Goldsboro Road Bike and Pedestrian Improvements

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is proposing pedestrian, bicycle and traffic improvements along a 1.18-mile segment of Goldsboro Road (MD 614) in Bethesda/Glen Echo, Maryland, from approximately River Road (MD 190) to MacArthur Boulevard. This project would connect on one end with the MacArthur Boulevard Bikeway, although not directly, but it won't change that facility. Goldsboro Road is built in the Minnehaha Branch valley and so it should make for a route that isn't too hilly, but it brings along several environmental issues that need to be addressed. 

The proposed improvements along Goldsboro Road will widen the road from a two-lane road with shoulders to two 11-foot travel lanes, 5 to 6-foot-wide separated bike lanes in each direction with 2 to 3-foot-wide buffers from traffic, a continuous sidewalk on the north side of the road and intermittent sidewalks provided on the south side of the road where space is available. At the intersection with MacArthur Boulevard, a 4-foot bikeable shoulder and an 8-foot wide shared use path is proposed along the east side of the traffic circle.

By separated, they mean fleposts. And the flexposts will be removed in the winter to allow for snowplowing; meaning part of the year they will just be buffered.

The $21.1 million project just finished the 35% design phase. Protecting the Branch and the trees in the valley are some of the main concerns of the Planning department which has reviewed the design. They also think MCDOT should consider lowering the speed limit and adding No Right Turn on Red signs at River Road. Most dramatically they recommend that MCDOT reconsider the design.

To minimize cost, forest loss, stormwater and stream channel impacts of this project, consider an alternative concept that includes a 10-foot-wide sidepath on one side of the road, intermittent sidewalks at bus stops on the other side of the road, and a 4-foot-wide bikeable shoulder on the eastbound side. This would reduce the total typical cross section compared to the proposed design by up to seven feet. While not consistent with the bikeway recommendation in the Bicycle Master Plan on Goldsboro Road, this alternative would be consistent with the general principles of the Bicycle Master Plan.

If the speed limit is lowered, it may be that cyclists would feel safer in the roadway in the downhill direction, but want a protected facility - like a sidepath -  in the uphill, instead of separated in both directions. I don't ride the road so I'd rely on the opinions of those who do.

At MacArthur the project includes new sidepaths along both sides. Cyclists would then access the MacArthur Blvd Bikeway by using the crosswalk at Dunrobbin Drive. 

The intersection with River Road will be improved. 3 out of the 4 channelized right turn lanes will be removed and crosswalks and bike lanes will be added.

The project will also add 3 crosswalks with pedestrian refuges. The pedestrian bridge over Minnehaha near Ramsgate road will be replaced with a wider one (12 feet). 

There's also plans for some storm water management features that will require the clearing of healthy forest that currently serves as wildlife habitat. 

The proposed road improvements will dramatically alter one of the last inner beltway suburban bucolic roads with significant changes to the tree canopy and increases in impervious surfaces that are inconsistent with the road’s character environmentally.

The forest removal will require an equivalent amount of reforestation, but no area for such reforestation has been identified. As a result of all of these issues, "Staff does NOT support this concept stormwater management plan and requests MCDOT significantly modify the stormwater management plan to protect the existing forests and trees."

I wonder if some of the stormwater needs could be met by daylighting part or all of Minnehaha Branch northeast of River Road. 

Comments

[Crickey]

They did run a piece in the local paper, with a quote that fully embodies NIMBY incoherence. Per Gill Carpel, president of the Goldsboro Homeowners Association, "You’re changing the entire character of that community”. Keep in mind this is a project to put in a sidewalk and a bike lane, and to reduce rights on red.

[Brett Young]

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/development/pedestrian-safety-improvements-proposed-for-goldsboro-road-in-bethesda/

[washycle]

Here's that local article. https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/development/pedestrian-safety-improvements-proposed-for-goldsboro-road-in-bethesda/