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| The Olney Gazette wrote about danger of walking and biking on Norbeck |
Although the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and the Intercounty Connector (ICC) Project Office have been responsive to my e-mails about the pedestrian safety issues on Norbeck Road, I wasn't really satisfied with their inaction on this issue.
I want to raise awareness on the safety problems with Norbeck Road, especially among those who are most affected - residents who live near Norbeck Road.
I reached out to the Olney Gazette and spoke with its traffic reporter, Ms. Nesa Nourmohammadi, who was more than happy to e-mail back and forth about the issue over two weeks.
If you would like to share your concerns or feedback with Nesa in the hopes that she'll do a follow-up article, please e-mail her at nnourmohammadi@gazette.net
I want to raise awareness on the safety problems with Norbeck Road, especially among those who are most affected - residents who live near Norbeck Road.
I reached out to the Olney Gazette and spoke with its traffic reporter, Ms. Nesa Nourmohammadi, who was more than happy to e-mail back and forth about the issue over two weeks.
If you would like to share your concerns or feedback with Nesa in the hopes that she'll do a follow-up article, please e-mail her at nnourmohammadi@gazette.net
To my delight, Nesa published an article about Norbeck Road's pedestrian safety problems in the June 28, 2011, edition of the Olney Gazette.
A good friend of ours, Diane, who lives near Gaithersburg alerted us to an initial publication of the article in the Gaithersburg Gazette on June 22, 2011.
I followed up with Nesa by e-mail and learned that the article had been printed by mistake in the Gaithersburg Gazette and would be re-printed with a few corrections in this week's edition of the Olney Gazette. If you'd like to read it, the full article is available after the jump:
A good friend of ours, Diane, who lives near Gaithersburg alerted us to an initial publication of the article in the Gaithersburg Gazette on June 22, 2011.
I followed up with Nesa by e-mail and learned that the article had been printed by mistake in the Gaithersburg Gazette and would be re-printed with a few corrections in this week's edition of the Olney Gazette. If you'd like to read it, the full article is available after the jump:
With sidewalk planned over ICC, residents want pedestrian access on Norbeck Road
By Nesa Nourmohammadi
nnourmohammadi@gazette.net
nnourmohammadi@gazette.net
Olney Gazette
Wednesday, June 28, 2011
Davida and Jesse Fonner enjoy long walks and bike rides around their Silver Spring neighborhood, but the two can only travel so far.
The lack of pedestrian access on nearby Norbeck Road forces Jesse Fonner to trespass through neighbors’ yards to get to bus stops and other streets, he said, because the road is too dangerous to walk on.
The Fonners thought the road was bad enough, but then they saw the narrow shoulders near Wintergate Drive disappear when Norbeck Road crossed a bridge over the Intercounty Connector, they said.
After taking pictures and writing to community liaisons with the ICC, the Fonners were relieved to learn something would be done to fix the problem.
When the ICC is completed by early 2012, the bridge will be reconfigured to include a 10-foot sidewalk and 6-foot bike path along its west side, and a 6-foot path along its east side.
The Fonners said they are satisfied with the plan, but what should bicyclists and pedestrians do in the meantime?
“I would just suggest avoiding that area because there are no existing facilities,” ICC community liaison John Sales said. “There are no shoulders for them to ride on at this time and we will eventually have something to use in the next couple months.”
In 2002, the State Highway Administration launched the Md. 28/Md. 198 Corridor Improvement Study; it was put on hold in 2010 due to lack of funding, said SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar.
The study in the planning stages when it stalled included installing a sidewalk on southbound Norbeck Road from Georgia Avenue to Wintergate Drive, and a mixed-use path on northbound Norbeck Road from Georgia Avenue to Layhill Road, Gischlar said. The plan also included a crosswalk at Layhill and Norbeck roads.
With shoulders to be added to the bridge by early 2012, the Fonners are launching an email and flier campaign, while also reaching out to homeowners associations along Norbeck Road.
They urge residents who share their concern to write to the SHA, Jesse Fonner said.
“With the ICC just up the street going to have pedestrian and bicycle paths running alongside when completed, walkers and bicyclists will try to get there by walking or riding on Norbeck,” Davida Fonner said.
“I do not understand how the State Highway Administration can allow this situation on Norbeck to go on much longer.”
State Sen. Roger Manno (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring sympathizes with the Fonners, and has advocated for sidewalks on Norbeck Road, but given such constraints as money, infrastructure and other projects with higher priority, it will be a difficult undertaking, he said.
“The county and the state know it’s an issue that needs to be addressed,” Manno said. “There is no money right now to do it just because the budget is choppy.”
Davida Fonner will keep taking pictures of Norbeck Road until changes are made or something tragic occurs.“I'm thinking it will take an accident [to fix things], which I hope never happens, but this is what seems to motivate people,” she said.
nnourmohammadi@gazette.net
Article available online at the following link:
http://www.gazette.net/article/20110622/NEWS/706229779&template=gazette
Article available online at the following link:
http://www.gazette.net/article/20110622/NEWS/706229779&template=gazette
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