Neighbors angry about new school's sidewalks, fencing
By Charles Batchelor STAFF WRITER

Lindsay Mackey jogs past the sidewalks and "bike rack fencing" built by the county school system that many of her Foxcroft neighbors say are offensive.

Despite intense political and public pressure, the chairman Chesterfield's school board is resisting modifying the fencing, sidewalks and guardrails leading from the new Cosby High School into the Foxcroft subdivision.

The opening of the road linking Foxcroft to Hull Street Road will not be delayed, the guard rail colors will not be changed, the fencing will remain as is, the sidewalks will not be moved, nor will the concrete now in place be modified, School Board Chairman Marshall Trammell told Eric Hodges, president of the Foxcroft Homeowners Association last week.

The Foxcroft leadership has said the design and quality of the sidewalks, guardrails and fencing shows little consideration by elected officials and government administrators. Hodges has held press conferences, sent scores of emails and taken his group's arguments to elected and appointed state officials.

On Friday Matoaca Supervisor Renny Humphrey asked the school system to devise a redesign and come up with a cost estimate to address the homeowners' primary concerns.

According to Greg Blake, who also represented Foxcroft in meetings, on April 28, Superintendent Billy Cannaday offered to pay for one-third of the cost of making the sidewalk similar to what is in place elsewhere in Foxcroft.

Blake said when Foxcroft countered with a 50-50 split, all discussions came to a halt. "They made no concessions at all. Even an offer to put a two-foot grass strip between the road and the sidewalk was taken off the table once it was discovered there would be a small cost associated with that.

"Later, when the concrete was poured, and I saw there were no changes, I asked those on the site why the design wasn't changed. They said they were told not to do anything that would cost a dime," Blake said.

"There are bigger problems in the world, more important problems, but this is our home, and this was the last straw," Blake concluded. "They did as little as they could. They don't care."

"Your emails detail considerable frustration and anxiety about the impact of Cosby High School on the neighborhood of Foxcroft," Trammell wrote to Hodges.

"I know you will disagree, but I can only state that we have done everything we can to build a high school in which the community can take pride, but in a way that is fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of Chesterfield," Trammell wrote.

Asked last week about the accusations the school board and administration did not listen, Trammell pointed to discussions held with the Foxcroft group, saying "the record clearly shows otherwise," adding, "The taxpayers would revolt if we did these changes."