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, Goldsboro Road is built in the Minnehaha Branch valley and so it should make for a route that isn't too hilly.
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
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.
At MacArthur the project includes new sidepaths.
Apparently, they'd remove the flexposts in the winter for snowplows.
Posted by: Crickey | April 15, 2019 at 05:59 PM