New Skills Park! (Fairland Regional Park)

 Ribbon cutting on Oct 29th, see details in the link.  I've been walking through here, watching the build-out and it looks amazing.  Guess I'll need to get my bike out for a spin through the park, or "The Pit" as it is being named.

https://montgomeryparks.org/montgomery-parks-completes-mountain-bike-skills-park-at-fairland-recreational-park/

It is pretty easy to ride from Burtonsville, down Greencastle Rd (watch that US-29 crossing, though) and connect up with Fairland Regional Park.   Looks like they may be building some limited parking right near the skills park which will likely fill up quickly.  

Close to location of new parking area for bike park.  https://www.google.com/maps/dir//39.0791678,-76.92957/@39.0800504,-76.9296472,433m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0

How Did This Traffic Light Slip Under My Radar?

When I took these couple of photos on July 25th, I kind of figured out that the bus stops located on either side of Old Columbia Pike were getting platforms and probably lighting.

I did not come to understand, until today, that a full-blown traffic light was getting installed.  Living less than a 1/4 mile from this "new" traffic pattern, I'm shocked that I had no previous knowledge of the plans.  In my experience with any of the DOTs in the region, getting a request to completion usually takes a mound of paperwork and years of persistence.    I have no opinion on the light location itself, as it wasn't even something I considered on this section of road. 

I can't believe that the neighborhood, community, and regional interest groups were not involved in the development of the design for this traffic light.   As you can see from the first photo above, the southbound shoulder is now blocked by a raised bus platform.   This is great for people waiting at the stop, but now bicyclists must move out in to traffic at this intersection.   If the design was put forth for public comment, I certainly would have asked for the platform to be moved back off the shoulder to leave room for bicyclists, especially during commute hours. 

Finally, I'd like to know why this light became necessary.   At the trail crossing of the Matthew Henson trail at Viers Mill Road, multiple people were killed and yet it still took a strong, active community quite some time to persuade SHA to move forward with a better crossing option.  Newspaper articles were widely written, advocacy letters distributed, but that was not the case with this traffic light.   
(http://www.waba.org/blog/2016/07/matthew-henson-trail-crossing-at-viers-mill-road-is-still-deadly/) So what was the justification for this light?   Who requested it, and what community backed it up?   Why did it get installed without local community input? 

I would like to see documented and consistent processes in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland.  Transparency will lead to better ideas and community involvement. 

We really need to fix Old Columbia Pike

Recently, I we had some nice weather in the area, so I just wanted to take my bike out for a little shake down before I begin my summer commutes on it.   Living in an area surrounded by busy, high volume roads, I generally seek out the safest, quietest routes.   

This was an unplanned route, but in my head, I thought I could get down to Randolph Rd, then turn around and return via Old Columbia Pike.   So I started out heading south knowing I was going to ride under the ICC via the bike trail on the east side of the interchange.    It's a bit isolated for me, generally, it's not visible from the road, and therefore I find this trail to be unsafe.   In retrospect, this trail should have been built for better visibility, either up higher, next to the roads, or along the neighborhood streets.  Hopefully in the future, new trails will be built keeping visibility in mind. 

Click image for larger image of the area I rode in the Fairland Area. 

Additionally, as you can see from my route, I didn't quite make it down to Randolph.  Unfortunately, there's no direct route southbound once I made my way south through the ICC interchange.   I would have had to ride through Calverton Park, local streets, and generally take a long way to get where I wanted to go.  I would be better if we just connected a trail to Randolph along the property frontage of Verizon on the east side of US-29 from Fairland Rd.   Certainly, explore the map in detail more to see the roads and connections that are needed. 

On my return, I wanted to avoid Old Columbia Pike, so I crossed and road zig-zagged through some neighborhood roads to avoid the narrow or non-existent shoulders and high volume of traffic.   North of Fairland Rd, and especially the point where Old Columbia crosses over the ICC, there is no extra room on the road for vulnerable users.   The section northbound on Old Columbia Pike could use a shared-use-path along the east side.   Even if it was a sidewalk, I would be on it as drivers failed to give me even 3-ft of clearance.   

Looking North on Old Columbia Pike at the ICC Bridge

Old Columbia Pike is a major connector for biking in the area between Burtonsville and White Oak.  Planning phases come and go, yet I still have no safe place to ride. 

Who is going to take the lead and get the money needed to build safe riding paths along Old Columbia Pike? 

Only Shared Use Path Available -- BLOCKED

The only semi-safe route available along MD-198, and it's blocked!

It's bad enough that this path along MD-198 doesn't connect all the way to Cedar Tree Rd, stopping at Dino Dr.   Now there is construction that appears to be daily now and constantly blocking the only shared use path my kids and I would like to use. 

The path (shown below) west of the construction connects to the Downtown Burtonsville area and considering the basically non-existent shoulder, speeding cars (rarely enforced along this stretch), and groups of motor vehicles jockeying for position as they leave the US-29 intersection by cutting around each other in the right hand merge lanes, I have no place to safely ride along this stretch of road. 

The Lorenzo Construction LLC appears to be doing the construction (410-984-1935) but unfortunately, feels the need to park their vehicles on the path.  The road at this point is essentially 5 lanes, with the merge lane ending.  It would be simple enough to put up cones and block the end of this merge lane without blocking the path.  It would not cause any problems for traffic either.

Additionally, it appears Lorenzo is also doing some construction at the U-turn at Dino drive where they are parking all their trucks and filling the U-Turn extension that I believe was put there to allow larger trucks the ability to make the U-Turn. 

I would love to see a better policy created and adhered to prevent blocking of sidewalks and paths for vulnerable road users.   Those walking and biking have no choice.  Vehicles have 5 lanes of options.  Please keep the sidewalks and paths open whenever possible.

Public Comment for the MD 28, Norbeck Road, and MD 198, Spencerville Road/Sandy Spring Road project AW068_11 (was MO886_11)

Please submit a public comment about MD-198 by July 19th!

Here's my message -- thanks Sebastian for producing a template that made it easier to put these items together.  


To: jbeck@sha.state.md.us
Cc: eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us, Tom.Hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov, craig.zucker@senate.state.md.us

Dear Mr Beck,

As a regular user of MD 198, I am pleased to see progress at making this road safer for bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. That being said, there is room for improvement.

I have been a long time resident of Burtonsville and have been a strong supporter of rebuilding this community into a destination via my participation in the design of the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan and continuing work through the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MBPAC) and Montgomery County Bicyclists Advisory Group (MCBAG).   I envision and walkable and bicycle friendly business district with bicycle connections between all surrounding communities and parks.   To make this happen, I urge the State Highway Administration to make the following revisions to the MD 28/198 Corridor Improvement Study.

For all All of MD198/MD28

• I support bike-friendly facilities, in particular, the off- road shared-use path on one side of MD 198 in areas with few driveways or curb cuts.  Areas that currently have a high density of access points should be reconfigured to reduce curb cuts/access.   The path and roadway should be separated by a green space buffer wide enough for tree planting to provide shade. 
• The shared-use path should be wide enough for two directions of bicycles and pedestrian traffic and designed to be as straight as possible and for a reasonable bicycle cruising speed of up to 15-20 miles per hour. 
• Crosswalks should be announced with markings and signage to warn drivers about crossing bicyclists and additional markings should be made where driveways cross the trail, possibly with raised crosswalks to slow drivers and raise awareness to trail users. 
• High-speed, right- turn slip lanes that turn across the trail should be reconfigured to slow down turning vehicles and improve visibility of cyclists and pedestrians.

Critical recommendations for SHA Project Management Division, Segment D (Burtonsville):

• Comply with the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan by providing a landscaped median with breaks to establish a grid of local streets, enhance safety, and improve access to businesses.  This would look more like the Alt-3 Access Management Profile.  
• Lanes should be narrowed from 11 ft to 10 feet to discourage speeding and bring a more residential/commercial quality to the business district.
• In addition to lane with reductions, speed limit through Burtonsville Business District should be set to a maximum of 25 mph.
• Overhead utilities should be cleaned up and buried.
• Widen grass buffers between sidewalks and road to 6 ft to allow streetscaping.
• Widen bike lanes to 5 ft and add 2 ft buffer from travel lanes to improve safety.
• Add traffic circles at Old US-29 and MD-198 and at Old Columbia Pike (diagonal intersection) and MD-198.  This will facilitate those who need to make U-Turns since left turns will be essentially eliminated through the Business District with the exception of a traffic light at the Burtonsville Town Square intersection.

Critical recommendations for SHA Project Management Division, Segment E (West Laurel):

• Add second turn lane from McKnew Road to MD 198 or add a signalized intersection at Cedar Tree to relieve the aggressive behavior people exhibit when attempting to leave the community.  
• Drivers leaving McKnew Rd to MD-198 should not have any turns while MD-198 through traffic is green.  The limited visibility and speed of traffic in this segment makes even right-on-red dangerous.   Additionally, a bicyclist on the shoulder has no bailout area due to the volume and speed of traffic which is a problem when vehicles routinely make continuous right-hand-turns on red (without a stop). Even with a stop, the vehicles are pulling well into the bicyclists useable shoulder area. 
• The MD-198/McKnew intersection should be completely controlled, including left turns with red-arrows from MD-198 to McKnew to prevent the frequent collisions that occur today.   

Critical recommendations for the SHA District 3 office include:

• Allocate funding for intersection improvements at MD 198 and Peach Orchard Rd.
• Install traffic signal at Burtonsville Town Square.
• Install speed activated signs in 25 and 30 mph speed zones.
• Provide crosswalks for people to safely cross MD 198 (see Coalition to Fix 198 document for locations).

Critical recommendations for Montgomery County include:

• Install gateway landscaping and signage at entrance to Burtonsville retail district.
• Accelerate funding for Burtonsville Access Road.
• Draft amendment to state legislation to clarify applicability of speed cameras.
• Construct sidewalk on McKnew Road to connect to MD 198.
• Extend Sidewalk on North side of MD-198 from 4140 Sandy Spring Rd to McKnew Rd to allow pedestrians a place to walk while not forcing crossings midway.  Also allows safer access to bus stop.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the study. I encourage you to review the full report developed by the Coalition to Fix MD 198 (download at: https://goo.gl/LUCzep) for more recommendations.

Sincerely,

Stephen Ashurst




 

Burtonsville/Fairland Community Bicycle Ride with Del. Luedtke, Planning Board Chair Anderson, Councilmember Hucker (invited)

Come ride and/or discuss the bicycling conditions around the Burtonsville/East County area.  

The ride starts at the Burtonsville Elementary School Parking lot (15516 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD) at 11:30am sharp.   Please arrive early to get setup.   

The ride will end at Seibel's Restaurant (15540 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD) where you can discuss more about the Montgomery County Bicycle Master Plan with Delegate Eric Luedtke and Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson (Councilmember Tom Hucker is invited) from 1pm - 2pm.

Ride Details ** :

• Sunday, July 24
• Arrive: 11:15 A.M.
• Depart: 11:30 A.M. (Sharp)
• Return: 1:00 P.M.
• Where:

• Starting at the Burtonsville Elementary School Parking Lot
• 15516 Old Columbia Pike Burtonsville, Maryland

• Please RSVP to david.anspacher@montgomeryplanning.org

Burtonsville Community Ride - Official Announcement

Below is a preliminary map of the scheduled ride.
**Please note that this ride is open for everyone, however it will take place on roads that have traffic and may be uncomfortable for some.

Pinch point, Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville

Southbound on old Columbia pike leaving Buttonsville, I've had many a close call/near miss at this pinch point where the shoulder, wide enough before and after, shrinks in size on a curve which many cars judge incorrectly and drive into the shoulder area, leaving little room for me to move right to avoid being hit.  

Please review the short video of this spot.  Hopefully this choke point can be removed. 

Video: http://youtu.be/1bhg3wXQzcg

Proposed MD 198 Bike Facilities will help citizens living in McKnew Neighborhoods

Using the GIS maps provided by M-NCPPC I found information showing a proposed shared use path along MD 198 from Dino Dr (where the path currently ends) all the way to the MoCo Line.   When this is built, it will ultimately enable multi-modal transportation for the people living within the McKnew Rd and Cedar Tree Rd communities.   Thanks http://cyclemoco.com/ for writing about how to find this information.

Here are the details:

http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/gis/interactive/bikeways.shtm

The MD 198 Segment:

Classification:  Shared Use Path
Street Name:     Sandy Spring Rd
From:            Dino Dr
To:              Mont County Line
MasterPlan:      Patuxent
Bikeway ID:      SP-20

Display of MD 198 and US 29 Region from MoCo Planning Bikeways Interactive mapping (MD 198 Identified above)

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.

Planning Board to host Burtonsville Worksession on July 12th

Please come out and support your community!   

From the most recent e-mail sent out:

Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan 

The Planning Board is reviewing the public hearing draft [PDF] (4.8 MB) of the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood plan. The Board will hold its next worksession on July 12.
Watch an excerpt from our latest Montgomery Plans cable show highlighting the recommendations.
 

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.   

Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan Update

The Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan  was presented to the East County Citizens Advisory Board on April 11, 2012  (http://goo.gl/c1Dbk) and the draft is available on the website. 

After reading through, I'm not entirely satisfied with the connectivity plan.   I didn't see anything that completed the connection (via walking/biking paths) with the McKnew Rd development.  Currently I have no problems bicycling with a kids trailer heading eastbound on MD-198 for the short stretch to get to the Cedar Tree Rd turn off.  There is a wide shoulder and I'm riding with traffic.  Unfortunately, without a side path completed, I'm forced to take the kids-in-tow down McKnew Rd, wait at the light to make the left turn with traffic (the cross walk here is not useable for a bike and trailer since a lightpost and cement curbs block safe access) and ride about 1/4 mile with trucks and speeding cars before I can attempt to cross back at a non-signaled intersection (Dino Dr) to get on the side path.

The completion of this side path will enable this community to easily connect with the Burtonsville Town Center.