City officials take to streets to listen to residents concerns

SALISBURY, Md. –  Officials from across city government made their way to one stretch of neighborhood streets south of downtown, going door to door. The goal, a more prosperous area.

The mayor, city council, fire and police departments and more out knocking on doors Thursday, listening to what concerns citizens have to say. What they feel the city can do better for them.

“I think it’s a good things because everybody can’t come out to city council meetings and don’t have access to things. So I think it’s a great opportunity to touch base with our citizens,” said Kevin Lindsay, the city neighborhood relations manager.

Those who spoke with city officials mentioned issues like possible increased police presence, the condition of some of the homes, especially rentals in the neighborhood and problems with local parking.

“For streets like ours, we have no driveways, residents are required to park on the street. So just a few more people can really shift the ability to park near your home,” said Stephanie Moreno, a Salisbury resident.

Another big concern for residents in the area, from Maryland Avenue to South Boulevard, and Camden Avenue and Waverly Drive, is walk-ability in the city. The area does contain sidewalks, but trying to get to downtown can be a different story, as pedestrians could, in some spots, have to battle with traffic.

With the information that is collected, the city can go to work addressing these issues that they may not have known existed.

“I can go back to the mayor and say hey, these are some of the things that came up. We need to probably look into this next year, or next month, or next week,” said Lindsay.

The city is planning another knock and talk event in April around the Truitt Center community, and again near Waterside Park in May.