[RP TownTalk] [TownTalk] traffic issues con't.

[ickyfoot]

"we need to make this town more walkable and more transit oriented"

I really like all of the points Steve made, which I feel are well 
summarized by that one line.

Our town is most definitely not conducive to walking places. Many 
streets do not have sidewalks. Only one side of Queensbury heading into 
Hyattsville (west of Rt 1) has a sidewalk, etc. I can't help but wonder 
if more people would be willing to walk to the metro if the town were 
more walking friendly. It actually is a truly beautiful walk, especially 
once you get into Hyattsville with its enormous oaks and old bungalows.

Now, with all the talk of developing our town center, I think we have a 
real opportunity. I can only hope that something along the lines of the 
Kentlands near Gaithersburg will take shape. Fortunately there are many 
unique houses around town, so it won't be a cookie-cutter type 
situation, but we can try to conceive of things concentrically, with the 
shops/farmer's market/MARC station being the epicenter of the community. 
If you think about it, things are already kind of set up that way. Such 
a conception and infrastructure supporting it lends itself nicely to 
getting people out of their cars and onto their feet. It's based on the 
idea that people are generally willing to walk up to a mile to get 
places. If we ensure something like a coop or other food market goes in 
to our community's store front, that would probably help immensely.

"Riverdale is the "pass through" town because everyone uses Queensbury 
to bypass the Rt 1/Rt 410 intersection and take Queensbury to Taylor to 
get back on Rt 410 or Queensbury to Lafayette to River Rd for Kenilworth 
access."

IMO, moving the buses over to 410, no matter how well you try to 
accomodate them, will promote this sort of thing, not prevent it.

"I am fed up with the attitude that we have to accomodate these 
"commuters" when there are main roads available for this purpose."

The problem with this, imo, is that many of these "commuters" are people 
who live in our community, including myself. I consider it to be an 
invaluable asset. I absolutely cannot stand driving to work, and to me, 
the fact that the F4 runs 3 blocks from home all the way to the metro in 
Silver Spring (where I work) is an invaluable asset to this community.

The back ups caused by the trains have nothing to do with this. And in 
fact, if you were to reduce, eliminate, or make the bus less accessible, 
you'd probably see more cars cutting through, which would lead to longer 
backups during rush hour train passings, etc.

What about something where ONLY buses are allowed on Queensbury and 
Riverdale Rd during morning and evening rush hour? All other times of 
day, the two roads are pedestrian only. The F4 would have a rush route 
(Queensbury/Riverdale Rd) and non-rush route (410, which is much less 
insane during the day). The Queensbury/Rt 1 and Riverdale Rd/Kenilworth 
Ave intersections could be converted to circles, sidewalks could be run 
up and down both sides of Queensbury, etc.

Come to think of it, putting circles in at Queens/Rt 1 and 
Riverdale/Kenil might not work as they are very close to the 410 
intersections, and may lead to really bad traffic on Rt 1 and Kenilworth 
at certain times of day.

Unfortunately the reality is that 410, Rt 1, and Kenilworth are MAJOR 
roads. We're never going to escape that fact. Limiting our mass transit 
options, however, is not the solution in my mind, and in fact would just 
bring more of the spillover to the heart of town.

-E