Bethesda and Chevy Chase residents have started a petition calling on the Montgomery County Planning Board to "make Little Falls Parkway safe again." The petition effort, and a video that shows a number of near-accidents caused by the dangerous new, 2-lane configuration of the parkway, are the latest expressions of dissatisfaction with the controversial "road diet." That road diet was established without the required public process, without the required allocation of funds by the Montgomery County Council, and without the approval of the National Capital Planning Commission, which holds ultimate authority over any changes to the parkway. A lack of NCPC endorsement is the primary basis of a lawsuit filed against the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission by the Kenwood Citizens Association last month.
The public, including the residents of the communities surrounding the parkway, will only get their first opportunity to formally weigh in on the road diet at the upcoming Planning Board meeting on March 30, 2023. Petition organizers will submit the signatures to the Board at that meeting. Little Falls Parkway Neighborhood Coalition is the organization behind the petition.
13 comments:
I'm that avid, obnoxious, older guy cyclist that posts occasionally here and I too agree with the hood.
Added my name. Thank you for flagging this, Robert.
They've made this road really unsafe so I hope this petition is successful in undoing these changes. Aside from the crosswalk, there are a few parts which are unnecessarily narrow due to lane posts or barriers that were installed. The posts that were installed at Dorset Ave. on the northbound side have made the single lane so unnecessarily narrow. As for the southbound side, there's a hazardous swerve over uneven pavement right next to a multi-colored jersey barrier in the same area. This needs to be completely undone.
As for the crosswalk, they need to put in flashing lights that are activated with a button by pedestrians/cyclists. The current setup is extremely unsafe and someone is eventually going to get hurt or killed there.
Make the road safer? That's hilarious isn't it? Wasn't that one reason the county ruined this road in the first place by taking an entire side of the parkway out, to make it safer? You don't have to be a civil engineer to know that that's a farce. Of course it's not any safer, it's way more dangerous. Duh! Elrich voters, good job.
Bring back the 4 lanes of traffic, higher speeds, and fatalities! That'll make the road "safe again" for sure! The video of everyone driving slowly and having time to stop appropriately convinced me of how bad this is.
"I'd like Tedium for 1,000, please, Alex."
"JAC"
"What is, 'When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'?"
DING!
Our elected elders imbue ingenious wisdom and formidable foresight.
They have morphed Bethesda into a ghost town rivaled only by Gotham city. . .
@11:37 AM: You can slow down vehicles on this road without making it more dangerous for everyone in the process. This has been a complete failure. The crosswalk is no safer for pedestrians and cyclists than it was before. There need to be flashing lights which are activated by pedestrians/cyclists who approach the crosswalk.
8:29 - In the interest of equity and fairness, make sure you post a similar comment to all the others who express a view that differs from the group. Or simply ones that you equally deplore. Thank you!
@7:42 AM Precisely, all they need to do is a mirror image of the
River Road to Massachusetts Avenue parkway stretch.
A caller raised this issue during today's (3/17) "The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi" show. Marc Elrich was the guest for the second half of the show. https://wamu.org/show/the-politics-hour/
Do bycyclists have the right of way in crosswalks too? I thought it was just pedestrians. Folks on bikes can get going pretty fast. They should yield the ROW when approaching a crossing, shouldn't they? How do bike lanes work? Should I yield before crossing one?
I'd hate to be driving the vehicle that a bike hits, but I exspecially don't want to be liable. Are the rules posted on any sign or anywhere?
Both feet in a hash marked crosswalk gets you ROW. Crossing a bike lane is like crossing a road although if you're really so fearful and think your 'number is up,' you should just go buy a lottery ticket.
Methinks you're making a big deal of nothing since you likely haven't been on a bike in decades.
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