County officials from the two departments in charge of allowing sidewalk closures for construction projects say they will implement more stringent policies and enforcement practices when allowing long-term sidewalk closures.
The directors of the Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the Department of Permitting Services (DPS) wrote in a letter dated Jan. 23 to council member Roger Berliner that they “are implementing improvements that should reduce some of the problems that have been experienced.”
Those improvements include adding language to its “Work Zone Traffic Control Standards” book that notifies developers that sidewalk closures will only be permitted when work is occurring in the sidewalk or work above presents a danger to pedestrians, and that closures will not be permitted for staging, delivering materials or for construction parking.
Additional requirements would include requiring developers to provide more information about sidewalk and lane closures in their construction schedules and posting a sign that states, “This sidewalk to be re-opened no later than [a specific date.] Call 311 if not opened by this date.” A new workgroup composed of transportation, permitting and Regional Service Center officials will oversee the permitted closures to identify potential issues.
The response comes after Berliner requested all the extended sidewalk closures permitted in the county over the past three years. Berliner requested the information after receiving complaints about sidewalk closures in downtown Bethesda where ongoing construction projects on Woodmont Avenue, Old Georgetown Road, Fairmont Avenue and others have caused extended closures. County code enables crews to close sidewalks for less than two weeks and direct pedestrians to the opposite side of the street, but any closure longer than that is supposed to provide accommodations on the same side of the street.
In the course of their research for permits, MCDOT and DPS found only four projects permitted by the county to close sidewalks for more than 15 days in the past three years—the Lot 31 project on Woodmont Avenue; a sidewalk construction project at 7550 Wisconsin Avenue; the StonebridgeCarras project at 8300 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda; and the Fenwick Station project in Silver Spring.
Al Roshdieh, acting director of MCDOT, and Diane Schwartz Jones, DPS director, wrote in the letter that the county has no control over projects that close sidewalks on state roads.
The state is responsible for closures on Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue, where multiple projects have recently closed sidewalks at different times.
On Monday, Delegate Marc Korman (District 16, Bethesda and Chevy Chase) introduced legislation that would require projects on state roads where sidewalks are closed to notify residents of the closure and post a sign at the work site that states how long the duration of the closure will be and contact information for the developer or construction company. Similar legislation has already been introduced to the Montgomery County Council by Berliner.
Berliner requested that Schwartz Jones and Roshdieh update the council during a transportation committee hearing on March 9 about how the new policies are being implemented.
“As you made clear in your letter, prolonged sidewalk closures, particularly those that do not provide appropriate pedestrian accommodation, create safety hazards for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, and are harmful to local businesses,” Berliner wrote in a response to the directors’ letter. “The actions that you are taking—new written closure standards, a new review group, more stringent protocols on the temporary traffic control plans, and more inspection capacity—should be effective measures for limiting the number and duration of closures. Success in this area will make for stronger and safer downtowns.”
