A representative of College Park’s public works staff on March 11 offered residents who live on and near Wellesley Drive in the College Park Estates neighborhood the option of locating a new sidewalk on the north or south sides of the street but ran into opposition from homeowners who said they don’t want a sidewalk at all.
The sidewalk, which is part of a Complete and Green Streets plan adopted by the College Park City Council in 2016, would stretch from Edmonston Road to Sweetbriar Drive once it is completed in 2028.
“I honestly find this expansion completely unnecessary,” Ken Hanscomb, who lives on Wellesley Drive, said at the virtual meeting, which included two consultants from the engineering firm working on the sidewalk design. “This is a very quiet, safe street.”
Hanscomb’s Wellesley Drive neighbor, Matt English, objected to the timing of the meeting, which drew approximately 20 attendees, mostly residents of Sweetbriar Drive.
“It sounds like you guys are coming to us for public feedback but it sounds like the decision was already made,” English said. “I’m not sure I understand the public engagement process here.”
Jacob Vassalotti, who works in the engineering division of the city’s Department of Public Works, said the city council selected the Wellesley Drive sidewalk as a priority in 2021 and since then has funded the project’s design phase. The estimated cost for the completed project is roughly $875,000, according to city budget documents.
Michael Williams, who lives on Wellesley Drive and works for the city as its economic development director, said the public had an opportunity to offer input during last spring’s budget season when the city council considered spending on capital projects for fiscal year 2026.
Williams noted that residents are invited to speak at any Tuesday evening city council meeting on any topic.
Vassalotti said the city sent a survey about the sidewalk to Wellesley residents in October and publicized the project through a Weekly Bulletin, and promised a second public meeting once the city council approves the sidewalk’s location.
Tom Litke of the College Park Estates Civic Association said the mailing list might be incomplete. Litke lives on Sweetbriar Drive.
Hanscomb objected to a requirement that residents whose homes are on the same side as the sidewalk must shovel snow from it.
“I don’t want the extra effort of shoveling five-plus more feet of ice and snow,” Hanscomb said, referring to the accumulation from the late January snowstorm.
Shari Hanscomb, Hanscomb’s wife, agreed.
“My biggest concern with the sidewalk is shoveling,” she said. “We didn’t purchase the house with a sidewalk.”
She suggested that the same crews that shovel a two-year-old sidewalk on Edmonston Road—which is not attached to any residences—could also clear Wellesley’s new sidewalk.
Not all of the attendees objected to the sidewalk.
Wendy Williams, Michael Williams’ wife, said the sidewalk “not only will help for pedestrian foot traffic, but will help natural access onto Sweetbriar for access to [Lake Artemesia].”