Last night the Montgomery County Planning Board voted on a permanent change to the Little Falls Parkway/Capital Crescent Trail intersection that would move the crossing to Arlington Road and restore the road to four lanes. This wasn't even one of the options planning staff analyzed - it's a worse version of the worst of the three options presented last fall.
The intersection was redesigned, with a slower speed limit and an interim road diet, after a cyclist was killed at the crossing in 2016. The interim road diet worked. The interim road diet cut pedestrian/bike crashes by 50%, it had minimal effect on travel time, adding only 7 seconds; and throughput for drivers. The only downside it that it resulted in a some cut-through traffic on Hillendale Road. But, according to one board member, "Montgomery County is built for the car" and I guess there's no reason to change that (other than safety, quality of life, public health and the very existence of humanity).
After studying 10 alternatives and narrowing that down to 3 - a bridge, the road diet with safety modifications and a road diet with a moved trail, Planning staff recommended that Alternative A, the continued road diet with safety modifications, be enacted. But local homeowners wanted the road put back the way it was before over traffic concerns, even though - as noted - the analysis shows that the impact on traffic has been minimal.
Wherein local residents (and a far away Congresswoman) argue in bad faith
Where they got the idea for restoring it to four lanes, I don't know, but several citizens associations, like Westmoreland Citizens Association and the Citizens Coordinating Committee on Friendship Heights (CCCFH) sent letters supporting that and emails to members describing it as an option.
CCCFH blames the cyclists for the problems
A core problem is that the CCT has become a bicycle commuter route. It was never intended as such. This results in safety issues in conflicts with the pedestrians and runners on the trail and with the automobiles on the Little Falls Parkway at the Trail/Parkway
intersection. Aggravating the safety issue is the disregard that so many bicyclists have for the rules of the road.
Constricting traffic on Little Falls Parkway to accommodate bicyclists is not at all an optimal solution to the safety issue
Kenwood Citizen's Association echoed this. The trail is "not a commuter trail", they say without noticing how many people use it to commute. It's a recreation trail, and thus, I presume, it's OK for it to be unsafe and for a few people to get badly hurt on it. I don't follow the logic, but whatever. They then go on to erroneously claim that the current design is dangerous because the bollards are hard to see at night.
This "not a commuter trail" claim is bunch of horseshit though. Here's what Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary O. James Lighthizer said at the groundbreaking for the first section of the trail: "This has been one of our priorities, to encourage more walking and bicycle riding, both for recreation and as an alternative to the automobile." IT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE A COMMUTER TRAIL. (Hill, Retha (1 October 1992). "Work to Start On Trail for Bikes, Hikes". The Washington Post.)
Kenwood Forest II also supported restoring four lanes, because the cut-through traffic made their neighborhood less safe, as they have lots of kids that are "apt to run out into the street". They also opposed the connector trail.
I'm disappointed to report that the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail also sent a letter supported Alternative B without the road diet. Not sure the thinking there.
WABA meanwhile supported Alternative A and called B a step in the wrong direction.
You know who else wrote a letter in opposition the road diet? Representative Doris O. Matsui (D-CA 6th).
I wonder where she lives in the DC area? This is a long way from California. In addition to the butt-insky nature of this which is mildly (more even maybe?) offensive, she calls road diets unfair, which is bunch of bunk, and she misunderstands the point which is not mode shifting but saving lives. Earl Blumenauer needs to stop by her office. Until then she can pound sand back in Sacramento.
Board Vote
So, the board didn't vote for Alternate A. Or the Bridge. Or even Alternative B. They voted for Alternative B without the road diet. Which is sure to make things less safe. Former WABA board member Casey Anderson & Natalie Fani-Gonzalez were the only ones to vote for Alternative A. [Correction: Anderson voted for Alternative A, and Fani-Gonzalez supported B with the road diet, but voted for the one without it. The vote was 4-1, with Anderson the only one voting against 4 lanes.]
Alternative A and B were both expected to make the road "safe". But B was expected to result in more delay for trail users (30 seconds) AND for drivers (13 seconds vs 7 seconds); to result in more cut-through traffic on Hillendale, cost more both to implement and to maintain, and have more environmental impact.
Moving the CCT (B) doesn't beat the road diet (A) on any of the metrics they analyzed.
And they chose an option that's worse than B.
Staff already indicated that Alternative A was most in line with the County's Vision Zero goal of no fatalities by 2030.
Vision Zero represents a paradigm shift in traffic policy, stating that pedestrian and bicyclist severe injuries or fatalities are unacceptable, and putting the onus on system designers rather than road and trail users to ensure a safe transportation system. By removing the multi-lane threat, slowing vehicles, and reducing confusion between trail users and motorists, the Recommended Facility Plan will significantly increase safety and meet Montgomery County’s Vision Zero policy.
As you can see, this change will mean that trail users will get to Little Falls Parkway and then follow the Parkway to Arlington Road, cross it at the intersection and then follow the Parkway back to the existing trail. The pictures above and below don't match what the board voted for because they show a road diet.
This is not how you get to zero deaths. Nor is it how you reduce GHG emissions to zero by 2035. Just frustrating and sad. They literally just had to do nothing.
At least we know that Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail will spring into action to fight this plan that makes the trail worse.
Update: From BethesdaMagazine's coverage:
Planning Board member Tina Patterson said she was unaware until recently the fatality that sparked the road changes occurred when a vehicle struck a man who was riding a recumbent bicycle, a bike that places the rider in a reclining position and is harder for motorists to see, researchers suggest.
“Had I known this after the fact and moved forward with the staff recommendation, I would have been very embarrassed,” Patterson said. “When we’re going to talk about something that is impacting the community, we need to get the full details. We know that road diets are sexy and it’s the trend right now but sometimes it’s not appropriate.”
There's nothing illegal about riding a recumbent bicycle. And VisionZero is not about saving the lives of people who do nothing wrong, and saying "screw it" about the people who do.
Planning Board member Natali Fani-Gonazalez said she did not agree with maintaining the road diet because drivers often do not stop for pedestrians attempting to use a crosswalk, creating dangerous situations.
“What we have here is a behavioral problem in this society. People just want to think about themselves and what they’re doing without thinking about how it will impact other people, so … if you don’t have a traffic light, especially in a place with so many people using the intersection, it’s not safe,” she said.
Planning Board Chairman Casey Anderson, the lone vote against moving the trail to Arlington Road, said he doesn’t believe community members advocating for a four-lane intersection understood the timing of the traffic signals will have to be changed to accommodate trail users’ crossing.
“I may be outvoted but honestly I don’t think this is a good idea,” Anderson said. “I think the road diet has been successful … I just wanted to say I think this is a mistake.”
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