Older News Items
October 31, 2008
| THE LAFAYETTE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD WAS HAPPY TO RECEIVE VISITS FRIDAY NIGHT FROM DEVILS, ANGELS, PIRATES AND PRINCESSES AS BEARD STREET AND INGLESIDE AVENUE BECAME WALKING LANES FOR HUNDREDS OF HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREATERS AND THIER PARENTS.IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE 2008 HALLOWEEN NIGHT SAFE AND FUN AS POSSIBLE FOR THE LARGE NUMBERS OF TRICK OR TREATERS, POLICE PERMISSION WAS RECEIVED TO INSTALL BARRICADES ON INGLESIDE AND BEARD BETWEEN GADSDEN AND TERRACE. WE WISH TO THANK THE TALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR CO-OPERATION.I WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK PHILLIP STUART OF INGLESIDE AVENUE FOR ORGANIZING THE FLASHING BARRICADE EFFORT AND WORK DONE BY CRAIG & PAGE CURRY, MIKE HEWITT-BROWN, JERRY MCKINSTRY, ANDY MCLEOD & DREW ROBERTSON.THANKS TO EVERYONE IN THE NEIGHORHOOD FOR PUTTING UP HOME DECORATIONS AND HELPING TO KEEP THE STREETS FREE OF PARKED CARS WHICH COMPLETELY OPENED BOTH BEARD AND INGLESIDE FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.
COUNTS AND TALLIES WERE KEPT OF THE NUMBERS OF KIDS VISITING OUR HOMES AND WE RECEIVED 779 WHICH WAS UP ABOUT 200 KIDS FROM HALLOWEEN 2007. IT WAS A GREAT EVENING. THANK YOU. LIFE IS GOOD. |
| The 2008 Lafayette Park Neighborhood Halloween Home Decorating Winners and Runners-Up were chosen on October 26 by judges Julian Pecquet of the Tallahassee Democrat and Debra Thomas recently of the Tallahassee Neighborhood Affairs Office.The following are the homes chosen for awards:Most CreativeWinner~516 Beard StreetRunner-Up~~1012 Washington StreetMost OriginalWinner~813 Ingleside AvenueRunner-Up~1203 Terrace StreetScariestWinner~617 Beard StreetRunner-Up~~647 Ingleside Avenue |
10/24/08
I am pleased to inform you that the FDOT has approved the placement of a crosswalk across Thomasville Road at 5th Avenue (southerly leg). This will also require the installation of wheelchair ramps. We will be scheduling the work soon and expect to complete it by or before the end of November, weather permitting. Thank you for your inquiry and please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Regards.
E. Olu. Sawyerr, P.E.
City Traffic Engineer
300 South Adams Street, Box A-12
Tallahassee, FL 32303-1731
Phone: (850)891-8261
fax: (850)891-8884
May, 2008
An amicable resolution has been agreed upon in what could have been a travesty with the removal of the canopy trees on Calhoun Street near the intersection with Thomasville Road. The City of Tallahassee Growth Management Department had issued a permit to the Florida School Board Insurance Trust and their contractor to put a new entrance on Calhoun Street to line up with McDaniel Street which would have removed all but one of the canopy trees. As it turns out, the canopy trees are in the right of way road easement and Leon County and not the City has jurisdiction over this roadway.
As a result of efforts by Tallahassee arborist, Sam Hand and Tallahassee environmentalist, Ann Bidlingmaier as well as the Lafayette Park Neighborhood Association getting involved, a meeting was held at the new building site on Friday, May 16, 2008 with County officials, the project engineer, contractor and other interested parties. We all voiced our concerns and the Leon County people agreed that the trees do not need to be removed and the entrance will be located at the site of an existing entrance on Calhoun at the far south end of the property. The project engineers will now complete a new site plan and submit it for approval by Leon County.
The building contractor must also follow a mitigation plan to keep heavy equipment from damaging the roots of the existing trees and any parking lot and retaining wall planned must leave space for the root system critical protection zones. Otherwise, any trees that are left standing could be in danger of dying.
It definitely has paid off to voice our neighborhood concerns in this matter! The tree removal would have taken place next week if some concerned citizens had not got involved. What a great example of private-public partnership and another reason to push for consolidation of the City and County so the right hand knows what the left hand is doing!
May, 2008
The live oak trees and other canopy trees at the corner of Calhoun Street and Thomasville Road are in danger of being removed to make way for a new commercial building, parking lot and entry/drive way. We, the Board of Directors of the Lafayette Park Neighborhood Association, are not happy about this possibility. The Calhoun Street canopy starts at that corner and continues south to Tennessee Street. Our neighborhood, the residents of Tallahassee and the canopy road would be adversely affected with the removal of any of the live oak trees or other canopy trees from this site. Please view photos of the Calhoun canopy in our photo gallery.We have learned that the Florida School Board Insurance Trust purchased the property and has a permit from the City of Tallahassee to build a 16000 SF building on the lot. The Growth Management Department has apparently provided a permit to the Trust and its builder to remove any and all existing trees to make way for the building and its large parking lot. We have discussed the matter with Tallahassee arborist, Sam Hand. He says that even if the builder does leave some of the trees, there must be a mitigation plan in place to keep heavy equipment from damaging the roots of the existing live oak trees and any parking lot planned must leave space for the root system critical protection zones. Otherwise, any trees that are left standing could be in danger of dying.
Please leave us a comment as to what what you think of this problem and/or what we can do to prevent this canopy street from deterioration.
March, 2008
We are very pleased to report that Mayor John Marks has officially proclaimed this Friday, March 21, to be ”Lafayette Day in Tallahassee”!
The Mayor’s proclamation, which will be read on Friday evening, cites the year-long celebration by the Tallahassee Trust, Tallahassee Historical Society, FSU Napoleon Institute, and Lafayette Park Neighborhood Association.We have invited Mayor Marks to deliver the proclamation in person, and the Mayor’s staff has been fabulous in assisting with all of this!
MARQUIS DE