College Township engineer proposes connecting Mountain View to Ivy Hill

Residents are voicing their opinions about the future of Manor Drive and route options faced by the residents of Mountain View Avenue.

The issue of Manor Drive gained prominence in February when residents of Mountain View, which is connected to East College Avenue by Manor, told the council of their concerns about the degradation of the drive, the excessive steepness of it and the lack of plowing during winter months. Residents said they were concerned that some emergency vehicles couldn’t access the avenue at any time of year, putting them at risk.

Residents also claim they were told when they moved to the avenue that a road would be coming that would link the avenue to nearby Ivy Hill Drive.

Discussions began in June of extending Mountain View to connect it to Ivy Hill, but was met with resistance by the residents of Stearns Crossing, the development through which Ivy Hill runs. Stearns’ residents feared the additional traffic to the neighborhood as well as stormwater concerns.

On Thursday night, township engineer Kent Baker brought a proposal before the council to have Keller Engineers prepare construction drawings and cost estimates for connecting Mountain View to Ivy Hill. Baker said staff examined the option of connecting Mountain View to Commercial Boulevard, but decided that wasn’t the best option at the time because of the proximity of Tubbies Spa and Patio and the grade issues leading to the cul-de-sac at the end of Commercial.

According to Baker, a connecting road has been part of the official township map since 2003, though the map wasn’t approved until 2006.

Stearns Crossing residents in attendance weren’t too keen on the proposal, however. Sharon Ambrose, president of the Stearns Crossing Homeowners Association, said the deed for the land on which the connecting road will run wasn’t entered into public record until 2009 and the homeowners purchasing lots in Stearns Crossing didn’t have access to that public information. She further argued that the homeowners paid for and maintain the stormwater basin the township proposes connecting to, and they don’t have permission to do so.

Tim Kerchensky, a Stearns Crossing resident, said connecting the roads would bring more commercial traffic through the neighborhood to Mountain View and questioned how much the residents of Mountain View did to solve their own problem.

Bernie Oravec, of Mountain View, reminded the council that the issue wasn’t created by the township or the residents but grew over time. The lack of a total buy-in removes the chance of the Mountain View residents creating their own homeowners association.

“I know we want to blame someone for this, but wanting a pound of flesh gets us nowhere in making the neighborhood safer,” he said. “Most people will leave here unhappy, but something needs to be done before something catastrophic occurs.”

Fellow Mountain View residents encouraged council to examine both the Ivy Hill and Commercial Boulevard options and weigh the feasibility of both.

The council unanimously agreed to ask Keller to exclude the construction documents from the original proposal and instead use those funds to investigate a connection to Commercial Boulevard. Stormwater impacts, easements and updated cost estimates would be included, and staff will examine a short-term plan for Manor Drive winter maintenance.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 9:03 PM with the headline "College Township engineer proposes connecting Mountain View to Ivy Hill."