Montgomery Parks has given an additional road diet to Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda, again with no public process. As if the parkway didn't already look trashy enough between Hillandale Road and Arlington Road, more "delineator pylons" have been installed on the segment between Hillandale and Dorset Avenue, reducing much of the stretch to one lane. Not only is this again an illegal redirection of funds allocated for another purpose, but it appears this is an attempt to further discourage use of the parkway to achieve a lower use number in the announced traffic study that begins today. More traffic jams on the parkway caused by a 50% reduction of capacity on this stretch will encourage drivers to cut-through other neighborhoods, as they've been doing since the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the illegal road diet over strong community objections several years ago.
The stated objective of the traffic study, which runs through this fall, was to measure traffic volume on the current parkway. Not a road-diet parkway with less capacity, as the new pylons have created. As a result, the traffic study numbers will not be legitimate.
Montgomery County government has many highly-skilled, intelligent and competent employees. Too often over the last two decades, they have increasingly been overruled by political considerations from the top, and from elected officials. Over these years, I've spoken to engineers in the County Department of Transportation and State Highway Administration off-the-record who have expressed great frustration that they are frequently unable to implement the best practices they are trained and knowledgable in.
When you see a process like this being executed by dictatorial fiat, over community objections, with unauthorized use of funds with no formal budget appropriation by the County Council, and without the required public process and protocols being implemented, it gives County government a highly unprofessional and unethical appearance. Our elected officials are either asleep at the switch, as usual, or they support these actions. The County Council made it clear they support the road diet in the past, and with all nine Council seats currently controlled by developers, it's not surprising they favor a plan that could put more of Little Falls Stream Valley Park in the hands of developers.
9 comments:
"More traffic jams on the parkway caused by a 50% reduction of capacity on this stretch will encourage drivers to cut-through other neighborhoods, as they've been doing since the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the illegal road diet over strong community objections several years ago."
Do you have any documentation to support your claim that drivers are cutting through neighborhoods to avoid driving on Little Falls Parkway?
6:05: Yes, the testimony of residents and civic associations in the adjacent neighborhoods before the Planning Board.
The fiefdom of a socialist leader.
Robert, are Somerset and Kenwood planning any legal responses to this cheating?
Robert: What are you talking about? Can you justify any of your claims about illegal use of funds or illegal public process? What are these claims based on? It would be useful to know whether these are legitimate charges or speculation.
6:21: Both claims are easily verified: There was no public process conducted for either road diet on Little Falls Parkway. A Parks spokesperson confirmed that money was taken from a trail maintenance fund for use in this road project. No money was appropriated by the County Council for the road diet, so it was a clear and illegal misuse of public funds.
9:09: I hope so.
Their world, we just live in it.
Robert, while I agree that changing the lane configuration ahead of the study will taint the results, lets not forget the original reason for these changes...
A cyclist was killed crossing CCT at Little Falls Parkway.
https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2016/10/81-year-old-bicyclist-struck-by-vehicle-in-bethesda-dies/
6:58: There was a tragic accident at the crossing, but also remember that the driver was determined not to be at fault by Montgomery County police. Secondly, they've gone way beyond the crossing issue, and if they were really serious about "Vision Zero," they would have added a bridge there. Not a bunch of posts that now actually block drivers' views of people crossing or approaching to cross.
There is no trail crossing bisecting the newest road diet segment, so the 2016 accident is not the original reason for plans to shrink or close the entire parkway.
Like all controversial and radical moves by the Council and Planning Board, they are taking them one step at a time. Trail crossing...whole parkway to 2 lanes...close entire parkway.
2002: "Smart growth near Metro." 2014: "We just want the shopping centers; we aren't going to touch the neighborhoods." 2020: "We're going to touch *and* bulldoze the neighborhoods with Thrive 2050."
Sound familiar?
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