After spending April zipping around Columbia on a borrowed Segway, Gail Broida beat out incumbent Jud Malone for a seat on the Columbia Association Board of Directors.
A Segway is a self-balancing personal transportation device that propels itself with batteries.
Broida said the Segway tour gave her the background to fight for pedestrian rights. She monitored sidewalk problems and talked candidly with people, after catching their eyes as she cruised through the Wilde Lake grocery store.
“It?s a visible sign. It says, ?Let?s see if we can?t think of new directions to take,? ” Broida said.
Pedestrian safety will be especially important as Town Center transitions into an urban center, as part of its ongoing redevelopment plan, she said.
“Let?s deal with it before the development happens,” she said. “Let?s not wait until we have it, and we don?t have any idea what to do with it.”
Broida noted problem sidewalks that may be unsafe for wheelchair drivers and walkers. She said the worst is Ring Road, which hinders access to the Mall in Columbia with light poles placed in the middle of sidewalks and ineffective crosswalks.
“Obviously, in someone?s mind, the sidewalks weren?t for walking.”
She said she plans to enact long- and short-term solutions to these problems. Placing more pedestrian signs could be a quick fix.
Broida, of the Lakeside condominium complex, beat Malone in Saturday?s Town Center election, 182 to 143.
In the Town Center village board elections, Burt Knauft and Linda Wengel beat out two competitors for seats.
Meeting Times
First meetings with the new Columbia Association Board of Directors:
» 6:30 p.m. May 2: Election of new chair and vice chair;
» 7:30 p.m. May 11: Induction ceremony and first board meeting.
Both meetings will be held in the association headquarters boardroom on Wincopin Circle.
