable and more connected environment. The thought is that such an environment would make the village a better place for business and for a sense of community.

What many advocated in both meetings was the need to connect both sides of Route 1 in the village area.

Deb Reardon, Chadds Ford’s Open Space Committee chairperson, has stressed the idea of connectivity and community for years and said again during the December meeting that there’s no sense of community in the township and that lack can be traced to two things, Route 1 and two-acre zoning.

“The township is divided by Route 1,” she said. “Route 1 is not safe.”

She also said that a sense of community would not occur until “people get out of their two-acre lots.”

Peter Simone, standing, leads the meeting on developing a walkable Chadds Ford Village.
Peter Simone, standing, leads the meeting on developing a walkable Chadds Ford Village.

Reardon said there is no place where people in the township can get together informally and mentioned her regret that the old Wawa in the village closed.

“That’s where people met in the morning,” Reardon said. “It was the neighborhood…We’re in the process now of seeing what we can do to have a sense of community again.”

Echoing Reardon’s sentiment were Ann Murphy and Suzanne Regnier, both from the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.

Murphy lamented the loss of activity and energy at the Barn Shoppes on the north side of Route 1, while Regnier said she’s hoping to develop a sense of community.

To that end, she said later, was to remember that quaint is valuable and that the area should “pump up the quaint.”

She explained that the quaint was part of an identity and that if the area becomes too slick, the quaintness and identity would be lost.

Examples of quaint are Hank’s Place, the critters the museum volunteers make for sale as Christmas decorations and the annual canoe event — Tip-a-Canoe and a Barbecue, Too — put on by the Young Friends of the Brandywine, she said.

“It has to be authentic quaint,” Regnier added. “If you have manufactured quaint, it’s never quite right. It has to be genuine.”

She said it’s a matter of finding and maintaining that core identity.

“It’s a matter of blooming where we’re planted. We were planted in Chadds Ford for a bunch of reasons. So, let’s celebrate that which is quirky and different and us,” Regnier said.

The meeting was considered to a brainstorming session of the Steering Committee. Those 12 who attended are members of that committee, but Peter Simone and Geoff Creary, of the landscape architecture firm of Simone Collins, each said the committee is still open to new members.

Simone Collins is the planner for the project, and Peter Simone led the meeting.

The overall discussion during the meeting was wide-ranging, from what to do about Route 1, how to develop that sense of community and how to create a better business environment, both for economic and social benefit.

The Steering Committee is considering numerous ideas on how to  build a more business- and pedestrian-friendly village area in Chadds Ford Township.
The Steering Committee is considering numerous ideas on how to build a more business- and pedestrian-friendly village area in Chadds Ford Township.

One of the rhetorical questions Simone asked was: How can the business environment be made better, but still maintain the historic character of the village?

However, no definitive answer surfaced. That part of the discussion centered on several ideas brought up in the November meeting, and most of those centered on Route 1.

Simone ruled out a pedestrian overpass because of expense and ineffectiveness. Other ideas included replacing the standard intersection at Route 1 and Creek Road with a roundabout or with lowering the speed limit.

Simone called the current status of the process a “concept study” where most ideas are on the table.

“We’re looking at this from 20,000 feet up,” he said in a comment similar to one made by Chadds Ford Township Supervisor Frank Murphy when Murphy ran for election in 2013.

Reardon said the viability of businesses in the village wouldn’t improve until that sense of community is developed because, now, the township is “disjointed.”

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13, and a second public meeting, during which a draft plan will be presented, is scheduled for March 7. A final draft plan is expected to be presented May 20.

A story from the November meeting can be found here.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply