Bethesda Avenue is one of several downtown streets that have been battered by heavy construction equipment in recent years. At least this street is now getting a smoother surface, but is in the rough milling phase first. If you have a new or expensive vehicle, you may want to choose an alternate route to the parking garages for a few days.
Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteI believe the repaving is mostly due to the installation of the shared bike lanes, islands, revised storm drainage, saw-cuts for the new traffic signals and street lighting, and the much wider pedestrian sidewalks at the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda. That intersection is a much tighter turn for trucks and even large SUV’s.
It will be interesting to see how well downtown Bethesda’s first separated bike lane is received, and how well the dedicated signals for bike crossings at Woodmont and Wisconsin are programmed to protect cyclists. I was told by a police officer who was managing traffic during installation, that cameras will detect the presence of a cyclist approaching the intersection or waiting to cross, and insert a four-way stop for all vehicular traffic to allow the cyclists to cross. I’m curious how well this will work and whether cyclists will be patient enough to wait their turn for the signal to safely stop traffic to cross diagonally across the strangle angled intersection.
Once this separated bike lane network is completed, and the CCT is extended all the way to Silver Spring, adjacent to the Purple Line, I expect the bicycle traffic will dramatically increase. The intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda might look somewhat like an intersection in Holland, with more bikes than cars. The CCT is already the most heavily used rail-to-trail, hiker/biker trail in America, with over one million users each year. The 250 space, two level, bike parking garage being constructed adjacent to the Purple Line Station will be an important destination for area cyclists wishing to ride and safely park in downtown, to commute to work, have a meal, se a movie, or ride their bike to the station and transfer to heavy or light rail, or even the future BRT. Even more so when the CCT tunnel route is completed under Wisconsin. Maybe a good time to open a bike shop in Bethesda Row!
Good comment. There is a bike shop on Bethesda Row... Griffin Cycle. They recently expanded to fill the space at the store next door also.
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