Saturday, June 01, 2019

Wilson Lane speed limit drops to 25 MPH

The speed limit on Wilson Lane in Bethesda dropped from 30 MPH to 25 MPH on Friday, the latest speed reduction approved by the Gov. Larry Hogan administration for a state highway in Montgomery County. This follows an illegally-implemented speed limit reduction on River Road by the Maryland State Highway Administration. No widely-advertised public meeting was held to consult with taxpayers on either speed limit change before it was unilaterally imposed.

Speed limits were also slashed on Georgia Avenue in the Glenmont and Aspen Hill areas, and are coming to Veirs Mill Road as part of a plan to increase commutes by 35 minutes for those traveling between Rockville and Wheaton. The reductions are being sold as a safety issue, but are actually in preparation for the urbanization of all of these suburban corridors by the developers who control the Montgomery County Council. With the election of Hogan, himself a real estate developer, the SHA is now under the cartel's control, as well. The SHA for decades under Republican and Democratic governors alike adamantly refused to violate highway engineering best practices by setting speed limits lower than what specific roads were engineered for. Under Hogan, the SHA has folded up like a card table under pressure from the Montgomery County cartel. Perhaps he is planning to pursue development projects in Montgomery after he leaves office.
The Montgomery County cartel
is pulling the strings on Hogan and the SHA
After ramming through zoning changes that allowed developers to flip all shopping centers, office buildings, office parks and other commercial properties into residential, the cartel took the inch and the mile. Their secret plan, which I've warned about for years but is now emerging into public view, is to now convert all existing single-family home neighborhoods to multifamily zoning. The speed limit reduction is to prepare drivers along these routes for their eventual conversion into 25 MPH urban boulevards.

A plan to rezone all neighborhoods for multifamily housing has already been forwarded to the Planning Board by Councilmember Hans Riemer, and legislation has been drawn up to allow Montgomery County government to convert any or all of its property - schools, libraries, fire stations, and other facilities - into low-income residential housing. All nine Councilmembers elected last November received at least several thousand dollars apiece from developers who specialize in urban projects, and need traffic jams to justify greater density. As a result, the War on Cars, and the war on residents' quality of life, has opened several new fronts.

"Time for some [more] traffic problems in Montgomery County."

- Larry Hogan and the MoCo cartel

15 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:23 AM

    "The speed limit on Wilson Lane in Bethesda dropped from 30 MPH to 25 MPH on Friday."

    The photo appears to be of the 5600 block of Wilson Lane, just east of Bradley Boulevard.

    What section of Wilson Lane is affected? Your article does not say. Wilson Lane extends 3.25 miles from Old Georgetown Road to MacArthur Boulevard.

    Did you contact anyone in the County or State governments to find out the reason for this change?

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  2. Annoyed Local8:41 AM

    People already drive like 15mph on this road anyway, but this is still infuriating. Lets continue to funnel more traffic to Old Georgetown and Wisconsin because that seems to work. The Hub and Spoke method has failed, yet we keep cutting off neighborhoods as reasonable means to get from a to b. These largely democrat homeowners are causing additional miles on the road for many drivers and traffic jams that are not environmentally friendly. They also don't like when their zoning is changed to include more density. Hypocrites.

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    1. Anonymous3:45 AM

      As a republican, I oppose the idea of funneling traffic through neighborhoods. Before and after I had kids. They aren’t through ways.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous1:52 PM

    It's the section of Wilson from Bradley to Old Georgetown Road.

    Stupid change. A lot of the quiet residential roads intersecting it have higher speed limits (30) since that's the default speed limit for residential roads in MD unless posted otherwise.

    Why should Wilson Lane, with sidewalks and better signage, get a lower speed limit than the roads next to it with no sidewalks?

    I don't blame SHA for this -- it's the "Vision Zero" and anti-car crowd in the county, that if they had their way, would eliminate all cars from MoCo entirely.

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  4. Anonymous1:43 PM

    Good.

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  5. Anonymous7:10 PM

    Maybe the problem is the Hogan Cartel that doesn't seem to listen to either MoCo Ciizens or the "MoCo Cartel" on highway issues, example the 495/270 expansion debacle.

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  6. Anonymous8:09 PM

    @7:10pm The MoCo Cartel just opposes everything Hogan proposes while not offering their own alternative. They're anti-progress.

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  7. 3:45: In the case of Wilson Lane, it is a state highway, so it's not simply a neighborhood street.

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    1. Anonymous5:21 AM

      Regardless of destination, the street is dominated by single family homes on both sides. Would be hard to call it a real highway in any practical sense. So Robert it appears you support higher speed limits on Wilson lane?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:41 AM

      I meant to say designation.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous6:47 AM

    @5:21 The previous speed limit was 30mph. That's the same as for all residential roads in MD unless signposted otherwise.

    However that stretch of Wilson Lane, unlike many residential roads, has curbs, sidewalks, and marked crosswalks. So it's much safer for pedestrians, yet it gets a lower 25mph speed limit compared to the residential roads without those features? Doesn't make sense.

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    1. Anonymous7:00 AM

      I haven’t seen (m)any 30mph residential neighborhood speed limits in this area despite what the law allows. Can you provide some examples?

      Delete
  9. 7:00: Sangamore Road and Goldsboro Road.

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    1. Anonymous4:48 PM

      That’s interesting. I’ll have to go drive those roads sometime to compare. Are those the only other 2 in the Bethesda area with 30mph speed limit? Sounds like the majority have been set to 25?

      Delete