Typically discussions about comprehensive plans are fairly dry but there were a few moments during the Ocean City Planning Commission’s review of a draft update to the town’s document that were interesting.
The most compelling involved Planning Commissioner Lauren Taylor’s concern about a line in the draft recommending additional time for bicycling on the Boardwalk during the summer months.
In the draft plan under “Pedestrian and Bike Movement,” there is a revision highlighted that states, “Consider amending Boardwalk shared use policy regarding bicycle use hours on the Boardwalk to allow greater bicycle use at the north end and year round. “
Taylor was quick to ask that be struck before the document be forwarded to the Mayor and Council for full review.
“I’m opposed to the language that would extend the hours of biking on the Boardwalk north of 17th Street,” she said. “It would be a total zoo up there. I don’t think we recommended that or even discussed it.”
She is probably right about that and enforcing a set street as the line of demarcation would be practically impossible. It appears that recommendation will be struck from the comp plan in favor of reviewing that during the preparation and adoption of a “bikeway master plan,” which is also recommended in the comp plan update.
Planning and Community Development Director Bill Neville said, “We have other areas where a bicycle master plan should be considered. Maybe there is a more appropriate place for that.”
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Two jeeps will join the existing fleet of Boardwalk trams next summer.
That much was decided this week after the Mayor and Council approved a plan to purchase two jeeps to augment the existing open-aired vehicles that pull the fleet. The purchase is a bit of a stop-gap measure to get ready for next summer while the town dives deeper into gas or electric-powered options for future seasons. It’s a solid move that will cost about $100,000 after the jeeps are purchased and then retrofitted to pull the trams.
During this week’s meeting, the desired color of the jeeps was considered, and the consensus seemed to be to stick with white with the town’s logo on it. That’s how it was years ago.
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The Worcester County Commissioners elected a new leadership team this week, promoting Diana Purnell to president and Ted Elder to vice president. Purnell becomes the third woman to serve as president (Jeanne Lynch and Louise Gulyas being the others) and the first African-American woman to hold the presidency.
It was a bit of surprise to see Purnell and Elder move into the leadership positions, but that’s only because the move was hashed out in closed session previously. Whether there were others who wanted to serve as president is unclear. By the time the commissioners came out to hold the public vote Tuesday, the decision had already been made privately.
That’s nothing new, however. It’s been happening this way for decades in Snow Hill.
