Residents from the Carderock Springs neighborhood and West Bradley Citizens Association will argue against a 72-bed facility for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease planned for River Road in Bethesda.
The residents will make their case Nov. 18 to the county’s Board of Appeals after Lynn Robeson, the county’s hearing examiner from the Office of Zoning, approved a conditional use application from Artis Senior Living.
The McLean, Virginia-based company hopes to build the one-floor, 40,000-square-foot facility at what’s now the site of a large single-family home.
Robeson’s approval, which came in September, followed the county Planning Board’s approval in June.
But nearby residents, led by Anne Carlson, say those approvals didn’t adequately account for what will be a dangerous traffic situation on River Road if the facility is built.
Carlson and others are worried that because the existing driveway at the site (which will be widened to 20 feet) is almost directly across River Road from Carderock Springs Drive, it will lead to more collisions as drivers hit cars waiting to turn off the road.
Materials reviewed by Montgomery County Hearing Examiner Lynn Robeson on the Artis Senior Living proposal, via Office of the Hearing Examiner
Carlson, who brought the matter to County Council member Roger Berliner’s attention at his Monday town hall meeting, said that her car was rear-ended in 2000 while she was waiting to turn left from northbound River Road to Carderock Springs Drive.
"I really think it's irresponsible and puts a lot of people in greater danger," Carlson told Bethesda Beat.
While Artis officials said the facility would generate only two morning rush hour trips and two evening rush hour trips, Carlson disputed “the proposition that there will be no increase in traffic as a result of this project,” according to the hearing examiner decision.
The State Highway Administration (SHA) told Office of Zoning staff that the newly created intersection wouldn’t merit turn lanes or a traffic light.
Artis, the concept from the same group behind the Manor Care retirement home communities, would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But Artis officials told Robeson a total of just 38 employees would be divided between three shifts designed to avoid rush hour traffic periods.
During the busiest shift from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 18 employees would be on site. The project will include an underground parking area with 38 spaces.
The SHA said its records indicate there were 13 accidents at the intersection of River Road and Carderock Springs Drive between 2000 and 2015. All but one of the accidents for which a time and date were reported happened during non-rush hour periods.
While Robeson approved the project, she did include a requirement that Artis provide county officials and concerned residents with data each year on any traffic accidents in the intersection.
