Wouldn’t it be nice if you were to drive along a beautiful tree lined stretch of Polo Road near WFU and enjoyed the view of clean and green lawns, fresh flowers, trees along the road, and a tree lined median?

Wouldn’t it be nice to drive down Polo Road and not see large 18-wheelers barreling down the road or have someone pass you in the center turn lane because you drive too slowly or because you are making a right turn? Wouldn’t it be nice to NOT see a dozen SUV’s in the driveways and yards of each house along Polo Road? Wouldn’t it be nice to tell people you live in a specifically named neighborhood rather than telling them you live in the “Wake Forest area?” Well, it might be possible if we come together as a group and make a tremendous effort to reclaim and restore our neighborhood. Here’s how we can do it.

Many years ago, long before the arrival of WFU to the neighborhood in 1956, long before the road was named Polo Road after the polo field adjacent to Speas school, there was a beautiful dirt road lined with oak trees, farm houses and cute bungalows. The area then was known as Oak Crest and Polo Road was then known as Oak Crest Drive.

In the mid 1950’s with the excitement of the new college coming to the area and a huge growth spurt in the surrounding area, Oak Crest became lost in the shuffle and is now a mere memory on old plats at the county records office and in a few people’s minds. Back then all the hype was about Wake Forest College.

Personally, I do not like telling people I live in the “WF area.” Other people live in Town and Country, Sherwood Forest, Ardmore, Woodberry Forest, etc. Why can’t we have a name for our neighborhood, too? Well, we do. Oak Crest was the name long before WFU arrived. So, I propose we take the necessary steps to officially reclaim the name of Oak Crest for the neighborhood (but not to replace the name of Polo Road), so we can proudly tell everyone of our wonderful neighborhood, the neighborhood where WFU is located, not the other way around.

Because of the long time name of Oak Crest and the farmhouses and bungalows that lined Oak Crest Drive back in the 1920’s & 30’s, there should be enough history here to declare Oak Crest an historic neighborhood. After we reclaim the original name of Oak Crest, I propose we take the necessary steps to officially have the neighborhood designated historic.

With historic designation, we will have certain guidelines to follow for the upkeep and improvements to our homes. Some may see that as a negative, but in the case of our neighborhood, I see it as a positive, especially with the rental properties.

Most of the homes in our neighborhood have large back yards to accommodate several cars. With Oak Crest being an historic neighborhood, one of the guidelines could be not to allow “parking lots” in the front of the homes (especially the rental properties). Parking would then be in the back yards.

Many of the rental houses are neglected and not very attractive to the curb appeal of the neighborhood. This affects our property values. With the necessary guidelines, landlords/owners will be forced to maintain a certain appearance for each home. The result will either be that they conform to the guidelines or they may be forced to sell the properties (hopefully to families) to someone who will restore them back to their original beauty. This will be great for the neighborhood, as it will increase our property values and preserve the beauty of the area.

Another important issue for our neighborhood is its school districts. If we want to attract more families to the neighborhood, including families that are part of WFU faculty and staff, we need to have an attractive school district for the neighborhood. In particular, educators (i.e. WFU faculty) will prefer the best educational facilities for their children to attend. If our neighborhood does not have a very attractive school district, then we may lose our target market of prospective residents.

Bottom line, the more attractive our schools are, the more attractive our neighborhood will be for families.

With the proposed Wal-Mart issue at hand, a big concern is the traffic in our neighborhood; especially Polo Road. It is already a very dangerous road now. The speed limit is 35, but the average speed is between 45-55 mph. Wouldn’t it be nice to once again have a safe street and a little less traffic?

Polo Road is really just a two-lane road with a center turn lane. If progress and development continue as it has in the past, Polo Road will eventually become a 4-lane highway with more traffic, more trucks, more businesses, and less houses.

So, I propose we attempt to calm traffic in the neighborhood (which will affect surrounding neighborhoods as well) by taking the stretch of Polo Road between Long Drive and Reynolda Road, and putting a center grassy median in place of the center turn lane. The median would contain trees and bushes, like Reynolda Road currently does. We could have turn outs for each side street and maybe even a couple of traffic circles (round-abouts) incorporated so residents can more easily access their homes from either direction. The speed limit could be lowered to 25 mph (which really means 35-40 for a lead foot). Speed humps could be installed along Friendship, Rosedale, and Crepe Myrtle Circles for safety and control on those streets. Also, limit that stretch of Polo Road only to small trucks and prohibit large 18-wheelers along that part of the road (west Polo Road is currently that way).

Currently, there are 4 major roads, one on each side of Polo Road that can accommodate large trucks. They are, University Parkway (east side), Coliseum Drive (south side), Reynolda Road (west side), and Silas Creek Parkway/North Point Boulevard (north side). There are many alternatives within close proximity for those vehicles to travel.

Another important factor to consider is the preservation of large tracts of land in our neighborhood from being further developed. Some of the earlier homes in the area have several acres of land surrounding them and are potential development sites for apartments, and subdivisions when the current owners age out or decide to sell.

If we plan to preserve the environment, we need to do our homework now to see that further development does not violate the integrity of our peaceful historic neighborhood.

In closing, I would like to suggest that the executive board review this proposal, and then share it with the entire neighborhood (members and non-members) in a special meeting (planned well in advance and all involved notified well in advance). A committee of several members (perhaps one for each category) should be formed to investigate, correspond with similar neighborhood associations and city officials, and put into motion a plan of action to restore our neighborhood.

A plan like this could work if approached and implemented in the right way. I suggest taking it one step/project at a time (perhaps even in the order I have listed them). This will be a positive project and vision for our association to focus our energies on and can be an ongoing project. We will attract more members to our association as well, not to mention outside support from our community, city, and the state.

NC State Historic Preservation Office: http://www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/   (Click on “Services Overview”)

Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission: http://www.cityofws.org/planweb/HRC/HRC.htm

Ardmore Neighborhood Association: http://www.ardmore.ws/

The West End Association: http://thewestend.tripod.com/

University Area Neighborhood Association: http://uana-ws.org/