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Welcome to the Oakland Drive - Winchell Neighborhood Association website!
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
* Our next Association meeting will be held Wednesday March 19, 2014; 7:00pm in the Winchell Elem. Library _____________________________ * STADIUM DR. / US-131 INTERCHANGE One year job will now take two: The road-widening and highway overpass project is being split up The big combination road-widening and highway overpass project at Stadium Drive and Drake Road is being split up, with part of it not being tackled until 2015. "There's not enough steel," said Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman Nick Schirripa."Because there are a couple of big bridge projects elsewhere in the country, we aren't able to acquire enough steel to complete this project." You can read the full story on MLive here. _____________________________ * OAKLAND DR. / PARKVIEW AVE. INTERSECTION - 1/14 Improvements Approved to Include a 'Sharrow' Kalamazoo City Commissioners unanimously approved the project Monday December 16 after listening to almost a dozen bicycling enthusiasts encourage them to make improvements to the intersection that would make it more bike friendly. They had originally considered the project at a Dec. 2 meeting but postponed action after a resident raised questions about how the plan affected bicyclists. City plans for the intersection include adding a southbound through lane on Oakland Drive and a westbound through lane on Parkview Avenue, along with a northbound right turn lane on Oakland Drive. Added to the plans since the Dec. 2 meeting is a "sharrow" or shared-lane marking on Parkview on the west side of the intersection between Kent Avenue and Oakland Drive. No bike lanes or sharrows are planned for the east end of the intersection. You can read the full story on MLive here. _____________________________ KALAMAZOO BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN COALITION The Kalamazoo Bicycle Pedestrian Coalition is a membership organization working to promote and improve bicycling and walking conditions in Kalamazoo. They work as an advocacy group in partnership with citizens, businesses, community groups, government agencies, and elected officials (see the list here) to create communities where people can meet their daily transportation needs safely on a bicycle or by walking. Their Mission is to create healthy, sustainable communities by making bicycling and walking safe, convenient and accessible. The board of the Oakland Drive/Winchell Neighborhood Association has written a letter expressing its support of the KBPC, which you can read here. Their first campaign to promote the reconfiguration the Michigan Ave. gateway corridor, which includes the intersections at Oakland Dr., South St., Academy St. and Lovell Ave. (See the plan here) If you are interested in getting invlolved with this group or would just like more information about their specific plans, contact Jim Ferner at #382-4460 or email him. _____________________________ * ODWNA Business Memberships Now Available! Business Promotion Opportunities Included The ODWNA Board has approved the creation of a business-level Association membership as a way for our local businesses to participate in our neighborhood association! ====================== In addition to inviting businesses to join the ODWNA, we have also created two different advertising opportunities for business members to promote their neighborhood business to the neighborhood! Click HERE to get all the details as well as affordable pricing details! (Our only condition? To keep it neighborhood-based, all profit and non-profit businesses [or the business owner] must be located/live within the ODWNA boundries..... ====================== * 3rd Annual Neighborhood Car Show! The Neighborhood Car Show was held on Wednesday May 15 this year at 7:00pm in front of Winchell Elementary CLICK HERE to see all of the photos! |
UPDATES:
ODWNA BOARD POSITION OPENING/ELECTIONS Here's your chance to become involved in the ODWNA! Become an ODWNA Baord Member! We are currently looking for one board member to begin serving a new term starting in September 2014. We meet as a board 1x/month throughout the year and Association meetings are held September - May. If you are interested, you can get more detailed information here, fill out our form and forward it on to the Association via mail (ODWNA, P.O. Box 20061, Kalamazoo, MI 49008) or email it to us. elections will be held soon. If you have an interest, please contact us by March 31, as board elections will be held in May. ================ 2013-14 Speaker Series Lineup Our March 19 meeting will feature: Pamela Hall O' Connor, Author, Kalamazoo:Lost & Found TOPIC: "Bronson Park Fountain" (Fountain of the Poineers) ===== Author and consultant Pamela Hall O'Connor is graduate of Kalamazoo College who lives and works in downtown Kalamazoo. She opened her consulting firm in 1994 and co-authored the award-winning Kalamazoo: Lost and Found in 2001. Today, she splits her professional time between preparing nominations for the National Register of Historic Places and consulting with clients on the use of Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits for historic building redevelopment. Pamela has served on multiple Kalamazoo boards and committees, including its Historic Preservation Commission, Comprehensive Land Use, Zoning and DDA Building Rehabilitation grant committees. In 2000, O'Connor and her husband Terry founded The O'Connor Fund for Historic Preservation, which resides at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and provides a permanent endowment for the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission’s work. O'Connor is a former Board of Trustees Chair of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, Michigan's state-wide non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization, and in 2004, the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recognized O'Connor's professional, advocacy and education work when it named her an “AIA Honorary Affiliate”. Go here to see our full speaker lineup! ================= Our February 19 meeting featured: Sharon Ferrarro, Historic Preservation Coordinator, City of Kalamazoo TOPIC: "The Old House Network" (website) The Old House Network, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded partly to teach the skills like puttying windows, replacing rope pulls, etc. in order to preserve and maintain older homes. One of the goals is to teach people to respect the character of an old house and to repair rather than replace. If you have an old house challenge, they will help you find the right answer(s). An old house is not like a new house. You need to understand what you are working with and why it was built that way. For instance, gaps in sheathing under an old cedar shingle roof are intentional. They were needed to accommodate the expansion and contraction of the wood during various types of weather. In other cases, faux windows were put on outside of houses just for aesthetic balance on the outside of the house. Every year they take a house and do a “great unveiling”. They remove unoriginal siding from a house to get it back to the original look. They sometimes uncover things like fish scale accents, etc. so it can be a bit exciting, but is tough work. They can always use volunteers and donations. They recently were given “Ted’s house” which belonged to a veteran named Ted who they had helped a lot. They plan to work on redoing it and use it as a place for workshops. They think they will continue working on it for about 5 years and then sell it and perhaps buy another house and do the same. Go here to read the details of the meeting... ================= As always; feel free to email us with your thoughts for the neighborhood! |
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2013-14 ODWNA Board Members
President - Peter Kushner
Vice President - Chris Shook
Secretary - Sandy Bolstad
Treasurer - Diana Morton-Thompson
Board Members at-large:
Tom Kayser
Becky Mutzaers
Barb Ross
Kathy Shook
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2013-14 ODWNA Board Members
President - Peter Kushner
Vice President - Chris Shook
Secretary - Sandy Bolstad
Treasurer - Diana Morton-Thompson
Board Members at-large:
Tom Kayser
Becky Mutzaers
Barb Ross
Kathy Shook
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ODWNA Statement of Purpose
-Preserve and enhance the neighborhood living concept in the area.
-Protect the natural beauty of the area.
-Encurage the beautification, physical well-being and neighborhod spirit of the residential area.
-Constructively assist the Kalamazoo City and County Planning Commissions.
-Provide a forum for open and frank discussion of different points of view on neighborhood development.
-Provide for communication on matters of neighborhood interest to residents.
The Oakland Drive-Winchell Neighborhood Association was founded in 1973 in response to the City of Kalamazoo's proposal to widen Oakland Drive, which would have required the removal of many trees.
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-Protect the natural beauty of the area.
-Encurage the beautification, physical well-being and neighborhod spirit of the residential area.
-Constructively assist the Kalamazoo City and County Planning Commissions.
-Provide a forum for open and frank discussion of different points of view on neighborhood development.
-Provide for communication on matters of neighborhood interest to residents.
The Oakland Drive-Winchell Neighborhood Association was founded in 1973 in response to the City of Kalamazoo's proposal to widen Oakland Drive, which would have required the removal of many trees.
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Oakland Drive - Winchell Neighborhood Map
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ODWNA ~ P.O. BOX 20061 ~ Kalamazoo, Michigan 49019
ODWNA ~ P.O. BOX 20061 ~ Kalamazoo, Michigan 49019
