ACT website

the web

• Purple Line
• Silver Spring Transit Center
• Purple Line Segments
  • Bethesda
  • Chevy Chase
  • East Silver Spring
  • Finish the Trail
  • Columbia Country Club
• Purple Line History
• I-270 Corridor
• Corridor Cities Transitway
• MARC
• Bus Service
• Pedestrians
• Land Use
• Land Use Issues
  • Bethesda Naval Hospital
  • Growth Policy
  • White Flint
  • Zoning Code
• Press Releases
• About Us
• Transit Times Newsletter
  • current newsletter
  • Newsletter Archive
• Positions
• Allied Groups
  • Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition
  • Greater Greater Washington
  • Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition
  • Prince George's ACT
  • Purple Line Now
  • WABA
• Transit Services
  • Frederick County TransIT
  • MARC trains
  • Metro
  • Montgomery County Ride On Bus
  • PG County TheBus
  • VRE (VA Rail)

 

 

 

 

Don't Widen Schaeffer Road Bridge

Letter to County Dept. of Transportation, August 13, 2020

The Action Committee for Transit advocates for more and better transit in Montgomery County, Maryland, in addition to better infrastructure to make walking, rolling, and biking safe.

As such, we oppose any proposals to replace the one-lane bridge on Schaeffer Road. There are three specific reasons for our opposition:

1. Schaeffer Road is a Rustic Road. Rustic roads are Montgomery County's original Complete Streets. According to the Rustic Roads Functional Master Plan, rustic roads are supposed to "enhance the rural character of the area due to its particular configuration, alignment, scenic quality, landscaping, adjacent view, and historic interest" and "exemplify the rural agricultural landscape of the county." The Rustic Roads Advisory Committee supports rehabilitating and opposes replacing the bridge, and we support their recommendation.


2. A two-lane bridge is counter to Vision Zero. It will encourage more people to drive fast on Schaeffer Road, endangering the many bicyclists and pedestrians who also use the road. Montgomery County has committed to Vision Zero, which is based on engineering and design to prevent serious injuries and deaths. A one-lane bridge is a design method for reducing driver speeds and increasing safety.


3. What you fund shows what you value. All over Montgomery County, people are clamoring for infrastructure to make walking, biking, and bus-riding safer, more comfortable, and more convenient. Neighborhoods next to schools lack sidewalks, bus stops lack safe crossings, people routinely get hit and seriously injured while crossing in the crosswalk with the walk signal, and the county has not added one inch of pop-up protected bike lanes in response to the great increase in bike-riding since March. That's what MCDOT DTE should focus their efforts and funding on, not replacement/widening of a one-lane bridge on a rustic road with little motor vehicle traffic. Rehabilitate the existing one-lane bridge to ensure its structural integrity, and then get to work designing and building the ped/bike infrastructure we so sorely need.

Paul Goldman

Action Committee for Transit