By Julian Walker
Times Staff Writer
It was candidates night at the Timberwalk Homeowners Association meeting last week, but only one actual candidate for elective office bothered to show up.
Bob McCarthy, Democratic challenger for City Council in the 10th district, continued his tour of the Far Northeast politicking for votes at the Oct. 8 session.
His opponent in the Nov. 4 election, City Councilman Brian O’Neill, told a Northeast Times reporter that he had five meetings to attend that night, including appearances at community forums in Normandy and Burholme, and could not make the Timberwalk session.
He sent his chief of staff, Ann Marie Boyle, prompting one member to grumble about the absence.
Timberwalk is a 158-home development in the Far Northeast, just east of George Washington High School. Residents felt that the subdivision, though technically in Somerton, was in no man’s land — that no one spoke for their concerns.
So they took matters into their own hands, forming a civic group nearly two years ago.
Since then, Timberwalk has called on lawmakers to assist in negotiating the peace between residents and a nearby noisy industrial shipping warehouse (that one is still a work in progress) and demanded input in the ongoing Woodhaven Road debate.
At last week’s session, members of the group questioned McCarthy, a retired police lieutenant who spent nearly 30 years on the force, about how he would address such issues if elected.
With respect to the Woodhaven Road extension, McCarthy said he would “sit down with every neighborhood group, state representatives and the state senator to make sure everyone is happy with the solution.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it is not a done deal. There is still plenty of opportunity for people to voice their opinions,” he continued, noting that he is particularly sensitive to the position of Timberwalk and Westwood residents. “But it’s clear that something needs to be done there.”
Residents of Timberwalk and Westwood, an area in Somerton just west of Bustleton Avenue at Byberry Road, have sided with several community groups from Lower Bucks and Eastern Montgomery counties that oppose extending Woodhaven Road, fearing it will bring more traffic into their already-congested neighborhoods.
Most Far Northeast civic groups support an extension to alleviate existing traffic conditions on Byberry Road. The issue has been debated for 30 years.
Talks have heated up in the last two years, with PennDOT officials stating that the project seems imminent. More recently, local leaders have agreed on a compromise plan that will extend Woodhaven to Philmont Avenue. It currently stops at Evans Street off of Byberry Road.
Boyle told the group that her boss has a written agreement with PennDOT that whatever project happens, Northeast Avenue will not be altered.
Northeast Avenue is the primary road nearest to the Timberwalk development, and residents fear that the Woodhaven Road project would divert more traffic into their back yards.
McCarthy, meanwhile, reiterated his campaign promise to open a district office in the Northeast, criticizing O’Neill for never doing so.
“He’s been in office for twenty-four years and he has never opened a true constituent-services office for the Northeast,” the challenger charged. “Most people go to their state representative or state senator, and they tend to do the job of the state and City Council people.”
McCarthy mentioned that Councilman Frank Rizzo (R-at large) opened an office at 7934 Bustleton Ave. in Rhawnhurst last month, proving Council members can operate district offices.
O’Neill has previously said that his city budget doesn’t provide the funds to maintain a local office.
O’Neill does hold regular offices hours at sites throughout the district each Monday at 7 p.m. to address constituent concerns — the Fox Chase Library, the firehouse at Academy and Comly roads, and the Municipal Building at Bustleton Avenue and Bowler Street.
Boyle said her boss has demonstrated his commitment to the Northeast time and again during his 24 years in office.
She cited his efforts to assist homeowners in appealing their astronomical annual property-tax hikes, his commitment to enforcing the city’s zoning code, and his efforts to get the anti-blight Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP) expanded into the Far Northeast.
In other news:
• Timberwalk president Ray Alvarez said the group is reviewing its bylaws and making any necessary modifications. The revised version of the group’s constitution will be finalized at next month’s meeting.
• For more information about the group, visit www.timberwalk.com ••
Reporter Julian Walker can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jwalker@phillynews.com