Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is attempting to block a road diet project on Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda. He submitted a memorandum and a letter to the Planning Board and the County Council Sunday, asking the Planning, Housing and Parks committee to remove funding for the project.
The Little Falls Parkway pilot project was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board Thursday with a 4-0 vote with one abstention. It would narrow a four-lane stretch to two, and has been the subject of a lawsuit from residents.
Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda is a continuously open parkway with two of the four lanes open for recreation and the other two lanes open to vehicular traffic. The board’s vote approved limiting two lanes to drivers, while the two other lanes would be exclusively and permanently dedicated for use by pedestrians and cyclists. The change would incorporate turn lanes, shoulders, a median at the Capital Crescent Trail crossing, and a median between the travel lanes where feasible, according to a news release from Montgomery Parks.
Elrich cited discussions with residents and safety concerns in his letter.
“Users of the Capital Crescent Trail have told me they feel less comfortable and less safe with the reconfigured trail crossing. They speak of a higher concentration of traffic and the need to judge gaps in approaching traffic from two directions at the same time,” Elrich wrote. “There are also concerns about emergency vehicles cutting through neighborhood streets as a bypass to Little Falls Parkway when slow moving traffic occurs on the Parkway. Residents say they have seen an increase in emergency vehicles going through their neighborhoods, which is dangerous for both pedestrians and bicyclists.”
The pilot project was launched in June 2022 to address concerns with cut-through traffic in adjacent neighborhoods associated with the weekend closures of Little Falls Parkway in Bethesda while retaining space for recreation on the parkway. Montgomery Parks initiated a study to determine whether two lanes between Dorset Avenue and Arlington Road could accommodate traffic.
In February, Kenwood Citizens Association filed a lawsuit against the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Montgomery County Planning Board alleges they failed to get the proper approval to reduce the parkway’s size from the National Capital Planning Commission. The lawsuit alleged that reducing the number of lanes would be detrimental.
Beyond the lawsuit, there has been increased opposition towards the road diet. According to Kyle Lukacs, trail planner with Montgomery Parks, the agency received emails from 230 proponents and 155 people in opposition. There are a couple of community petitions, one advocating for open parkways that has gained nearly 2,000 signatures, and another against the pilot project that has gained around 4,000 signatures, according to Lukacs’ presentation at the Board meeting.
Some opponents claimed that pedestrians and cyclists weren’t using the open parkways, but at the meeting Lukacs said the average number of daily users is 544.
Elrich said during a press briefing Wednesday that he’s primarily concerned about the project leading to congestion in the nearby neighborhoods.
“I’ve seen the traffic backup there. I know it’s not an imaginary thing,” Elrich said. “I don’t think, given the amount of development that’s planned in that area … that it’s a good idea to do this.”
Elrich also cited concerns previously raised by Council Vice President Andrew Friedson (D-At-large) in a letter to the Planning Board.
“Unless Park and Planning staff can clearly and measurably demonstrate that the new two-land condition is safer than the pre-pandemic condition with two lanes separated by a median, I don’t see a strong enough argument to dedicate the resources necessary to permanently implement this change,” Friedson wrote.
County Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large) said during a press briefing Monday that he had read the memorandum and plans to discuss and work through the issue with the other members of the council, but didn’t share a stance on what he thinks should happen.
“I think that’s a really important public conversation to determine, as we’re trying to save funds, where those precious tax resources should go,” Glass said.
He also said he thinks it is important to consider the county’s commitment to eliminate traffic deaths.
“We have a pandemic where pedestrians and bicyclists are being injured and killed when simply walking and biking throughout our community. It’s not something that is unique just to Montgomery County and to the entire D.C. region; unfortunately it is happening across the United States,” Glass said. “If we are true in our commitment to enact Vision Zero, and to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads, then we need to rethink the way our roads are designed. And we need to think about that as we redesign and make roads safer across the county.”
