The Montgomery County Department of Police and the state police yesterday announced policies and procedures the departments would follow while enforcing Gov. Larry Hogan’s Monday stay-at-home order. Neither department’s officers will make random stops to ask whether drivers are in compliance with the order to undertake only essential travel.
Please note that we have begun to receive notices that events previously listed on our calendar and in these weekly posts are being cancelled out of concern over the COVID-19 virus. Please check with the venue or organizers before heading out to be sure your chosen event is still being held. In the meantime, there is live music this weekend at the Takoma VFW and American Legion, as well as Seeker’s Church, and more groups playing on St. Patrick’s Day.
Colesville Road (U.S. Route 29) will be resurfaced and have additional improvements installed from St. Andrews Way/Sligo Creek Parkway to just past Stewart Lane, according to an announcement from the State Highway Administration. The work, which is scheduled to begin this spring, will repair a surface marred by a WSSC water main project between St. Andrews and the Beltway. The project will continue north past the Shoppes of Burnt Mills, a total of about 3.6 miles.
The county’s Department of Transportation—Transit Services Division will hold a public workshop tonight (March 3) to present the latest proposed revisions to 10 Ride On bus routes. The workshop will be held at Montgomery Blair High School, 51 University Blvd. East, at 6:30 p.m.
Metro riders and local drivers will again face closed stations and a major detour this weekend as Purple Line work continues near the Silver Spring Transit Center. Colesville Road will again be closed between Wayne Avenue and East-West Highway from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday.
Small crowds gathered periodically Sunday to watch the work underway to raise massive girders over Colesville Road for the Purple Line. Colesville will remain closed between Wayne Ave and East-West Highway until Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 6 a.m.
County Executive Marc Elrich yesterday announced the appointment of Wade Holland, a veteran county employee, as the coordinator of the county’s Vision Zero plan. Holland, who worked for six years in the CountyStat office, will be responsible for a cross-departmental plan that has a goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths and severe injuries by 2030.
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.”