Old Georgetown RD......WHY???????????????? (houses, purchase, construction)

[Turnerbro]

Seriously this has to be the worst road "improvement" I have ever seen. Why are we taking a 3 lane rd down to a two lane rd for a bike lane on a busy suburban road. This is not DC or some urban environment. I have driven this road almost every day for the past year. It took forever for them to do this construction, and once they're done. Traffic is somehow worse. Oh and BTW I have never seen anyone cycle on this road ever, so IDK who asked for this. Someone should really get fired over this garbage.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Seriously this has to be the worst road "improvement" I have ever seen. Why are we taking a 3 lane rd down to a two lane rd for a bike lane on a busy suburban road. This is not DC or some urban environment. I have driven this road almost every day for the past year. It took forever for them to do this construction, and once they're done. Traffic is somehow worse. Oh and BTW I have never seen anyone cycle on this road ever, so IDK who asked for this. Someone should really get fired over this garbage.

Two teens died while biking along OGR in the last couple years (yes, cyclists do exist even if you don't see them). That's the reason people "asked for this." SHA has already said they'll do a post-install review of the project to see if the cost/benefit matches projections. If not, e.g. if traffic delays are worse than expected or road conditions are less safe, they'll presumably restripe the road to its former configuration.

[Turnerbro]

Originally Posted by bufflove

Two teens died while biking along OGR in the last couple years (yes, cyclists do exist even if you don't see them). That's the reason people "asked for this." SHA has already said they'll do a post-install review of the project to see if the cost/benefit matches projections. If not, e.g. if traffic delays are worse than expected or road conditions are less safe, they'll presumably restripe the road to its former configuration.

I think there could have been a better way to do it. I would have never considered biking on that road.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

I think there could have been a better way to do it. I would have never considered biking on that road.

The teens weren't biking on the road, they were on the sidewalk and fell into the roadway. One was due to residential trash cans blocking most of the sidewalk and causing the kid to lose his balance when trying to maneuver around; I don't recall the cause of the second fatality. Seeking a buffer for the immediately adjacent sidewalk was one reason for the redesign.

[Turnerbro]

Originally Posted by bufflove

The teens weren't biking on the road, they were on the sidewalk and fell into the roadway. One was due to residential trash cans blocking most of the sidewalk and causing the kid to lose his balance when trying to maneuver around; I don't recall the cause of the second fatality. Seeking a buffer for the immediately adjacent sidewalk was one reason for the redesign.

Yeah. The sidewalks are pretty narrow. Definitely an issue. I just don’t see how lane reduction is going to work in the long haul especially with so much car centric development in that area.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by bufflove

The teens weren't biking on the road, they were on the sidewalk and fell into the roadway. One was due to residential trash cans blocking most of the sidewalk and causing the kid to lose his balance when trying to maneuver around; I don't recall the cause of the second fatality. Seeking a buffer for the immediately adjacent sidewalk was one reason for the redesign.

That’s interesting. Maryland cities have many sidewalks immediately adjacent to the road. When I first came to Maryland years ago I noticed that right away. I always wondered why there wasn’t a small strip of grass, or some other buffer, separating it from the road. I think that’s the positive of the redesign. Losing a lane is the negative side.

[DCarea]

A proper sidewalk would have some green space as a buffer from the road. Expansion of the sidewalk space would make more sense, since it also benefits pedestrians, though thus would be a more costly option.

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by DCarea

A proper sidewalk would have some green space as a buffer from the road. Expansion of the sidewalk space would make more sense, since it also benefits pedestrians, though thus would be a more costly option.

Expansion of sidewalk space without taking the space from the roadway would probably mean purchasing land from all the adjacent landowners. You want to try that in MoCo? They will fight you every inch of the way and once the decision is made to actually purchase the land they will fight you on the valuation. And every year they tie you up the land value increases. And until you get EVERY piece of land you can't start the actual construction.


So you steal the land from the roadway in the current RoW.

[DaveinMtAiry]

I grew up right off Old Georgetown Road, and yes I biked it often as a teen. I am old enough to remember when it was widened from 2 lanes to 6, houses that had just been built by the Y had their front lawns taken away. I sure hope they knew this was coming when the purchased the homes.

I'm still a bike rider so I can appreciate the idea of safety, it's a miracle me or any of my friends didn't get hurt or killed. But I also keep in touch with the locals and nobody is happy about this.

[Mr Beco]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Seriously this has to be the worst road "improvement" I have ever seen. Why are we taking a 3 lane rd down to a two lane rd for a bike lane on a busy suburban road. This is not DC or some urban environment. I have driven this road almost every day for the past year. It took forever for them to do this construction, and once they're done. Traffic is somehow worse. Oh and BTW I have never seen anyone cycle on this road ever, so IDK who asked for this. Someone should really get fired over this garbage.

Everyone is complaining, I just got cutoff the other day, so keep your wits.....I heard they might go down Tuckerman Lane now...who is responsible for all this?