Letter Details City Concerns About Potential Harm to Homes, How the Pandemic Will Impact Travel Demand
An environmental study of the state project to widen interstates 270 and 495 between the American Legion Bridge and Frederick with toll lanes is “severely flawed,” the Mayor and Council said in a letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Two projects completed in the summer added sidewalks to busy roads in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.
One project installed approximately 1,700 linear feet of 5-foot-wide sidewalk, including some pervious concrete for stormwater management, to the southside of Southlawn Lane between Lofstrand Lane and East Gude Drive. Constructed at a cost of $760,000, it also includes curb and gutter, storm drain inlets and pipe, and new trees.
The Mayor and Council are scheduled at their Monday, Oct. 19 meeting to review a scope of work for a study of the Rockville Metro station that will be conducted by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The I-495 and I-270 Managed Lanes Study Draft Environmental Impact Statement, released in July, is available for public comment through Monday, Nov. 9, after the state in late August extended the comment period by 30 days to allow the public and agencies more time to review the lengthy document.
The city’s Department of Public Works installed flashing beacons at the intersection of Great Falls Road and Monument Avenue in August, to provide a safer crossing for schoolchildren and community members along a heavily traveled road.
The pedestrian-activated flashing beacons accompany new concrete pedestrian ramps at the key crossing for children walking to and from Julius West Middle School.
Replaces MobileNOW! App, Which Stopped Operating in May
Motorists will be able to use the ParkMobile app to pay for parking at the more than 500 publicly metered spaces throughout the City of Rockville, beginning this month.
ParkMobile, the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in the U.S., is an option for paying for parking at over 21,000 spaces in in Montgomery County, as well as in Washington, D.C.; Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia; and over 400 cities across the U.S.
Comment Period Extended to Nov. 9
The I-495 and I-270 Managed Lanes Study Draft Environmental Impact Statement, released in July, is available for public comment until Monday, Nov. 9, after the state in late August extended the comment period by 30 days to allow the public and agencies more time to review the lengthy document.
The state should put the brakes on a project to widen interstates 270 and 495, Rockville’s Mayor and Council said in a letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation.
“The City of Rockville requests that MDOT put a pause on the project and process,” the letter states. “It is not responsible to continue spending taxpayers’ money on preliminary design, environmental studies, and hiring a developer while the country is facing significant economic changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also predicted that teleworking will be more acceptable and widely implemented in the future, which will likely lower traffic volumes on I-495 and I-270. Therefore, it only makes sense to hold off on next steps for this project until a new purpose and need is defined.”
Nearly 50 pedestrian signals, accounting for all the signals operated by the city on Rockville streets, are now automated as part of the city’s response to the COVID-19 emergency.
City signal technicians automated the 48 signals by revising the timing plan that controls the traffic signal timing and sequence. The traffic signals were reprogrammed to be on automated pedestrian recall, which means that the signal controlling software assumes that a pedestrian is pushing the button at every cycle. This will allow the pedestrian to get a “WALK” signal without the need to push the button.
The Mayor and Council are expected to put Rockville on a course for zero traffic-related deaths or serious injuries with a vote Monday, July 6 on the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan.
The plan, which the Mayor and Council discussed June 22, includes steps to create safer streets through policies promoting improved design, traffic law enforcement and education. While there are ongoing city efforts in these areas, the plan lays out a coordinated and systematic approach to explore ways to reach the goal. It included input from the Rockville Pedestrian Advocacy Committee, Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Traffic and Transportation Commission, and the Senior Citizens Commission.
