October 2010 Hyattsville Life & Times

Page 1

new playground at magruder

getting your kicks on rt. 1

Magruder Park is undergoing a nearly complete playground renovation, with four new play structures. Page 3

Legend and Lore asks: Why all the romance surrounding the famed Route 66 when its cousin Route 1 is almost as long and just as storied? Page 2

Police collect unwanted medications By Lara Beaven Hyattsville police collected dozens of unused medications from residents Sept. 25 as part of a firsttime national initiative to prevent prescription drugs from falling into the wrong hands or entering the water supply. “I thought no one would want to go out of their way to return drugs,” said Sgt. Chris Purvis, the Hyattsville police officer who tallied the donations. But by the end, he said, residents had deposited — anonymously – a total of 8.8 pounds (approximately 60 containers and a few bags of pills). Hyattsville Communications Manager Abby Sandel said the city is open to holding a similar event in the future if there is community interest. Spearheaded by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and backed by a number of national law enforcement and public health organizations, National Take Back Day aimed to reduce the risk of prescription drugs being consumed inappropriately. Prescription drug abuse, a growing problem nationally, is a major focus for the DEA. An additional benefit of the take-back effort was preventing unused prescription drugs from being flushed down the toilet,

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 43 Easton, MD 21601

drugs continued on page 10

glass house

DC GlassWorks is a public-access glassblowing studio that fosters a strong sense of community. Page 4

Hyattsville Life&Times

Vol. 7 No. 10

Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper

October 2010

Residents complain about traffic By Paula Minaert At a September city council meeting, several Hyattsville residents held up yellow signs that read “No more traffic” and “No commuter thoroughfare,” hoping to draw attention to what they call serious long-standing traffic problems on their streets. They were worried about a recent traffic study done by consultants Sabra, Wang & Associates estimating that city streets will have more than 3,500 new morn-

ing and more than 4,500 new afternoon peak-hour vehicle trips, based on current traffic and projected development. Nina Faye, who lives on Queensbury Road, said that she questioned the numbers Sabra, Wang presented to the council in July. “One day I was [at Queensbury and 41st] for six minutes at 3:30 in the afternoon. And I saw more traffic than they claimed in a halfhour. If I can’t trust this number, how can I trust any of them?” Other residents questioned the

recommendation to lift that road’s current traffic restriction on westbound traffic between Route 1 and 43rd Avenue during peak morning traffic hours. Cheri Fulton has lived on Queensbury since 1987 and was involved in the effort that led to the Do Not Enter sign being posted. She said that traffic on the street is better now but is still bad – and drivers routinely ignore the sign. Another point of contention was the recommendation to make Queensbury one-way westbound

during peak hours, if traffic there continues to increase and if improvements to state roads are delayed. “Why facilitate traffic into my community from a state road?” asked resident Margaret Hayes at the Sept. 13 city council meeting. Hugh Turley, a columnist for the Life & Times who lives on Queensbury, said, “One-way shouldn’t be even a last resort.” He believes the goal for Queensbury should be to traffic continued on page 12

SPINNING A

YARN

Local knitters and crocheters donate their pieces to Smithsonian exhibit

Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781

by Kara Rose Beginning Oct. 16, an unusual reef will be displayed in the Ocean Hall of the National Museum of Natural History. Various knitters and crocheters,

including more than 100 from Hyattsville’s A Tangled Skein, used yarn and fibers of all sorts to make the reef. The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit runs through April 24, 2011. Curators Margaret and Christine Wertheim, yarn continued on page 13

photo by chris currie Some of the pieces handmade by Hyattsville residents for the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, an exhibit opening at the Smithsonian later this month.

Included: The October 6, 2010 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section


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