Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan - Public Hearing Scheduled for June 7th

The Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan staff draft was presented to the Planning Board, which in turn voted to hold the public hearing on June 7th.  The details will be posted on June 1st with the Planing Board agenda.

I've briefly mentioned my take on the draft plan and I welcome the upgrades that are planned for Burtonsville.  Although there are some recommendations about traffic handling, I'm hoping that the Planning Board is working with the SHA to ensure a shared vision of the MD-198 corridor.  As a bicyclist, I'm unsure that the amount of traffic and traffic speeds will be tolerable through this busy stretch of road.   The target speed for MD-198 from Old Columbia Pike to the US-29 overpass should be set at 25 MPH, knowing that most drivers will exceed this limit by 5-10 MPH.   The current plan calls for setting the speed limits at 30-35 which puts real vehicle speeds at 35-45 MPH through a congested area.  This alone will deter most recreational and novice bicyclists.   Even if I'm not riding the roads, I wouldn't be inclined to walk or visit the area with ever-present vehicle noise.    

To build a community where people spend time shopping and visiting with friends while making use of alternative transportation modes (walking and bicycling), we need to ensure a relatively quiet town center with safe, quiet roads leading in and out of town, including the main thoroughfares.