When it rains, downtown business owner Angie Nolte doesn't have much to worry about. But when it pours, Nolte — owner of Den of Antiquity on Main Street in Mount Airy — has to step outside, round the corner, grab four white sandbags in an alley and plop them in front of her door.
As torrents of rain rush down Center Street, the waves roll toward a row of businesses on west side of Main Street and right under the front door of Nolte's antique shop.
Nolte would be one of the many to benefit from a conceptual plan, presented to the town's Planning and Zoning Commission, that would not only change storm drainage downtown, but also parking, traffic flow and sidewalks on the narrow Main Street and surrounding area.
Mount Airy Streets and Roads Commission chair Dawn Adair Johnson presented the plan to the planning commission in October with updates on the multipurpose project. The improvements are all linked to improving the sidewalks downtown as part of fulfilling American Disability Act requirements, which has been on the commission's to-do list since its conception in 2002.
Under the current plan, the crosswalk near Park Avenue would be moved to align with the steps leading to the municipal parking lot on the east side of Main Street.
"That will provide better access to the municipal lot and a better sight line," Johnson said. "Several years ago we had a pedestrian hit, and he died of his injuries. ... Trying to cross Main Street, you do take your life in your hands even if you take that crosswalk."
Quinn said he thought a lot of people don't even know about the municipal lot, and aligning the crosswalk with the steps helps people identify it. The widening to make sidewalks fully compliant with the American Disability act would eliminate four parking spaces on the east side of Main Street while some spots would be gained on Park Avenue.
Additionally, Park Avenue would become one way leading away from downtown, with possible improvements to Cross Street or Lookout Avenue to operate as a main artery to reach Center Street to continue downtown.
Because of heavier use on Center Street, the plan proposes more parking and addressing the stormwater run-off problems that flood the businesses on the west side of Main Street.
Sidewalks would also be added to the street that now has none.
"Right now if you step out of the Gun Shack, you're on the road," Quinn said. "It's not really a safe place."
The intersection of Center and Main would be widened, with two lanes dedicated to turning left or right.
Although it's not definite when the Center Street will extend to Md. Route 27, the commission is keeping the future in mind, Johnson said.
"We should be doing it right," she said. "We shouldn't be tearing it up in 15 years because it will end up costing more money."
Johnson said one of the biggest issues downtown is parking, something the revised plan may help address. "The concept plan that was introduced shows a net gain of several spaces," she said.
The State Highway Administration has been working on plans, because Main Street is a state road and the state's responsibility. The other improvements connect to the main project are the town's responsibility.
The plan is not close to a timeline, especially considering recent budget cuts from the state and the town's budget issues.
"I don't know anything about timing or cost at this point," said Johnson, who said the commission is taking resident and business owner's comments and taking them to the town and SHA.
"They will re-evaluate the concept plan based on those comments and reincorporate them," she said.
"It's much easier to fix things on paper, not asphalt," she said. "...I'd like to encourage people to come out because if they have concerns and we don't hear them, that doesn't help us."
On her cell phone, Nolte has proof of the problem: pictures of a trash can surrounded by water, waves over the curb.
"If they're predicting heavy rains overnight I'll put them up," she said of the sandbags stored outside. Sometimes if she's not around, fellow business owners will do it for her.
