Be There. Stake Claim.

This is the third time we have tried to codify improvements to Lexington Park, or, in non-legal speak, tried to “fix” St. Mary’s County’s single urban landscape.

The vision statement crafted in 1995 and intact through the most recent 2005 update reads painfully similar to those taken last month as we launched our third attempt at fixing the fairly typical ills surrounding military bases and afflicting sprawling rural towns across the nation.

We the hopeful met again last month (click here for minutes) and repeated our wishes which we were auctioned to couch in the affirmative:

L.P. City is a “town,” we still insist, a destination, a focus for the whole county — it’s a Place and deserving of salvation.

This Place mixes governmental services, retail, businesses, recreation and entertainment with neighborhoods throughout.

We can walk to all of these services because the Place is an urban center connected by walkways, byways and greenways.

Indeed, greenways work particularly well in Lexington Park plans, since big hunks of Lexington Park are in the shadow of the AICUZ. In non-zoning speak the AICUZ is land where zoning discourages people from congregating. In politick-speak this is usually followed with a stated philosophy of holding the U.S. Navy harmless in any kind of zoning conversations. This is because, without the Navy, tumbleweeds would be blowing down Route 235. Also neither state nor local governments hold authority over the federal government. This is like always remembering to say please and thank you. Why not. It couldn’t hurt, might help.

Traffic is a perennial problem that can be addressed with these sidewalks and greenways and some additional local streets to connect the three state highways that surround Lexington Park.

Oh, and make it safe. It needs to feel a lot safer for people to visit after working hours.

The good news is this: a remarkable number of wishes from the mid-1990s materialized. (Stay tuned for details.)

The rest of the news is obvious: Lexington Park still needs fixing. We hopefuls are meeting again:

June 15th

Bay District Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall

6 p.m.

Love it or not, Lexington Park is a Place in our lives. We largely share a vision of what it could be. It won’t get fixed without us.

Be there. Stake claim.

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