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Chirp and Kwirr In Quaint Acres
Diana Post at the Rachel Carson house. Post says being in Quaint Acres is like "going back in time." She works to raise awareness of pesticide dangers
(By Barbara Ruben For The Washington Post)
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To preserve the country feel, Jennings's neighbors voted against having streetlights installed on Apple Grove Road, one of Quaint Acres' main streets, a few years ago. Just last year, they agreed to have the county come in to provide trash service, a move that has meant fewer trucks rumbling through Quaint Acres because just one company comes to pick up garbage.
Every summer, the community throws a picnic for all the residents, complete with moon bounces, balloons and volleyball.
But just outside Quaint Acres' bucolic confines, four lanes of traffic whiz down New Hampshire Avenue in a nearly never-ending stream. Three years ago, after requests from residents, a traffic light was placed at the intersection of New Hampshire and Milestone Drive, the entrance to the community. The light operates by motion detection, but only during the morning rush hour.
"If you go out after 9, you're on your own," Seiler said, shaking his head.
In addition, the light is different from traditional traffic signals. For those coming out of Quaint Acres, it has two modes: one red light or two red lights. When the double red light appears, it means that traffic will be stopping on New Hampshire and drivers can turn right. But the double red lights come on about 10 seconds before the traffic actually stops on the highway, making it still a confusing and dangerous intersection, according to residents, one of whom recently wrote to The Post's Dr. Gridlock column to complain.
"People have to drive to the library directly across the street because they're afraid to walk across New Hampshire," Jennings said of the White Oak Library, just outside Quaint Acres.
But a few hundred yards from New Hampshire, the traffic is drowned out by cardinals and sparrows and the fairly rare Northern Parula warbler's buzzy, trilling zeeeeee-up.
"It's a good year for birds," Seiler said.
