Two Crosswalks are Planned for Norbeck at Wintergate

Wintergate needs three crosswalks like this one at Georgia

I have been e-mailing back and forth with Ray Feldman who is the spokesman of the Maryland State Highway Administration's (SHA) Intercounty Connector (ICC) Project Office.  He has been wonderfully responsive to my e-mails. 

I asked Ray to confirm if there would be crosswalks at the T-intersection of Norbeck Road and Wintergate Crossing.  To my relief, there indeed will be marked and painted crosswalks.  Unfortunately, there will be only two crosswalks, not three crosswalks as I recommended. 

The first crosswalk will be installed on Wintergate south of Norbeck.  This location is good news as it will allow users of the ICC Bike Trail on the west side of Wintergate to cross to the sidewalk on the east side of Wintergate or vice versa. 

The second crosswalk will be installed across Norbeck Road on the west side of the Wintergate Intersection (same side as the ICC bike trail - also nearest the Norbeck bridge).  This crosswalk will allow users of the ICC bike trail to continue through Norbeck to reach the rest of the ICC bike trail as it heads towards Georgia Avenue and Emory Road in Olney.   

However, I am concerned about the safety of the west-side crosswalk on Norbeck Road at Wintergate.  What happens when the long line of drivers in their idling cars at Wintergate begin to turn left onto Norbeck with the green light?  They will be turning directly into the path of pedestrians and bicyclists on the west-side crosswalk.  This could create serious conflict between crosswalk users and left-turning cars in the Norbeck intersection.

I wrote back to Mr. Feldman and urged him to include a third crosswalk on the east-side of the Norbeck intersection at Wintergate as very few cars turn right from Wintergate onto Norbeck and head uphill towards Layhill and Norwood.  To clarify, a lot fewer cars turn right compared with the majority that turn left onto Norbeck and head over the bridge towards Georgia Avenue. 

I pointed out to Mr. Feldman that the inclusion of a third crosswalk on the east-side of the Norbeck intersection would be much safer and would allow anyone not comfortable with the west-side crosswalk on the ICC bike trail side to switch over to the sidewalk on the east-side of Wintergate and cross Norbeck more safely there without having to dash for their lives.

What are your thoughts on this crosswalk issue as it relates to vehicular traffic?  If you support my opinion that this T-intersection at Wintergate and Norbeck should have three crosswalks (one for each side), then please express your support by e-mailing Mr. Feldman at rfeldman@iccproject.com.

Thanks!

This picture shows Wintergate at Norbeck Road
There should be a crosswalk on the far left-side of this picture, which is the
east-side of Wintergate according to the ICC Project Office, however, they don't have one planned.