Holliday: Kennett Borough residents share their visions for the town

The Kennett Square Borough residents speak up before the upcoming election. Even though some of their comments have been made many times over, they request that their voices are heard, and visions about the town's infrastructure are kept on the table. After all, they are the residents of the one-square mile of Kennett Square and the community supporters, who make-up the life of the town. In a weekly Kennett Community Coffee Klatch that meets at the Kennett library on Thursdays from 10:30 am to 11:30 am, the question was posed: "How would you like Kennett Borough to evolve as a small town? What is your vision? Most agree that the town has grown too rapidly in the past couple of years. The construction of dense housing not only in the borough but on its perimeters is putting a real strain on the roads, public utilities and public services. Roxanne said, "My husband and I moved to Kennett Square because of its diversity and green space about the area. In a short time, the town is becoming gentrified and green space is being taken up. My vision is that there be pro-active planning going on, before the housing developers bring their proposals. Our town needs to be assured that what space is left includes lower cost living options for those who support and serve our community and green space." Megan said, "I live in an apartment in town, don't drive and could walk to a job, but there doesn't seem to be anything available for persons with disabilities, as myself, who is on the autism spectrum yet very capable of work. My vision is that we support this population and have options for sustainable employment in town." David said, "Our town is only one square mile. My vision is that we don't accept any more high buildings. This puts a stress on the fire department, who must purchase special ladders to reach the upper floors, and it takes away from the small-town atmosphere." Several voices said: "When are we going to have the semi-truck traffic diverted from State Street to the Rt 1 Bypass? We know this has been in the works for a long time. How do we get this moving? Our vision is having a closed off section to traffic on State Street for residents to mingle in the town square of Kennett Square. This already is currently taking place every third Thursday in the warmer weather and people love it." Karen speaks to the parking that is needed. "Because we have an increased population surrounding Kennett Square and top restaurants are drawing in crowds, we need parking. My vision is that we set-up parallel parking on the main streets only on one side of the road and have another parking garage at the entrance of town." Cathy's vision is that all residents, who live in the square mile have identified resident parking next to their homes. This assures that residents have a parking spot when they return home from being out, which she currently doesn't have. Dot and Roxanne speak about the vision they have for trees in town. "A town community needs trees not only for beauty but for the role trees play in keeping the air clean. There needs to be some compromise with the functional concerns of sidewalks and electrical wires and preserving older trees, as well as planting new ones." Juan, who is running for Borough Council member has the vision of Hispanics feeling welcomed as residents in the town of Kennett, are in official governing roles and have owned businesses. The Klatch attendees join Juan's vision along with ways to keep Kennett one whole town by interconnecting State Street with the newly developed Birch Street and vice versa. Roberta says: "My vision for Kennett Square Borough is to have the continued involvement of all citizens asking for transparency of our local governing body with the assurance that information is shared and concerns are heard and acted upon." This is the time to speak of visions. This is the time residents need to interact with the candidates, who are running for Borough offices. They are asking their Borough representatives to be advocates and implementers of their vision for a town that is growing and developing. They are asking for infrastructure that is serving all the residents and maintains its essence of being a friendly, liveable small town. The Story of Kennett - Shaping the future one child at a time" Joan Holliday and Bob George's book on Kennett may be purchased on Amazon and at the Mushroom Cap. You may contact Joan at: dochollisv@aol.com