Ideas for the Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District

Our District

After the formation of the Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District, organization and funding issues have have taken priority over the goals of the district.  This is to be expected in something so entirely new to the community and the city.

Starting in October, the Public Information Committee overseen by district member Ed Brown will be having a meeting to discuss some of these goals.  This information will be researched and presented to the district board members at future meetings so they can vote whether or not to move forward.

I would like to write about a few ideas that were either shared with me or I liked myself.  These ideas are in no way the opinions of the board or committee members.  So let’s agree to disagree!

Limit Accessibility

With crime activity prevalent around our perimeters, it’s time to stop making it so easy for people to access our community by car.  I suggest closing off the entrances in Section Two that exit on to Commercial Boulevard at Banyan and White Oak  and create a new one at NW 64th Ave.    With no protection from a traffic light, these are dangerous exits.   Residents pull out and risk their lives each day to face speeding traffic.   One resident in Section Eight told me he was hit at one of these exits with thousands of dollars in damages.   Luckily he was not injured.  How many others have been hit at these exits?  Sure, having to drive to an exit at NW 64th Ave may be an inconvenience, but the light will give residents the protection and safety from oncoming vehicles.

I also suggest we close two entrances in Section One: Bayberry and Holly.   Section One is another area that gets a high amount of traffic as well as burglaries.   Residents could enter and exit through the four lane boulevard at Sago Palm.  FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) needs to do a study because this entrance desperately needs a signal at this busy intersection.

Security

I don’t believe we need a manned gate or even a gate, but an arm that makes traffic slow down so the license can be photographed.   This arm would be installed at the remaining three entrances/exits. The camera would not only take a photo of your plate but would provide important time/date information that can be used by BSO if there are any incidents in the area.  Having these will not create a backlog of traffic.

We need to take a good look at our budget and what we’re currently spending for BSO now.   The current budgeted amount of $300,000 annually is an incredible amount of money.   This amount should be cut in half and negotiations need to be made with BSO about getting the coverage that we are currently paying for in our taxes. Yes, that’s right.   We should have more off-the-clock officers spending more time here and pay for the roving patrol during the hours when most burglaries are committed.

Walls

To wall our entire community would be extremely expensive for our homeowners.   I suggest we work with ClubLink, the County and the City of Tamarac in sharing the costs of a wall along vulnerable areas.   Not only will this make our perimeter secure, but we will actually look like most of the neighborhoods such as Lauderhill, Plantation and Sunrise who have installed many perimeter walls with beautiful landscaping.   The district, city and county may also be able to apply for grants for this.

By removing the entrances at Banyan and White Oak, this would be a perfect stretch of land for a wall to shield the residents from pedestrians using the bus and from noise from the road.   The privacy may even increase property values for the homes in this area.  Homes that are practically next to Commercial Boulevard.

The stretch of NW 44th Street desperately needs a wall to block the ugly maintenance area in back of the country club. This wall could “meet” at the wall that Lauderhill built to  look as seamless as possible.

I don’t want Section One residents to feel left out.   Many homes are very close to Rock Island Road.  They have to contend with noise from this street as well as the Turnpike.  Not that a wall this size would help, but it sure would make the right side of the Woodlands look so much nicer and give our neighbors a protective barrier from the road.

Signs

Our entrance signs need updating.   The City of Tamarac is helping Woodmont update theirs so why can’t we work with the city and modernize our signs.  Our signs can reflect the originality of our architecture with a modernist feel.

Our main entrance sign is dwarfed by six lanes of Commercial Boulevard.  Thousands drive by the Woodlands everyday not even noticing the small sign in front.    The entrances at Sago Palm and the Woodlands should have signs on both sides of the roads with our community name on it.   This is is a 900 home community yet there are many people who have never heard of the Woodlands and they pass it everyday!

Park

Something like this must be considered for the future of this community.   We have over 100 children in the Woodlands now and more and more young families are moving in.  The country club has parcels of unused land that we could discuss buying for a community park.  This park would be a great meeting area for the entire community.   It would include playground equipment, benches and picnic tables and if space, a small basketball court.

All of these are just ideas and of course they will take money and time to implement.

Have any ideas that you would like to share?