Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan, FINAL Planning Board Worksession on July 26

Update 7/26/2012:

... the Board approved its draft of a vision for the Burtonsville Crossroads and sent that plan to the Council for review. The plan emphasizes a complete community with a main street, public green and village center while retaining the area’s rural character in the community’s northern tier. The plan envisions a mix of uses in the town center and connections that move local traffic and encourage walking and cycling. It also recommends new mixed-use zoning, a series of street and trail connections, and parks and open space to protect the headwaters of the Patuxent River.

Kristin O'Connor (Senior Planner, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission) announced that the planning board will have their final review of the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan on July 26th. 

• The document to be reviewed:  public hearing draft [PDF] (4.8 MB)
• Watch @ http://goo.gl/tm1yl
• Listen @ http://goo.gl/vuhl3 
• Other info: http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/community/burtonsville/

 

Some directly copied highlights from the plan document:

inadequate pedestrian infrastructure

Burtonsville’s current street pattern has created a difficult and unpleasant place to walk and ride a bicycle.  The area does not have a system of continuous sidewalks, bikeways or trails. This lack of sidewalks and bike routes along and across MD 198 and Business 29 leaves the businesses and services disconnected. The park-and-ride lot and the nearby Fairland Recreational Park are also not connected to the commercial area.
Opportunities
• provide regional access
• create a “main street” on MD 198 and improve Business 29
• connect to the park-and-ride lot and regional transit
• provide a local grid of streets and an access road
• improve street character
• provide bikeways and trails

provide a public green and open space

Situated one block away from MD 198, between the elementary school and proposed access road, the Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD) property could create a central public green that is notably lacking in Burtonsville. This public space could be used for events such as Burtonsville Day. In addition, public spaces should be located on the two shopping center sites to provide high quality private or public open space as a part of their redevelopment. Opportunities to provide public space are along Main Street MD 198, in the rural open space north of the PEPCO lines, and at the public green.

Village Center Business 29 Neighborhood

This neighborhood consists of larger properties that can be enhanced to create mixed-use residential and commercial uses with a new grid of streets, pedestrian and bicycle connections, and a more integrated park-and-ride facility. New residents would have access to jobs, housing, services, and amenities while reducing their reliance on the automobile. While commercial uses may predominate on the west side, residential uses on the east side would enliven the crossroads area. The CRT Zone is recommended to allow the existing single-use shopping center and associated surface lots to be redeveloped into a mixed-use neighborhood. In the Village Center Business 29 Neighborhood with the CRT Zone will provide the opportunity to expand the range of land uses, including housing, and provide public use spaces.

I agree that the Burtonsville Crossing area on the east side of old US-29 has great potential.  First, the current buildings need to be demolished and that area should be rebuilt with these new recommendations for mixed-use living/commercial space.   This place with the compliment of restaurants and shopping on the west side will make Burtonsville a destination. 

Please read the PDF or tune in to gain more insight into the potential changes that will help make Burtonsville a great community where people will want to live.