Capital Crescent Trail/Little Falls Parkway Crossing
Little Falls Parkway closure to two lanes from Hillandale Road to Arlington Road
SUMMARY
Note: a detailed time line of events in this matter follows the summary
Little Falls Parkway (LFP), a four-lane primary corridor accessing downtown Bethesda. In January of 2017 it was unilaterally reduced to a two-lane choke point from Hillandale Rd. to Arlington Rd. without notice to the public. This was implemented in the name of safety after a bicyclist was tragically killed on the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) mid-block crossing of the Parkway. This lane closure was done:
· By the Montgomery County Department of Parks (Montgomery Parks), apparently without consultation with Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MC DOT)
· Without any consideration of the traffic master plan for the region
· Without planning for the huge future growth in Bethesda and Westbard
· Without any consideration of diverted traffic reducing pedestrian safety in the densely populated neighborhoods.
In a subsequent Montgomery County Planning Board hearing on June 13, 2019, the mid-block trail crossing and the lane closures were rejected in favor of creating a crossing at the closely nearby traffic signal at Arlington Road with:
· Restoration of the Parkway to four lanes in the interest of safety of the region, not just the isolated focus on the CCT/LFP crossing
· Reduction of congestion
· Provision of a safe crossing consistent with Vision Zero at the traffic signal
· Creation of a crossing adapting a community recommended simplified lower cost plan
· All public and private stakeholders met at the site on August 28, 2019, and concurred on the implementation of the June 13, 2019 Board decision to create the crossing at the Arlington Road traffic signal.
This was contrary, however, to Montgomery Parks’ explicit preference. Consequently, in a later (Sept. 12, 2019) Planning Board session on capital improvement projects (closed to public testimony) the Board was presented with a highly inflated cost estimate for the project. This resulted in:
· Deferral of the project crossing at the traffic signal to the indefinite future
· Retention of the two lane choke point
· Construction of costly improvements to the temporary mid-block crossing
Consequences
· There are no plans to implement the directive from the Planning Board to cross at the Arlington Rd. traffic light.
· Public input was meaningless, and the best interests of the public as a whole with regard to safety and traffic were disregarded,
· Increasing congestion is detrimental to improving our very weak track record in soliciting and nurturing new business to come to our County
· Increasing congestion increases consumption of fossil fuels with a negative effect on Climate Change.
Department of Transportation
· MC DOT is stuck with solving traffic flow and safety problems created by this unilateral act.
· The costs to MC DOT as a result of this were not considered in the cost estimates to the best of our knowledge. Increased costs to MC DOT to solve problems created by Parks Dept. were not a part of the project costs.
· A traffic study conducted by Montgomery Parks considered only current traffic volume on LFP, which defies common sense given the projected huge growth in the immediate region.
Follow-up
· A written request was made to Montgomery Parks for details of the costs used to justify nullifying the directive to create the CCT/LFP crossing at the traffic signal. The requests weren’t even acknowledged.
· A Public Information Act (PIA) request was sent to Montgomery Parks for the same information. In response Parks & Planning produced few documents and no detailed documents.
· An attorney was retained and PIA requests were sent to MC DOT and to Montgomery Parks. MC DOT responded promptly and thoroughly. Montgomery Parks replied that an expensive reimbursement from CCCFH would be required. A request for waiver was denied.
We believe that integrity of process is at the heart of our system of governance. While we may disagree with the outcome of a process (which we do in this case) what we find altogether unacceptable is the arbitrary process by a government agency funded the taxpayers, Montgomery Parks, to gain their preferred results.
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This is a detailed history of events concerning the Little Falls Parkway closure to two lanes from Hillandale Road to Arlington Road:
1. January 2017: there was a tragic accident when a recumbent bicyclist was struck and killed by a motorist when crossing the Capital Crescent Trail at Little Falls Parkway. Within days the Parkway was narrowed to two lanes from Hillandale Road to Arlington Road. The Parks Department closed the Parkway to two lanes without notification or communication with the surrounding neighborhoods. No signage was installed along the parkway to alert drivers prior to the change. . Metal bollards were used that were hard to see, especially at night.
2. June 13, 2018: All the residents on Kennedy Drive in Kenwood signed a petition to Andrew Tsai, Project Manager, concerning traffic and speed on Kennedy Drive because of the Parkway closure. The widely used WAZE app was directing drivers through the Kenwood neighborhood. The petition was about safety. There are no sidewalks in Kenwood.
3. June 13, 2018: There was a public meeting at the Somerset Elementary School to discuss various solutions to the Parkway and Trail Crossing.
* attach Parks Web site
**Note: During this public meeting Parks put out various alternatives to solve the issue. Public preference was for #1- a bridge over Little Falls Parkway returning the Parkway to 4 lanes. #2 was to move the crossing to the light at Arlington Road also returning the Parkway to 4 lanes.
**Parks conducted a public poll on their website in 2018/19 asking for comments on the 3 alternatives. The preference of the poll taken was also for a (#1) bridge and (#2) crossing at the traffic light.
4. July 12, 2018: The Capital Crescent Trail Board wrote a letter to Andrew Tsai, Montgomery County Parks project manager, supporting a bridge as the safest solution to crossing the Parkway. An interim solution proposed was to cross at the current traffic Light at Little Falls Parkway and Arlington Road. The Board also recommended returning the Parkway to 4 lanes.
5. August 14, 2018: CCCFH wrote a letter to Andrew Tsai urging the crossing to be at the traffic light at Arlington Road until a bridge could be built.
6. November 14, 2018: After a community meeting, a letter signed by citizens representing 8 communities in the area was sent to Mr. Tsai asking that the Parkway be opened and the crossing be moved to the light on Arlington Road.
7. December 12, 2018: A letter was written to Mr. Tsai from Congresswoman Doris Matsui in support of crossing at the traffic light at Arlington Road and opening the Parkway.
8. February 12, 2019: Report from the traffic consultant hired by Parks to study the 3 choices. Analysis favored the mid-crossing and kept the lanes closed on the Parkway.
*attach Parks website report from traffic study
9. April 2019: 30% Construction drawings illustrated that 30% of the design was already in place : almost entirely for Alternative A, the mid-crossing-on the web site, well in advance of the June 13 meeting and contrary to what the citizens had voted for.
*refer to Parks website appendix Appendix A
10. June 13, 2019: Planning Board hearing about the crossing at the CCT and closing of the Parkway to 2 lanes. After testimony from CCCFH and surrounding neighborhoods, the Planning Board supported returning the Parkway to four lanes and moving the trail crossing to the light at Arlington Road with a 4 to 1 vote as the safest solution in coordination with the County’s support of Vision Zero. Commissioner Norman Dreyfuss, Planning Board member, also questioned the high cost estimated for the bridge over the Parkway and suggested that Parks revisit those numbers since the bridge would be for pedestrians and cyclists not for vehicles. Commissioner Patterson also requested a cost analysis of the bridge.
*testimony from Harry Pfohl and proposal
11. August 28, 2019: At the request of the neighborhoods, a meeting was called by the project manager, Andrew Tsai for all the stakeholders at the site. Mr. Tsai led the discussion about the implementation of the June 13th Planning Board vote. Preliminary plans showed a preference for the simplified crossing at the light which was less expensive than Parks’ plan.
* See the simplified plan that showed the crossing at the light
12. September 12, 2019: At a work session at the Planning Board regarding the Parks’ budget for the CIP, the Planning Board voted to defer the decision to open Little Falls Parkway and implement crossing everyone safely at the light at Arlington Road to an indefinite time beyond 2026. The Parks Department claimed that the opening of the Parkway and crossing at the light was too expensive for the current budget. Instead they put Parks’ preferred plan in place disregarding the public vote of 4-1 vote that was passed in June of 2019.
*Press Release of September 13th
13. September 23, 2019: CCCFH wrote a letter to Casey Anderson (Planning Board Chair) and Mike Riley (director of the Parks Department) requesting a hold on this project until all the facts are known. Information concerning this delay beyond 2026 because of the estimated expense was requested and signed by Melanie Rose White, current chair of CCCFH.
There was no reply, not even an acknowledgement of receipt of the request.
14. January 15, 2020: An update from past to present of the situation was compiled by CCCFH.
15. February 24, 2020: There was a formal request filed by CCCFH under the PIA (Public Information Act) to the Parks Department to get information as to the expense that the Planning Board stated was so prohibitive as to delay the implementation of the vote for 6 years. Parks responded only with an appendix that was already on the public website plus a set of 30% complete engineering drawings for Parks’ preferred alternative, the mid-block crossing. The drawings had been completed at considerable expense April 19, 2019, two months before the public hearing in which the Planning Board selected the crossing at the traffic signal, which conflicted with Parks’ preference. There was no cover letter and the questions asked were not answered.
*see the Public Information Act request
16. April 24, 2020. CCCFH sent a letter to the Parks Department about deficiencies in the process and decision regarding the Capital Crescent Trail crossing and the inadequacy of its response to the PIA request.
17. April 17, 2020. Little Falls Parkway and a portion of Arlington Road were closed from Friday, at 9am to Sunday at 6pm to allow for walkers and bikers to exercise safely during this time of Covid 19. However, no notice was given to the surrounding communities and business districts that this road would be closed. We have no information as to how long these closures will last.
18. June 22, 2020: CCCFH hired a lawyer on behalf of the organization to request answers to the questions that Parks has refused to come forward with: i.e. the actual cost of opening the parkway and moving the crossing to the light since the Planning Board voted to delay the opening because of “exorbitant expense”. Montgomery County Dept. of Transportation responded promptly with numerous documents of interest. Parks has responded that they would respond but there will be a significant expense to CCCFH to obtain the requested information. CCCFH has requested a waiver. The waiver was refused.
* See letters to Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission and to Montgomery County Department of Transportation
19. July 23, 2020. The Montgomery County Parks Department is closing the Capital Crescent Trail Crossing at Little Falls Parkway startingg Thursday July 23rd for construction of a Speed Table. The wide elevated crosswalk will take several weeks to complete. There will be a detour for trail users and vehicular traffic delays. This implements the solution that the Parks Department has promoted in lieu of a Planning Board (four to one) decision in June of 2019 to cross pedestrians and bikers at the light on Arlington Road and to open the Parkway to four lanes.
https://www.montgomeryparks.org/alert/closure-at-the-capital-crescent-trail-crossing/#more-61774
20. August 7, 2020. CCCFH wrote letters to our elected public officials asking for advice and assistance regarding this matter. Letters were sent to U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, Maryland state Senator Susan Lee, and Maryland Delegate Marc Korman.
21. September 8, 2020. Senator Susan Lee enabled a meeting (virtual) between the Parks Department and CCCFH members and other community leaders. The Parks Department took a hard line, stating that the issue of the crossing is a closed subject. It is now permanent and there will no longer be any consideration in the future. Parks is not going to go back to four lanes under any circumstance. For detailed notes from the meeting see the attached.