The county’s Department of Transportation will hold a community meeting Tuesday, Jan. 21 to review the status of three projects concerning bicycle and pedestrian uses in Fenton Village. One project is the restart of a feasibility study for a separated bikeway along Fenton Street, as identified in the county’s Bicycle Master Plan adopted by the Park and Planning Commission in December 2018.
The county’s Planning Department has launched a Pedestrian Level of Comfort Map to help evaluate the public’s comfort level when walking along sidewalks, pathways and trails, and through street crossings. The online, interactive map includes the department’s scoring of local pedestrian networks, which are rated from “unacceptable” up to “very comfortable.”
The newest commissioner on the Montgomery County Planning Board refers to himself as “the accidental candidate” when talking about his appointment. Partap Verma, who joined the board in July, looks at this as a natural transformation from work he began after moving to the Forest Glen area in 2013. His priorities include pedestrian safety, affordable housing, and the upcoming Silver Spring master plan process.
The County Council will hold a public hearing on the draft Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan tonight, according to the schedule released this week. The plan covers the Georgia Avenue corridor from the edge of downtown Silver Spring at Spring Street to Dennis Avenue. It is intended to consider land use and transportation strategies, including traffic conditions and redevelopment opportunities, and make recommendations that will improve the area.
A county police officer was shot this morning in the Town Center garage at the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, according to the department’s Twitter feed. “The injured officer called out on radio with disorderly subject in the parking garage at approximately 8:49 am and was located by a responding officer suffering from a gunshot wound,” the department posted.
County officials dedicated the mid-Atlantic’s first “protected” intersection this morning at Spring and Second streets, marking the completion of a circuit of bike lanes around downtown Silver Spring. The “cycletrack” runs along Spring/Cedar streets, down Wayne Avenue and alongside Second Street, providing a direct connection to the Silver Spring Transit Center.
Roadwork is scheduled to begin this week on several streets in Takoma Park as crews prepare for street resurfacing, according to a city announcement. The work is expected to take about two weeks to complete.
An eight-inch water main has broken in the Northwood Park neighborhood of Four Corners, disrupting water service and closing down two roads. The break occurred around 9 a.m. this morning, according to Luis Maya, senior public communications specialist for WSSC, around 100 Southwood Ave. near Eastwood Avenue.
The State Highway Administration has received federal approval to redesign the portion of Georgia Avenue from 16th Street to Forest Glen Road, officials announced. The work will include narrowing traffic lanes, adding a raised and landscaped median, sidewalks on both sides of the road and a two-way bike track on the west side of Georgia, along with a new traffic signal at Flora Lane.