Author: Emily N.

Upcoming SRNA Meeting

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The Spencer Rd Neighborhood Association (SRNA) has received a grant of $200 for the purpose of mailing out postcards to inform the neighborhood of our twice-a-year road clean-up efforts, and purchase some safety and other equipment for the clean-ups. The grant was awarded by Sustainable Tompkins.

We will meet on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 10:00 AM to discuss setting up a bank account for SRNA (which requires registering an EIN for our organization- a one time cost of $75 – we will take up collections at the meeting) and to discuss what to prioritize with the grant money after the cost of the mailings. Also on the agenda will be taking nominations for officers, and exploring putting together a listing of “services needed and offered” by neighbors to post to our e-mail list.

Neighbors have previously met at Panera on Rt 13 on Sunday mornings at 10am and it has been pretty quiet at that time. We think it would work for up to 10 people, but if more are interested we’ll find a bigger place to meet, so please RSVP by emailing Jennie at jennifercleland2@gmail.com to give us an idea of how many are interested in attending.

We hope to see you all soon! And if you want to chip in some money but can’t make this meeting, please email Jennie.

Upcoming Area Road Closures

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Starting Monday, November 7th, Stone Quarry Rd will be closed to through traffic from the Spencer Rd/Stone Quarry Rd intersection all the way up to King Rd for storm drain work.  It is anticipated to be closed through November 18th. For concerns and questions, call the City’s Streets & Facilities Division at (607) 272-1718.

The 200 block of Spencer St (the other side of the traffic circle from Spencer Rd) will be closed to through traffic November 7th-10th for water and sewer upgrades. For concerns or questions about this, call the City’s Water and Sewer Division at: (607) 272-1717.

Two Spencer Rd Projects on City’s Agenda For This Week

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Two different Spencer Rd projects will be discussed at City board meetings this week:

  1. On Monday, Oct 24th at 4:45pm, the Board of Public Works will be voting on the proposed changes to the Spencer Rd/Stone Quarry Rd intersection (and other associated changes on the 400 block of Spencer Rd and the Spencer Rd/South Meadow intersection). Unfortunately there does not appear to be detailed information about the proposed plan online, but the short of it is that Spencer Rd would be dead-ended at the Spencer Rd/Stone Quarry Rd intersection and there will be some possible pedestrian improvements on the 400 block of Spencer Rd through the Spencer Rd/South Meadow intersection and along South Meadow St Ext. Here is the meeting’s agenda.
  2. On Tuesday, Oct 25th at 6pm, the Amici House project at 701 Spencer Rd will be discussed by the Planning and Development Board. More information about the project can be seen in the meeting’s agenda (large-size PDF).

Both meetings will be held in the 3rd floor meeting room of Ithaca City Hall (108 E Green St).

Board of Public Works Traffic/Sidewalk Discussion

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As a part of their meeting on Monday, the Board of Public Works will be including a discussion on the three traffic/sidewalk options proposed from the Spencer Road traffic/sidewalk study.

The traffic/sidewalk study directly affects the 400 block of Spencer Rd, South Meadow St Ext, the Spencer Rd/Stone Quarry Rd intersection, and the Spencer Rd/South Meadow intersection.

The meeting will be Monday, October 3rd starting at 4:45pm on the 3rd floor of City Hall (108 E Green St).

The meeting agenda could be viewed online here.

Spencer Road Neighborhood Block Party

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The first Spencer Road neighborhood block party, jointly sponsored by INHS and the neighbors, will be held on Sunday, August 7 from noon until 4 PM. Please join us in front of the Stone Quarry Apartments, rain or shine, for an afternoon of good food and good fellowship. Everyone who lives on Spencer Road, South Meadow Street Extension, Morris Heights, and lower Stone Quarry Road is welcome!
To make the event a success, we need your help. Everyone should their bring plates, cups, and eating utensils. Please also bring a dish to share.
 
We also need volunteers to help with set up (from 11 to noon) and clean up (from 4 to 5).
The 400 block of Spencer Road will be closed from 11 to 5. Signs will be up and barriers will be in place, but we need people to stand by the barriers at each end of the block to redirect traffic. If you would be willing to spend an hour helping to keep the street traffic free for the party, please let me know! (Contact info is at the end of this message.)
Have a talent to share? If you, or a friend, would like to perform, there will be a PA/karaoke system under the tent in front of the Stone Quarry Apartments. Let us  know, and we will reserve a time for you. We also hope to have some activities for children. If you have ideas or if you would like to help. let us know!
Are you able to help with the supplies? We plan to have some grills fired up, and we hope to be able to offer burgers (including veggie burgers) and hotdogs. INHS is asking for donations from local businesses, but any help you can provide would be great!  We will need
  •                     charcoal
  •                     condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish)
  •                     vegan burgers or other vegan items to grill
  •                     Non-alcoholic drinks
  •                     paper supplies (additional paper plates, napkins, cups, paper towels)
  •                     hamburger and hotdog buns
Donations of these items can be dropped off ahead of time with Sandy Conrad in the Stone Quarry Apartment office. Please label them “For Block Party.”
Most important, COME! Please join us to enjoy a few traffic-free hours in our neighborhood. Come meet your neighbors, old and new, and help us build a sense of community.
See you on Sunday, August 7th, from noon to 4 PM!
 
For more information, please contact Claudia Georgia, 411 Spencer Road, at 277-5167

Second Annual Spencer Road Clean Up

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The second annual Spencer Road neighborhood clean-up will take place on Saturday, June 25th, starting at 9am. This is done as an entirely volunteer effort by Spencer Road area neighbors. The city will take the trash away for us, we just need to bag it up.  Please come join us in keeping our neighborhood clean!

Neighbors interested in helping to pick up trash should convene at 9am by the Spencer Road triangle (500 Spencer Road). Please bring your own gloves, if possible. Trash bags will be provided.

Meeting at TC Action About Proposed New Construction

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Tompkins Community Action is hosting a meeting for neighbors and interested city reps to show plans for two new buildings they hope to construct at the end of Spencer Road.  One will be for Head Start class rooms, approximately where the two small houses next to where TCA’s main building is now, and the other would be housing for young people. This building would be attached to 701 Spencer, by its back. It is currently designed to have 23 studio apartments and be four stories tall.
This meeting is today, from 5 to 6pm at Tompkins Community Action, 701 Spencer Rd.  Snacks will be served.

Spencer Road/South Meadow Sidewalk/Traffic Study Public Meeting

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The City of Ithaca Engineering Office has scheduled a third public meeting to review three alternative designs for the Spencer Road Sidewalk and Traffic Study project. The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 6pm at the Oasis Fellowship Church at 808 South Meadow Street Extension. City staff will be in attendance to present the three alternatives that were selected at a neighborhood meeting in January. The desired outcome of the meeting is to preview the drawings before they are presented to the Board of Public Works and to provide one way for residents to provide feedback. Residents are also encouraged to provide direct feedback to the Board of Public Works once the project is presented to the Board. The three alternatives include:

  1.  Constructing sidewalk on one or both sides of Spencer Road (between Stone Quarry Road and South Meadow Street Extension) and a sidewalk on South Meadow Street Extension.
  2. Making the block of Spencer Road between Stone Quarry Road and South Meadow Street Extension into a one way street (could be westbound or eastbound), or
  3. Making the block of Spencer Road between Stone Quarry Road and South Meadow Street Extension into a dead end street, and only allowing Stone Quarry Road traffic to go to or from the roundabout at South Albany Street.

The study area covers the portion of Spencer Road from Stone Quarry Road to South Meadow Street Extension, and the extent of South Meadow Street Extension from Spencer Road to Old Elmira Road. The proposed scope of work is to design and construct sidewalks in the project area and to study and recommend possible intersection improvements at the three intersections included in the study area.

For additional information about this meeting, please feel free to contact Tim Logue, Director of Engineering Services at (607) 274-6535 or tlogue@cityofithaca.org.