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Council Asks for Safety Improvements at Veirs Mill Road and Turkey Branch Parkway

Following the second fatal accident in less than a year at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Turkey Branch Parkway, the Council has asked Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, State Secretary of the Department of Transportation Peter Rahn and Administrator of the Maryland Highway Administration Gregory Johnson to take “more aggressive action to resolve the serious safety deficiencies at this intersection.”

Within the past week, a bicyclist was fatally injured on the road, which is near the crossing of the Matthew Henson Trail. After another bicyclist was killed near the same area in December, County Councilmember Nancy Navarro asked the State for improved safety measures at the intersection. The State Highway Administration responded by installing flashing yellow lights to make drivers aware that pedestrians and bicyclists may be in the area.

In the letter that went to the State official this week, the Council wrote: “While we appreciate the effort, we believe the flashers are insufficient to address the problem since they require motorists to slow down and exercise caution but not to stop. Drivers continue to exceed the 40-mph speed limit even when the light signal is activated. At these speeds, a collision with a pedestrian or bicyclist is almost certainly fatal.

“In the wake of this latest tragedy, we urge you to take more aggressive action to resolve the serious safety deficiencies at this intersection.”

The complete text of the letters written by the County Council on July 20 and by Councilmember Navarro on Jan. 6:


July 20, 2016


The Honorable Larry Hogan, Governor 
100 State Circle 
Annapolis, Maryland  21401

Pete K. Rahn, Secretary 
Maryland Department of Transportation 
7201 Corporate Center Drive 
Hanover, Maryland  21076

Mr. Gregory C. Johnson, Administrator
State Highway Administration 
707 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland  21202

Dear Governor Hogan, Secretary Rahn and Administrator Johnson:

            Once again, we are mourning the loss of a young man who was struck and killed on Veirs Mill Road (MD 586) at the Matthew Henson Trail crossing. Less than a year ago, another bicyclist lost his life at the same intersection. With downhill approaches in both directions and high traffic volumes on Veirs Mill Road and the Matthew Henson Trail, there is no question this intersection remains a pedestrian and cyclist hazard.

            After the fatal collision in December, Councilmember Nancy Navarro wrote the attached letter asking you to expedite the process for implementing measures to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety at this intersection. Since then, the State Highway Administration has taken steps to address the safety concerns and has installed flashing yellow lights. While we appreciate the effort, we believe the flashers are insufficient to address the problem since they require motorists to slow down and exercise caution but not to stop. Drivers continue to exceed the 40-mph speed limit even when the light signal is activated. At these speeds, a collision with a pedestrian or bicyclist is almost certainly fatal.

            In the wake of this latest tragedy, we urge you to take more aggressive action to resolve the serious safety deficiencies at this intersection. We ask you to investigate the feasibility of a pedestrian-actuated traffic control device and structural improvements that may make this area safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. We understand from your correspondence with Councilmember Hans Riemer in March that an earlier study determined that the pedestrian volumes did not satisfy the warrants for a pedestrian-activated signal, but we encourage you to take another look in light of the ongoing hazard.

            On a separate topic that is also critical for bicycle safety, a loophole in the Maryland law must be fixed. In 2010 the State legislature amended § 21-1103 of the Maryland Code to allow cyclists to ride their bikes in crosswalks. While this was a strong step forward, the law that protects pedestrians on the crosswalks (§ 21 – 502) needs to be amended to include wheelchairs, electric personal assisted mobility device and bicycles. It has been reported that a judge dismissed charges against the driver who struck and killed the 19-year-old at the same intersection because he was riding his bike, not walking it, and thus was not protected by the law. We will be working with our Delegation to amend this law to safeguard all legal users of a crosswalk in our state, and we ask for your support in that endeavor.

            Montgomery County shares the Maryland Department of Transportation’s commitment to moving the State toward zero deaths on our roadways. There is no way to prevent people from making mistakes on our roads, but these mistakes need not be deadly. The crossing at Veirs Mill Road/Turkey Branch Parkway and the Matthew Henson Trail is undeniably dangerous, and we thank you for prioritizing improvements there.

Sincerely,
                      
Nancy Floreen                   Roger Berliner                   Marc Elrich   
Council President               Council Vice President       Councilmember

                       
Tom Hucker                      Sidney Katz                       George Leventhal
Councilmember                  Councilmember                  Councilmember

                 
Nancy Navarro                   Craig Rice                         Hans Riemer
Councilmember                  Councilmember                  Councilmember

Enclosure

cc: Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County Executive
      Al Roshdieh, Director, Montgomery County Department of Transportation
      Montgomery County Delegation




Nancy Navarro Councilmember, District 4


January 6, 2016


Larry Hogan, Governor 
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Pete K. Rahn, Maryland Secretary of Transportation 
7201 Corporate Center Drive 
Hanover, Maryland 21076

Gregory C. Johnson, State Highway Administrator
707 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202


Dear Governor Hogan, Secretary Rahn, and Administrator Johnson:

On Monday, December 28, a 19-year-old man named Frank Towers was struck by an SUV and killed while riding home from work on his bicycle at the intersection of Veirs Mill Rd. (MD 586) and Turkey Branch Parkway. As you know, the area around this intersection has been a pedestrian and cyclist hazard for some time. Two people were killed within a mile of this intersection by cars last year. 

While I am aware the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) and State Highway Administration (SHA) are currently reviewing this incident, I am urging your administration to take prompt action to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety at the intersection of Veirs Mill Rd. (MD 586) and Turkey Branch Parkway, as well as undertake a comprehensive review of all intersections along Veirs Mill Road (MD 586).

According to the Washington Post, SHA “has an active project underway to add additional flashers at this location…to address the occurrence of rear-end crashes…” While I am pleased some thought has already gone into making this intersection safer for vehicular traffic, I am concerned there is not enough emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle safety. As SHA continues to review traffic calming strategies for this area, I hope you will prioritize the need to reduce the number of accidents involving pedestrians and bicycles. I implore SHA to expedite its process in light of this most recent tragedy by taking swift action to resolve these serious safety deficiencies.  

In 2015, Montgomery County experienced more than a dozen pedestrian and bicycle fatalities. The vast majority of these incidents occurred along State Roads. I look forward to working with your administration, the County’s Department of Transportation and Police Department to reduce the number of these incidents to zero in 2016.


Sincerely,



Nancy Navarro Councilmember, District 4


CC:      Isiah Legget, Montgomery County Executive
            Thomas Manger, Montgomery County Police Chief
            Al Roshdieh, Acting Director, Montgomery County Department of Transportation
            Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Council President
            Roger Berliner, Chair, Transportation, Energy, & Environment Committee
            Roger Manno, Senator (District 19)
            Richard Madaleno, Jr., Senator (District 18)
            Bonnie Cullison, Delegate (District 19)
            Ben Kramer, Delegate (District 19)
            Marice Morales, Delegate (District 19)             
            Al Carr, Delegate (District 18)
            Ana Sol Gutierrez, Delegate (District 18)
            Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (District 18)
                        

Public Meetings on Bikeshare June 24, 25 and 26

Our Department of Transportation will host three public meetings in June on the extension of the Capital Bikeshare program into Montgomery County. Bikesharing allows travelers to rent a bike from on-street stations and drop it off at other stations within the bikeshare network. The meetings will focus on selected urban centers of Montgomery County where bikesharing stations will be installed in late summer 2013.

Information on bikesharing throughout the County will be available at each of the following meetings:

~  Bikeshare in Bethesda and Friendship Heights: June 24 -- 7 - 9 p.m.  Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor La., 2nd Floor, Bethesda;

~  Bikeshare in Silver Spring and Takoma Park: June 25 -- 7 - 9 p.m.  Fire Station 1, 8110 Georgia Avenue, 3rd Floor, Silver Spring; and

~  Bikeshare in Rockville, Shady Grove and the Life Sciences Center: June 26 -- 7 - 9 p.m.  Executive Office Building Lobby Auditorium, 101 Monroe St., Rockville.

At the meetings, residents or employees in the County can learn how the bikeshare system currently works in the District of Columbia, Arlington, and Alexandria and how it will operate in Montgomery County. They will be able to review proposed Bikeshare Station locations in the Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Rockville, Shady Grove and Life Sciences Center neighborhoods.

MCDOT staff will be available to explain how lower income people commuting, working or completing job training in the Rockville, Shady Grove and Life Sciences Center areas may qualify for free membership in Capital Bikeshare and free bicycle training and route planning. A Federal Grant provides the bulk of the funding for the portion of the Montgomery Bikeshare Network in the Rockville, Shady Grove and Life Sciences Center selected areas.  MCDOT will provide updates on the implementation schedule and answer questions about the new transportation option.

For information on the public meetings, contact Margie Boumel at 240-777-7170. For more information on bikeshare in Montgomery County, visit the new bikeshare website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/bikeshare.

My Personal Reasons for Supporting the Proposed Bike Helmet Law

I am lucky to have survived my bike accident 15 years ago, so I feel strongly about the proposed Maryland law to require all bicyclists, not just children, to wear a helmet. I just delivered this testimony to the Maryland House of Delegates Environmental Matters Committee in Annapolis:

Good afternoon, Ms. McIntosh and members of the committee. My name is Nancy Floreen, and I am an at-large member of the Montgomery County Council; however, I am testifying as an individual today.

Fifteen years ago I took a leisurely bike ride on the Capital Crescent Trail and wound up in the intensive care unit of the Georgetown University Hospital neurology department. I spent five days there, and while I eventually recovered, I never regained any memories of the accident. I don’t really know what happened, but I do know that I was not wearing a helmet.

That’s why I’m here to ask you to vote for HB339, requiring all bicyclists to wear a helmet.

I understand that there is significant opposition to this bill, and I appreciate the arguments made by bicycle advocates that this bill could discourage people from bicycling, particularly in the emerging bikeshare program. These are valid points.

Still, I cannot stress enough the importance of wearing a helmet. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than a half a million people in the US are treated in emergency rooms annually--and more than 700 people die--as a result of bicycle-related injuries. Ninety-one percent of those killed in biking accidents are not wearing helmets. We can change these statistics. We must change these statistics.

While I am here in support of HB339, I want to note that a helmet law is only one of many actions we must take to make bicycling safe and accessible. We must also create a complete bicycle network with bike lanes connecting to each other as well as to major destinations like schools, transit stations and job centers.

These networks require roadway improvements like buffered and non-buffered bike lanes, shared use markings and conflict zone markings. Specifically, I encourage the State to look at placing bike lanes on Georgia Avenue from Spring Street to 13th Street and on the east side of Colesville Road from East-West Highway north to Georgia Avenue. These improvements will do as much as (if not more than) a helmet law to ensure bicycle safety for current riders in addition to those who may use bikeshare.

In 1884, Mark Twain said, “Get a bicycle. You will certainly not regret it…if you live.” It’s 2013, and I look forward to continuing to work together to make bicycling safe and enjoyable for everyone. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter today, and remember…governing is like riding a bicycle; to keep your balance you must keep moving forward.

Comcast Newsmakers

In this episode of Comcast Newsmakers I discuss my proposal to extend County’s ban on smoking; the importance of providing lane markings to support our bikeshare initiative; and the significance of the Zoning Code rewrite. See it here or keep an eye out for it on your Comcast stations.

Bethesda and Rockville Named Bicycle Friendly Communities

Bethesda and Rockville have been named “Bicycle Friendly Communities” by the League of American Bicyclists, along with 27 other new cities, including Los Angeles and Miami. The two Montgomery County locations have been recognized for their commitment to bicycling, earning bronze status on the prestigious list of the country’s most bicycle-friendly places.

Situated between two of the most heavily-used trails in the County—the Capital Crescent Trail and the Bethesda Trolley Trail—Bethesda has seen a significant increase in the number of employees who bike to work regularly, according to Montgomery County’s Annual Commuter Survey.

The Bicycle-Friendly Community program encourages communities to evaluate their sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. The bronze award level recognizes a community’s bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.

This designation is a terrific affirmation of our commitment not only to providing a variety of transportation options but also to ensuring a safe environment for bicyclists. This recognition is just the beginning, and we will continue to strive for excellence when it comes to bicycle connectivity and safety.

Need for Infrastructure to Support Bikeshare

Yesterday I sent a letter to the Acting Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, Darrell Mobley, urging him to consider bicycle safety infrastructure, including dedicated bike lanes, in Montgomery County.

The letter explains that Montgomery County is currently developing a bikeshare program and encourages the County and State Departments of Transportation to partner to ensure safety for all bicyclists, especially for bikeshare users. The Maryland Department of Transportation contributed $1,008,000 to the pending bikeshare program in the areas of Friendship Heights, Bethesda, Medical Center, Takoma Park and Silver Spring.

Here’s the complete text of the letter:

October 4, 2012

Darrell Mobley
Acting Secretary of Transportation
Maryland Department of Transportation
P. O. Box 548, 7201 Corporate Center Drive
Hanover, MD 21076

Dear Mr. Mobley,

Thanks in part to a grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation, Montgomery County is now undertaking a plan to implement bikeshare in several locations throughout the county. We are grateful to the department for its assistance in helping us jumpstart the program, and I urge you to continue to partner with us to make sure the program is safe for riders.

Bikesharing has the potential to significantly improve connectivity within Montgomery County and provide an entirely new transportation option for many. As we encourage this mode of transportation, we must also make sure we have the infrastructure to provide a safe environment for all bicyclists and especially for novice riders who will travel at relatively low speeds.

To this end, I encourage MDOT to implement wherever feasible these improvements endorsed by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association:

• Buffered bike lanes--where sufficient space exists, provide buffered space between the bicycle travel space and vehicular travel space (or the “door zone” of the vehicle);
• Non-buffered bike lanes—where space is available, provide a bike lane with a minimum width of five feet, in keeping with national engineering standards;
• Shared use markings (sharrows)—where special constraints make the provision of dedicated space for bicycling impossible, provide sharrows to indicate the likelihood of bicyclists present and to show safe riding location within the lane;
• Conflict zone markings—where conflicts between modes are anticipated (i.e. where motor vehicles must turn across bike facilities) use green lanes to bring greater attention to the likelihood of cyclists, the bike facility and the potential for conflict.

Specifically, I ask you to consider placing bike lanes on Georgia Avenue from Spring Street to 13th Street and on the east side of Colesville Road from East-West Highway north to Georgia Avenue.

Additionally, I hope you will consider bicycle safety and install bike lanes and appropriate markings where feasible in these resurfacing projects scheduled for FY13:

MD 28 (Key West Avenue) - Hurley Avenue to South Adams Street
MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) - Emory Lane to Old Baltimore Road
MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) - Connecticut Avenue to International Drive
MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) - DC Line to Colesville Road
MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) - Glenallan Avenue to Connecticut Avenue
MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue) - Warner Street to Georgia Avenue
MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue) - DC Line to East-West Highway
MD 193 (University Boulevard) - Arcola Avenue to Colesville Road
MD 320 (Piney Branch Road) - DC Line to University Boulevard
MD 355 (Wisconsin Avenue) - DC Line to Bradley Boulevard
MD 355 (Hungerford Drive) - Mannakee Street to King Farm Boulevard
MD 355 (Rockville Pike) - Cedar Croft Drive to Strathmore Avenue
MD 355 (Rockville Pike) - Nicholson Lane to Old Georgetown Road
MD 355 (Wisconsin Avenue) - Montgomery Avenue to Jones Bridge Road
MD 410 (Ethan Allan Avenue) - Park Avenue to New Hampshire Avenue
MD 586 (Veirs Mill Road) - Andrew Street to University Boulevard

Again, thank you for all you do for transportation in Montgomery County generally and for bikeshare specifically. I look forward to continuing to work with you on these priorities.

Sincerely,
Nancy Floreen
Montgomery County Councilmember at large