New traffic signal being installed at Old Georgetown Rd. intersection in Bethesda

A Montgomery County Department of Transportation contractor is installing a traffic signal at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road with Cordell Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Let's give a shout-out to the reader who correctly surmised this was the reason for the recent upgrades at this intersection. Access to Cordell Avenue is currently blocked off at Old Georgetown, as the crew is using Cordell as a staging area. This was actually pretty good timing by the agencies involved, as Cordell is already blocked off at Norfolk Avenue for the first summer concert tonight (6-8 PM, but closed for set-up already this afternoon), sponsored by the Bethesda Urban Partnership. A few weeks back, another crew was adding a new refuge median to the intersection, as you can see in the photos below from April 23 and today, May 15:

New traffic signals installed on Westbard Avenue in Bethesda

Traffic signals have been installed by the Montgomery County Department of Transportation on Westbard Avenue at the future intersection with Zenith Overlook in Bethesda. The signals are not yet operational. It's unlikely they will be activated before construction of Zenith Overlook is completed. Zenith Overlook is an interior street within the new Westbard Square development. 

Zenith Overlook under construction

MDSHA installing traffic signals at Bethesda intersection where 2 pedestrians were struck in 2019 (Photos)

The Maryland State Highway Administration is installing new traffic signals on Wisconsin Avenue (MD 355) at Middleton Lane in downtown Bethesda. Two pedestrians were struck in the crosswalk there in 2019, but residents of East Bethesda had been asking for the signal long before that. State Highway engineers initially concluded additional signals were not warranted there, but announced they would install crossing signals at three intersections after the 2019 incident. The signals that have been installed are not yet operational, so it is currently unclear if they will operate with other timed signals along MD 355 and additional signals facing Middleton, or only when activated by pedestrians seeking to cross.

Traffic signals installed on Sangamore Rd. at Walhonding Rd. in Bethesda

Sangamore Road looking toward
intersection with Walhonding Road

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has installed traffic signals at the currently-unsignalized intersection of Sangamore Road and Walhonding Road in Bethesda. This project has been on MCDOT's list of Vision Zero initiatives, and was budgeted for the fiscal year FY-2022. There are now two poles with signal arms in place; one of the arms is currently swung over behind the Glen Echo Volunteer Fire Department, and is out of view in this photo. You can see the other one is in position already, with the signals themselves covered.

This intersection is only a short block from the Sangamore-Massachusetts Avenue intersection that has signals. However, the intersection is currently intimidating for pedestrians to cross, and children walking from Sumner and Glen Echo Heights to Glen-Mar Park are likely to use this route. Views of oncoming cross-street traffic are obstructed in all four directions at this crossing, as you can see in the above photo. Crosswalks still have to be painted.

If you've driven on Sangamore for any length of time, you've probably had to hit your brakes for someone blowing through the stop signs on Walhonding here more than once. You're also likely to now approach this intersection with hyper caution as a result. It's unclear if there will be any issue with traffic backing up on that short block of Sangamore between the two signals.

Marriott signaled crosswalk on Woodmont Avenue update (Photos)

The new midblock crosswalk with traffic signal on Woodmont Avenue, between Norfolk Avenue and Old Georgetown Road, was hooked up to electricity yesterday. Now the center yellow lights are flashing, but the control boxes are not yet activated for pedestrian use. 

The crosswalk has been installed to assist with an increase in pedestrian traffic related to the new Marriott International headquarters and hotel, and with vehicular movement in and out of the Woodmont Corner public parking garage directly across the street.

Traffic signal collapses at Woodmont Avenue and Hampden Lane (Photos)

A traffic signal collapsed at Woodmont Avenue and Hampden Lane by Bethesda Row this afternoon. Workers at the scene confirmed that the signal pole collapsed by itself; no vehicle was involved in the incident, and no injuries have been reported. I will defer to those with expertise in this field, but I have to say the end of the pole appears corroded in the photo below.

This is the third such collapse downtown over the last decade. A similar traffic signal collapse occurred at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Wilson Lane in 2013. Last year, a Montgomery County decorative street lamp fell onto a car on Woodmont Avenue. Last week, a traffic signal pole fell onto River Road at Ridgefield Road. Although police radio communications cited a truck being involved, no truck was ever seen at the site of the collapse.

MoCo drags feet on correcting illegal traffic signals, refunds for drivers wrongly ticketed by red light cameras

Montgomery County still has illegally-timed traffic signals, which could be issuing unwarranted red light camera tickets to drivers, a recent report by the County's Office of the Inspector General found. On Friday, Delegate Marc Korman (D - District 16) asked County Executive Ike Leggett to consider an outside audit of its signal timing (the OIG had to rely on the word and data of the County Department of Transportation), turn off any cameras ticketing at an illegally-timed signal, and to begin reimbursing drivers who were wrongly ticketed at those intersections.

After being caught ticketing drivers with illegal signal timing in 2015, the County initially resisted adopting the Maryland-required yellow light time of 3.5 seconds. It then promised to correct the problem. However, the OIG report - based on MCDOT data not confirmed by an independent audit - found that 13% of signals countywide are still illegally timed.

When asked by the OIG for a schedule for correction of those 105 remaining signals, MCDOT refused to produce one. And while MCDOT insists that there are no red light cameras at the out-of-compliance intersections, the OIG noted that "We did not test or verify the accuracy of the information provided by MCDOT."

"Improper timing of traffic signals at locations with red light cameras goes to the heart of the confidence people can have in their government," Korman wrote in his letter to Leggett. 

Montgomery County responded to the OIG report with a one-sentence promise to create a schedule for signal correction, but did not say when such a schedule would be released. Once again, Montgomery County seems unable to deliver the basic functions of government - collecting the trash, clearing snow from sidewalks along its properties (sometimes as long as a month(!) after the snowstorm ended), plowing roads, providing 911 service or completing construction projects on-schedule (with the Wheaton Library being the latest, now a year-and-a-half behind-schedule).

Whitman community meets again to show support for safety improvements at River Road intersection

Signal poles MD SHA has simply
left on the side of River Road
since last August, a situation
Whitman HS principal Alan Goodwin
last night called, "ridiculous"

A community meeting held at Walt Whitman High School last night showed that public support for safety improvements at the intersection where 3 members of a Whitman family died last year hasn't just persisted, but has grown. While 54 residents attended a June 7, 2016 meeting on the same topic, more than 90 showed up last night - nearly double the turnout a year after the fatal crash on River Road at Braeburn Parkway.

Emotions are still raw in the Whitman community, and some feel the Maryland State Highway Administration has been dragging its feet in implementing interim and permanent safety changes at the intersection. Referencing his candid remarks at a memorial service for the Buarque de Macedo family, Whitman Principal Alan Goodwin recalled, "I said I was sad, but I was mad. And I still am. They still haven't done anything."

"I said I was sad,

but I was mad.

And I still am. They still

haven't done anything"

- Whitman principal

Alan Goodwin

An interim move, installing warning flashers and signage near the intersection, was started by SHA suddenly in late August - and just as quickly, abandoned. "Poles lying in the road since [August]...It's ridiculous," said Goodwin. That interim project mysteriously appeared to restart in recent weeks, with SHA workers spotted surveying the site. Richard Boltuck, the Bannockburn resident who has led the community effort to make the intersection safer, credited Delegate Marc Korman for getting that project moving again.

I have to say that Korman, the only elected official to attend the meeting in person last night, is also the only elected official representing Bethesda to have earned consideration of reelection in 2018. He is regularly in attendance at important community meetings, while other elected officials are either absent or send a staff member. In contrast, I literally have never seen anyone else from the District 16 delegation at a public meeting I've attended since the last election. Councilmember Roger Berliner is usually absent, as well. He and Senator Chris Van Hollen did have staff members representing them at last night's event.

Boltuck was able to report progress on several fronts. The warning flasher project is now expected to be completed by the end of March, four months behind schedule. Second, he has been told an SHA concept study on the community's preferred option - a signaled intersection connecting River Road to Pyle Road on either side where today there is just a crosswalk - will be completed in the next few days. The results will then be reviewed by SHA engineer Anyesha Mookherjee.

Half-installed signal
pole for warning flashers
on side of westbound
River Road

After Mookherjee's analysis is incorporated into the final version of the study, it will be made public in early May, Boltuck said. If the study shows the reconfigured intersection is warranted and viable, Boltuck said, there would be some right-of-way issues to be resolved between the state and any affected property owners. Then an engineering design phase would be necessary before actual construction could take place. While SHA has repeatedly determined the current intersection doesn't warrant a traffic signal, Boltuck said an SHA engineer recently called the River-Pyle realigned intersection "an elegant idea."

Boltuck said his optimism was also boosted by the large turnout at the meeting last night, which was held partly to again remind SHA of the community support for changes. "It's reassuring to see that we have this level of support a year after" the accident, he told attendees at the outset of the evening.

One resident suggested dropping the "Cadillac option" under study now, in favor of putting all political pressure behind adding a traffic signal to the existing intersection, saying an SHA worker at the site had scoffed at the idea that the more expensive plan would ever be approved. Boltuck said that would be counterproductive at this stage, until SHA makes public its determination on the $25,000 study nearing completion.

Should the SHA dismiss the River-Pyle intersection concept, then the community will have to decide on its next move, Boltuck said. He stressed that he and his fellow volunteers would not arbitrarily choose an option, but would come back to the community for a public vote like the one that was held last June.

Three other options the SHA has already told Boltuck are "non-starters," are reducing the speed limit, speed cameras, and declaring that block of River Road a "school zone." Many people have also suggested simply closing off either the rear entrance of Whitman, or the median at the intersection itself. Goodwin dismissed the former idea, saying the school opposes that not only because they don't have the authority to do it, "but also because we don't want to."

Goodwin emphasized unity over division, however. "While we may not all agree on what needs to be done about the intersection, I think we have 100% agreement that something has to be done." He said the current intersection is poorly designed, and that "nobody knows how to navigate it." Goodwin suggested skeptics watch traffic at the intersection in the morning for some "serious entertainment," as students, commuters and school buses frantically interact there.

The popular principal is still emotional about the loss in his school community. "You can tell just by my voice that I feel tense about it," Goodwin said after starting the meeting with a moment of silence for the victims. He exhorted attendees to stay energized in their efforts: "Walk away, please, with your emotions riled up."

Pedestrian struck at Bethesda intersection where some have called for traffic signal (Photo)

A pedestrian was struck in the 5200 block of River Road yesterday at Landy Lane, shortly before 11:30 AM. The location is where civic groups have for several years asked for a traffic signal to be installed. What actually happened - and who was legally at fault - is not yet known. Witnesses who saw the police and fire response to the accident said the victim appeared to be a girl. She was able to walk into the ambulance with assistance, a witness said.

While the Capital Crescent Trail bridge allows pedestrians to cross safely, many continue to try to cross at street level because it is faster. Personally, you would have to pay me significant money to attempt that street-level crossing. Trust me, it's worth the time to either use the bridge, or walk up a short distance to the light at Whole Foods. Being dead is not worth an extra 2 minutes. It's dark under the bridge, and look how worn-off the crosswalk is there. At night? Forget about it! You cannot be seen by drivers.

The Maryland State Highway Administration just announced that the intersection does not currently warrant a traffic signal, after completing a traffic study. There are already 3 traffic signals between Ridgefield Road and Little Falls Parkway. Signal advocates say the construction of a 10-story senior housing development on Landy Lane, and the existing Washington Episcopal School pedestrian and vehicle traffic, warrant a traffic light.

Whatever the outcome, it would seem that SHA could immediately (and fairly cheaply) improve safety there by painting a more visible crosswalk. Perhaps pedestrian-activated warning lights could be added to the bridge to alert drivers that someone is crossing, as well as lighting for that spot at night. The intersection of River and Ridgefield also desperately needs improved street lighting. It's so dark there at night, it's a major safety hazard for pedestrians.

Reader-submitted photo

SHA says no traffic signal warranted for WES senior housing at Landy Lane & River Road in Bethesda

The Maryland State Highway Administration has completed an analysis of the intersection of River Road and Landy Lane in Bethesda, and says a traffic signal is not needed there at this time. That decision comes as a long-delayed senior housing project on Landy arrives at the Montgomery County Planning Board this Thursday.

Yes, senior housing. It appears that Sheridan Development is going forward with its original age-restricted housing plan, likely because River Road was not urbanized in the Westbard sector plan passed earlier this year by the County Council. Therefore, the Washington Episcopal School site did not receive the urban densities that Equity One and Capital Properties enjoy under the plan. 

My analysis: The signal studies were delayed just long enough to find out if the sector plan would allow a higher-profit, denser, non-age-restricted tower on the site. It did not in May, and - boom - here we have the signal study, and the project is speeding forward as senior housing after all.

If successful, the proposal will split the WES site into two lots, one remaining with the school, and the other becoming the Sheridan project site.

The Citizens Coordinating Committee on Friendship Heights, representing communities around the WES site, has pressed for both the traffic signal, and keeping vehicle access open from both River Road and Little Falls Parkway. WES, in contrast, wants to gate its access points to secure the school campus. That scenario would likely lead to cut-through traffic in Kenwood and Somerset, neighbors have warned.

Planning staff is recommending that the Landy Lane access to the campus be open during morning and evening "peak periods" for student drop-off and pick-up. They acknowledge that SHA is the only entity that can greenlight (pun intended) a traffic signal on River Road. But they are suggesting the Board make a Phase 2 traffic study a requirement for WES, and that they force the school to "contribute to its installation."

A forest conservation study shows that 3 specimen trees will be removed for construction of the senior housing building, which will have 121 residential units. Originally 97' despite towering over adjacent Kenwood homes, the cruisin'-for-a-term-limits-bruisin' County Council thumbed their noses at Kenwood, and gave the project yet another tiny bonus boost in height through the sector plan. It will be interesting to see what the results on the term limits ballot question will be in the Kenwood voting precinct in November.

The original building design;
compare to new design at top

Note also that the design of the building has radically changed from the original rendering, losing the nifty Watergate-esque curves on the right side of the facade, and taking on a much boxier form. Boo. But perhaps appropriate, being located near a self storage building that screams "WE SELL BOXES," part of the County Council's sad legacy of neglect in the 20816 zip code.

Planning staff is recommending approval of the project.

Renderings via Montgomery County Planning Department

Right turn signal on SB Little Falls Pkwy. at River Rd .in Bethesda has a glitch

You'll never get the Montgomery County Council or Planning Department to admit it, but the failing intersection of River Road and Little Falls Parkway has one of the longest light cycles in the County. That fact makes a new glitch in that cycle all the more apparent.

There are two points in the cycle where drivers waiting to make a right turn onto westbound River Road (MD 190) get a green arrow to do so (no turns are allowed on red). First, when all of southbound Little Falls Parkway has the green light. And a shorter green arrow later in the cycle when River Road has a red light going both east and westbound.

The shorter green arrow cycle has been malfunctioning over the last few days. It now allows a maximum of two cars to make the turn before snapping back to yellow and red. Not only does this cause the queue line to grow longer, but also increases the risk of conscientious drivers getting rear-ended from others not used to the shorter turn time.

Is this a glitch? Or a purposeful change, as yet another ham-fisted strategy in the War on Cars? This intersection is controlled by the Maryland State Highway Administration.

River Rd. traffic signal advocates: warning flashers aren't enough for Bethesda intersection where 3 died

The Maryland State Highway Administration made its first public statements Monday on the signals it has begun installing at the intersection of River Road and Braeburn Parkway/Pyle Road in Bethesda. No announcement was made, and no community representatives or politicians were informed, before I broke the story here on this blog Sunday (although I am receiving no credit from other media outlets for the scoop; they apparently became aware of it via ESP, a la Obi Wan Kenobi). Advocates who have asked for a full signalized intersection, potentially relocating it to the current pedestrian path that crosses River at Pyle Road, are disappointed they were not informed prior to the SHA action. Three people died when their car was struck while turning left at the intersection in February.

My reporting that the signal poles installed so far were at a distance appropriate for warning flashers has now been confirmed by the SHA. The signals will consist of flashing warning lights and signage that will be triggered by cars queuing up to turn onto Braeburn Parkway from either the westbound or eastbound side of River. In addition, cars on Braeburn will no longer be able to turn left onto River Road. The cost of the project is estimated at $300,000, according to the SHA.

Advocates for a full traffic signal at the intersection said this is a stopgap measure, and that they hope to continue dialogue with the SHA on a more comprehensive solution. Opponents of a signal, some of which have commented on my original post, say the tragic accident was caused by an isolated incident - the extremely reckless driving of the individual who struck the Whitman-bound Bethesda family, while traveling up to 115 MPH in the westbound lanes before the impact, at which time police say he had braked to 75 MPH. Residents of Bannockburn have been calling for a signal there for decades, but the SHA has heretofore said engineering studies did not justify a signal or other lights, including the type it is now installing.

In an email message to residents of Bannockburn, resident Richard Boltuck wrote that he and other advocates had been in the process of scheduling a next meeting with SHA representatives, when the installation of the lights began without notice this past weekend. The SHA plans now being executed "fall far short of meeting the objectives the community set for itself at the May 24th community meeting, and are in fact half-measures that do not resolve the inherent safety issues with the design of the Braeburn Pkwy. intersection, or the dangers faced by pedestrians in the nearby, unprotected, crosswalk," Boltuck wrote.

However, Boltuck added that he is hearing indirectly from sources that the SHA is not considering this the end of upgrades at the intersection, and will continue dialogue with the community. "The community delegation remains ready to continue meeting with SHA to discuss the more significant improvements needed to achieve as much safety as possible," he wrote.

Interestingly, the SHA website was down all weekend, and part of Monday. The signal installation project still does not appear on the SHA's project map, nor on the official list of SHA projects in Montgomery County, despite apparently receiving $300,000 in funding. And the press release that was issued yesterday is posted nowhere on the website that I can find for review by the public.

MD SHA installing lights at River Rd. intersection where 3 died in Bethesda crash

Updated 6:53 AM August 29: SHA crews worked over the night Saturday, but work on the signals ceased on Sunday; lanes were open again; 3 traffic signal poles that resemble the 2 already installed are now laid out on the grassy median just before the intersection on the westbound side of River Road

The Maryland State Highway Administration is installing traffic lights around the River Road/Pyle Road/Braeburn Parkway intersection where 3 were killed in a horrific crash in February this year. But they haven't announced what they are doing publicly. Instead, a sizable crew has simply shown up at the site this weekend, closed lanes, and begun to install some type of signals. It appears they are aiming to install them in time for the new school year, and are essentially working around the clock to get it done. Many Walt Whitman High School students turn at this intersection to reach the school, just as that Whitman family did the night their vehicle was struck.

So far, two gleaming metal posts identical to those supporting signals at Wilson Lane have been planted. These are some distance from the intersection, and appear to be for warning lights, as opposed to full traffic signals. Workers are digging extensively between the pedestrian crossing east of the intersection and the new pole on the left side of the westbound lanes. The other pole is on the right side of the eastbound lanes, between Orkney Parkway and Braeburn Parkway.

It's interesting that traffic signals of any kind - full, warning or otherwise - were not among the SHA's most recent list of proposals released this Spring. So this is a considerable backtrack by SHA, and comes after a secondary study period this summer.

More intriguing, is that the project neither appears on the SHA projects list, nor has been announced via press release. The only indirect reference by the State of Maryland that even hints this is happening, is on the CHART road closure list. But all that page says by way of explanation for the lane closures this weekend is "signal work - interconnect."

WMATA has temporarily closed the bus stop at Pyle Road for the T2 (Stop number 2001325). A temporary bus stop has been placed 100' down the road. But the agency attributes the closure only to "construction."

A review of social media accounts of elected officials who have championed a traffic signal finds no announcements, either.

Stay tuned for further updates on this "secret" project.

Traffic signal proponents not giving up 3 months after River Road accident that killed 3 (Photos)

Fifty-four residents met in the auditorium at Walt Whitman High School last night, to discuss options for improving safety at an intersection where three died in a February 26 crash. Many were residents of the Bannockburn community, as well as Whitman students and parents. They were joined by Whitman principal Alan Goodwin, Delegate Marc Korman (D-District 16), and representatives from the offices of Congressman Chris Van Hollen and County Councilmember George Leventhal.

Goodwin began the meeting by reflecting on the fact that one of those killed, Thomas Michael Buarque De Macedo, was a senior who should have been crossing the stage at Whitman's graduation ceremony today. He said that with many tragedies, time passes, and people forget, "and we don't want that to happen." Goodwin asked the audience to participate in a moment of silence to remember Thomas, as well as his parents, Michael Buarque De Macedo and Alessandra M. Buarque De Macedo.

Thomas' sister Helena made a "miraculous" physical recovery, Goodwin said, and returned to school after spring break.

Walt Whitman HS
Principal Alan Goodwin
asks for a moment of
silence for the victims
of February's fatal crash

The intersection where the crash took place, River Road at Braeburn Parkway, has been considered unsafe by residents for decades. Some residents had called for a traffic signal there in the past, but were told by the Maryland State Highway Administration that the intersection did not meet the criteria for one.

What measures the SHA has taken to improve safety there, primarily adding paint, have been "inadequate," Goodwin said.

Redoubling their efforts, Bannockburn recently met with SHA engineer Anyesha Mookherjee on April 11, Bannockburn Civic Association Vice President Richard Boltuck said. Mookherjee's intital review concluded once again that the intersection does not meet the criteria for a traffic signal.

Mookherjee has drawn up some non-signal options, which range from closing the intersection at the median altogether, to various turn restrictions that would be regulated by concrete curb dividers in the middle of the intersection.

Boltuck said many want a traffic signal as a fifth option. There is even what Boltuck describes as the "Cadillac option," which would move the entire intersection east to the location of the crosswalk that connects the two pieces of Pyle Road via River Road. Several residents at the meeting said price should be no object.

Map of the area in
question courtesy
Google Maps

Whatever the solution, it needs to be one with wide community support, Boltuck said, which was his reasoning in calling last night's meeting.

A petition started by Whitman junior Melody Lee asking for a traffic signal now has over 4000 signatures. But Mookherjee told signal supporters that a standard traffic light would not have prevented the February collision, unless it had a limited green arrow to prevent left turns against westbound traffic.

Boltuck and Goodwin said closing the intersection altogether is not an option. Boltuck said the SHA has determined that 1/3 of Whitman-related auto traffic reaches or leaves the campus via the River-Braeburn intersection. Goodwin said Whittier Boulevard is already congested around the times the school starts and lets out, as well as during evening activites. Moving all Whitman traffic to Whittier would be "an impractical way to go," Goodwin argued.

The other option would be to route the Braeburn traffic to Whittier via Wilson Lane, Boltuck said.

Total closure was also opposed by some Bannockburn residents in attendance, who say they make turns there to get in and out of their neighborhood, as well as to reach the Capital Beltway. Beth Rogers, a 25-year Bannockburn resident, said she relies on the intersection for 95% of her trips in and out of the neighborhood. "It's important to be able to get out of my neighborhood," Rogers said. "I think we need a light." She said the estimated $6 million dollar cost shouldn't stop the community from asking for one. "We have the leverage now," she said.

With no success in getting a light strictly based on traffic engineering standards, several in attendance said they were counting on political influence to supercede engineering criteria. One resident said he had become friends with former County Councilman Steve Silverman years ago, and lobbied him for a dedicated turn signal at River and Whittier. At the time, around eight years ago, he too was rebuffed by the SHA. But shortly after that, he said, crews suddenly arrived at the intersection one day and installed the new signal.

"It's not magic," he told attendees. "If the right strings are pulled, it can happen very quickly."

"Nobody has more legitimacy...than the group of people in this room right now," Boltuck said. "We have the advantage of legitimacy. At the same time, we have the disadvantage of a lack of consensus."

One resident suggested putting all of the options online in a survey, allowing the greater community to indicate which one they prefer, and thereby show what option has majority support. Rather than hold a meeting, he said, that would get wider participation "in a very formal way. Then we'll know what the community is behind."

Boltuck ultimately decided to take a vote among attendees. By a vast majority, the audience voted to support a traffic signal as the solution. In a second 50-4 vote, they expressed their preference to relocate the intersection east to Pyle Road, which many said would eliminate a second concern with students crossing River Road at an unsignalized crosswalk.

Boltuck said the next step would be to contact the SHA and Councilmember Roger Berliner, to inform them of the preferences of those who attended this meeting.

What's your opinion on whether a traffic signal is needed at this intersection?

SHA rendering of a
closed median at
River and Braeburn Parkway

MD SHA agrees to study now-deadly River Rd. intersection at Pyle Rd./Braeburn Pkwy. (Photos)

About thirty-six hours after three people died at the intersection of River Road and Pyle Road at Braeburn Parkway, the Maryland State Highway Administration agreed to reconsider making safety changes there. The intersection provides secondary access to Walt Whitman High School via an access road that links to Braeburn Parkway.

The SHA said Monday it would perform a thorough study to see if any changes are warranted to improve safety. Thousands in the Bethesda and Walt Whitman communities have signed a petition calling for a traffic signal. Other potential changes could include flashing signals, new turn restrictions, or sealing off the median to prevent cross-traffic turns altogether.

Existing turn restrictions
during school commuting hours

View from the access road
towards River Road

New streetlight activated on Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda (Photos)

The new traffic signals at Wisconsin Avenue and Stanford Street are now fully activated. A few days ago, they were only flashing, and the pedestrian controls were not yet functional.

As of yesterday, the dangerous crosswalk became safer with the activation of the signals. This crosswalk has generated many pedestrian complaints over the years. Now if we can just get handicapped parking for the U.S. Post Office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue.