Old Georgetown Road bike lanes continue to confuse drivers in Bethesda (Video)

The confusing layout of the new bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda continues to baffle some drivers, and their vehicular forays into them raise safety issues for cyclists. It's the southbound segment between Tuckerman Lane and Democracy Boulevard that has serious design issues, which seem to tempt some drivers to enter the cycling zone, and - worst of all - allow them to do so. Drivers seeking to turn right onto Rock Spring Drive and Democracy Boulevard are most often the unwitting victims.

Sleaford Road underpass completed in Bethesda

The Maryland Department of Transportation announced Monday that the Sleaford Road underpass project in Bethesda has been completed. A tunnel under the future Purple Line light rail tracks, the underpass is designed to provide safe access from East-West Highway to Sleaford Road, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and the Capital Crescent Trail. The tunnel and pathway are now open to the public.

Photos courtesy Maryland Department of Transportation

Bike crossing signals activated at Bethesda Row (Photos)

Cyclists now have their own signal at the intersection of Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues by Bethesda Row. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has activated the bike crossing signals that were recently installed there. A bicycle icon lights up for each color on the unit, which otherwise resembles a standard traffic signal. Combined with special green crosswalks and a protected bikeway, the signals are the latest bike safety improvement for users of the Capital Crescent Trail, and of the surface route detour for the portion of the trail closed for Purple Line construction.

Bethesda cyclist struck in fatal crash on River Road

A cyclist was struck by a flatbed truck driver in the 5200 block of River Road around 4:00 PM this afternoon. The female victim suffered critical injuries, and was later pronounced dead at the scene, NBC4's Charlie Bragale tweeted. The collision occurred in the vicinity of Beacon Building Products. River Road was closed between Ridgefield Road and Little Falls Parkway for accident reconstruction. The driver of the vehicle remained on the scene, Allison Papson of Fox 5 reports.

Soft opening underway at Terrapin Bicycles in Bethesda

Terrapin Bicycles is holding a soft opening of its new location at 4933 Auburn Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The store has previously been at a temporary location on Nofolk Avenue. Terrapin Bicycles made news recently when it became the first bike shop in Montgomery County to receive a liquor license.

Planters added to protected bike lane on Bethesda Avenue (Photos)

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation ended the week by adding planting boxes to the island running alongside the protected bike lane on Bethesda Avenue, between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenue. This will soon form one leg of the surface route for the detoured Capital Crescent Trail until the county can deliver a new tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. Those "coming soon" ads you see in the background are for a new pizzeria in the 4747 Bethesda Avenue office building, which have been up since last spring.

New traffic pattern on Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda (Photos)

New lane striping and a new bike lane have resulted in a new traffic pattern for Woodmont Avenue between Norfolk Avenue and Old Georgetown Road in downtown Bethesda. An unprotected bike lane - which is actually more of a bikeway, as it has two lanes allowing for two-way bike travel with a yellow line in the center - and a striped divider that runs parallel to it, replace the right travel lane on the west side of the street. What was the center through lane on Woodmont at the Old Georgetown intersection heading towards Bethesda Row is now the right turn lane. The left through lane is now the only lane at that intersection that allows you to continue on Woodmont past Old Georgetown towards Bethesda Row. 

Left turns are still not allowed onto the one-way segment of Old Georgetown between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenue. Street parking in front of the Lionsgate condos, Black's Bar + Kitchen, etc., is now gone. Meters are still in place but display a message that parking is not allowed.

It sounds more confusing in text form than it is in real life. For now, simply approach the block and intersection with caution until you adjust to the new configuration, and watch for bikes on your passenger side when making a right onto Old Georgetown. There will soon be a mid-block traffic signal governing the crosswalk between the new Marriott hotel and the Woodmont Corner garage across the street.

Capital Crescent surface trail goes green by Bethesda Row (Photos)

People transitioning from cars to bikes is supposed to be "green." The new protected bike lane on Bethesda Avenue is really green, though. Montgomery County workers yesterday applied a new green surface to the bike lane, which is also a leg of the Capital Crescent surface trail that was meant to replace the shuttered Capital Crescent Trail east of Bethesda Avenue during Purple Line construction. Of course, this being Montgomery County, the surface route will probably be complete about the same time as the Purple Line is finished.

Virtual public meeting scheduled for Cheltenham Dr. Bethesda Bike Loop feasibility study

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has scheduled a virtual public meeting regarding the Cheltenham Drive segment of the proposed Bethesda Bike Loop bikeway for Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 7:00 PM. Registration is available online now. Other related study segments included in the Cheltenham project are Chase Avenue, Harling Lane, Tilbury Street, and Sleaford Road. Segments on the agenda for September 30 are shown in red above.

Prelminary plans and concepts for the project will be discussed. MCDOT will also take public feedback on the proposals. The Cheltenham Drive project is part of a loop bikeway that will eventually connect Woodmont Avenue, Montgomery Avenue and Pearl Street.

Bethesda Capital Crescent Trail crossing taking shape on Bethesda and Wisconsin Avenues (Photos)

Years in the making, a new surface crossing route for the Capital Crescent Trail at Wisconsin Avenue is finally starting to take physical shape in downtown Bethesda. The protected bike lane is now visible along Bethesda Avenue, which will bring trail users up to Wisconsin from the trail segment that ends by Ourisman Honda and Paul Bakery. 

Bike crossing signal installed at intersection
of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues

Bike crossing signals have just been installed (but are not yet activated) at the trail crossing of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenues, and are also being installed at Wisconsin and Bethesda. While the surface crossing is being completed much later in the Purple Line construction process than most expected, it won't become obsolete anytime soon. The fate of a replacement underground crossing for the CCT is hanging in the balance - literally.

Montgomery County's fiscal bottom line will determine the ultimate delivery of the tunnel - or if it is even constructed at all. The County Council quietly postponed the tunnel construction to FY 2027, at the earliest. But if you look at the budget deficit projection, the forecast continued revenue decline with the exit of wealthy residents to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region, and the County's moribund economy and nightmarish debt load, you could just as easily predict that tunnel will never be built. 

The funds won't be there, unless voters make drastic changes on the Council in 2022. And the Montgomery County cartel-controlled officials on the Council and Planning Board are resisting County Executive Marc Elrich's new proposal to single track the Purple Line under Wisconsin, which would make room for an underground CCT path that could be delivered many years sooner.

SHA road diet would reduce capacity of already-jammed Old Georgetown Rd. by 33%

One of Bethesda's most-congested commuter routes will soon achieve carmageddon. The Maryland State Highway Administration has proposed reducing Old Georgetown Road from three lanes in each direction to two lanes each way between Cedar Lane and the Capital Beltway, slashing the road's vehicle capacity by 33%. In place of the lost lane, a separated bike lane with a five-foot buffer from auto traffic will be created, according to Delegate Marc Korman, who represents Bethesda.

Considering that the Beltway and I-270 are where a great number of drivers are coming from in the morning, and trying to reach in the evening, this is going to create an incredible bottleneck. Anyone who drives the road during rush hours is aware of just how bad the traffic jams are now. Often a person can walk faster than the cars, a phenomenon also found on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda.

Incredibly, the SHA is claiming you can currently drive from Cedar Lane to the Beltway in 3.7 minutes during peak evening rush hour. Under the road diet, they claim it will now take 4.9 minutes. I've repeatedly sat in traffic there for longer than 4.9 minutes as it is now, although I've largely given up and try to avoid using Old Georgetown at all costs during rush hour in the affected directions.

There's no doubt we have a bicycle safety problem. But that problem is not the fault of the beleaguered citizens trying to get to and from work each day in their cars. Remember, this is a route that went from bad to worse with the expansions at NIH and Walter Reed over the last decade. This is simply not the right solution for this road.

If the concern for bicycle safety is so genuine and sincere, why aren't the SHA and County making the heavy lift of widening the road and narrowing the median to add a separated bike lane without punishing drivers who pay their salaries? If the concern is honest, why in politicians' and SHA's view, do cyclists only deserve protection between Cedar Lane and the Beltway? Of course, this is just the beginning, as pending plans for lane elimination on Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard show.

Sometimes real solutions are expensive, not cheap. Delivering a world-class road system that is as safe as possible for all modes of transportation using it is never going to be cheap.

Rendering by Maryland Department of Transportation

Sneak peek: Georgetown Branch Trail detour sign in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

There's controversy over what route the detour of the Georgetown Branch Trail will take during the years of construction of the Purple Line along the trail's current route. But a sign has appeared with a cover over it, and underneath is a Georgetown Branch Trail detour sign. The sign is at Woodmont Avenue and Hampden Lane in downtown Bethesda.

Road diet project for Bethesda Capital Crescent Trail crossing set to begin next week

The recently-proposed "road diet" for Little Falls Parkway where it meets the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda will begin next week, according to Alex Girr-Borrayo of the Montgomery County Parks Department. When completed, the project will shrink down the parkway to one lane in each direction between Hillandale Road and Arlington Road.

New signage will be installed, and the speed limit will be lowered to 25 MPH. The proposed changes have angered some, who argue that the fatal accident that spurred the changes was caused by the cyclist who died after being struck by a car there in October. That argument gained credibility this week, after Montgomery County detectives decided not to charge the driver in the incident, concluding that the cyclist had failed to stop at the trail's stop sign.

Pedestrian and trail advocates, on the other hand, have said the changes are long overdue for the dangerous crossing of the popular trail. I do think it's notable that, especially in light of the debate, there was no public process for this project. A number of alternatives have been floated by people on both sides of the issue, and it seems inappropriate to proceed with a "we know best" solution, without a community conversation first.

Where, too, do the funds for this project come from? There are many, many dangerous intersections and pedestrian hazards around Bethesda. Instead of proactively tackling them, the County seems to act hastily only after an injury, or a life has been lost.

Finally, what is the engineering solution the County will implement to avoid numerous fender benders or worse, when heavy traffic from two left-turn lanes on Arlington Road is suddenly forced to merge into one lane within a few yards of making the turn? Isn't this what public meetings are for? Why wasn't one held?

There are more questions than answers right now.

Image courtesy Montgomery Parks

Bethesda Capital Crescent Trail crossing where cyclist was fatally struck to get road diet

Delegate Marc Korman (D - District 16) reports that changes are now planned for the Capital Crescent Trail crossing on Little Falls Parkway where a cyclist was struck and killed in October. Korman says the number of lanes will be reduced to one in each direction, and that the speed limit will be lowered to 25. There will also be additional signage.

One issue that is going to have to be looked at by traffic engineers is, how to facilitate cars turning left in two lanes from Arlington Road onto the parkway merging safely in that short of a distance.

New Capital Bikeshare station opens in Bethesda (Photos)

Residents of the old and new residential buildings within walking distance of Eastham Park just got a new amenity. A Capital Bikeshare station is now open, providing a new way to get around the downtown and to the Metro station. The station is on Woodmont Avenue, near Leland Street and Strathmore Street.