Home  Blog State Delegation writes letter to County Council in support
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State Delegation writes letter to County Council in support |
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Our representatives in Annapolis: State Senator Richard Madaleno, Delegate Jane Lawton, Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, and Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher have come through for our community in a big way. Below is the text of a letter they have written to our County Council, urging that the east-side metro entrance be added to this year's county transportation priorities list.
Dear Councilmember Floreen:
We are writing you to support the addition of a new entrance to the Forest Glen Metro station to this year’s state transportation priorities list. This is an essential step toward resolving the growing pedestrian safety problem at the intersection of MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) and Forest Glen Road.
The residents of the Forest Estates neighborhood have made great efforts to let all of us know about the situation at this intersection, the most congested in the county. Station entrances for Metro riders are only on the west side of the intersection. As a result, residents living east of Georgia Avenue must cross nine lanes of traffic in order to reach the Metro station, as must Holy Cross Hospital staff and visitors. Pedestrians do not have enough time to cross the intersection safely, and they risk getting hit by vehicles every time they cross the street. Previous studies have indicated that changing the timing of the traffic signals to help pedestrians would cause unacceptable traffic backups on Georgia Avenue.
As a result, a number of residents who live only three or four blocks away from the Metro station nevertheless drive there instead of walking, because they are afraid to cross the street on foot. For the same reason, others bypass the station altogether and commute by car. We end up with frightened pedestrians on the street and more cars on the road.
Fortunately, the state and the county can work together to resolve this problem with the construction of a new Metro entrance on the east side of Georgia Avenue, going underneath the intersection and connecting to the station’s existing underground facilities. As you know, WMATA has already completed a feasibility study, showing that this project can be completed for $10.6 million.
Completion of an additional entrance and the resultant reduction of people walking in the intersection will both enhance pedestrian safety and facilitate greater vehicular traffic flow at Montgomery County’s most congested intersection.
We hope that the Council will add this project to this year’s state transportation priorities list.
Sincerely,
The District 18 Delegation
Richard S. Madaleno, Jr. Ana Sol Gutiérrez
Senator Delegate
Jane E. Lawton Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher
Delegate Delegate
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