[RP TownTalk] Queensbury Buses

[David Hiles]

My messages to this list are being moderated because I was judged to 
have violated the posting standards.
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Through traffic belongs on 410, not Queensbury.

Traffic beginning or ending in Riverdale should be able to be on either 
410 or Queensbury.

The impact of buses on 410 congestion is minimal. Buses are already on 
all the other segments of 410 between Silver Spring and New Carrollton. 
Who notices buses creating a major delay on the multi-lane stretches 
near us?

The impact of buses on Queensbury congestion is significant.  When a 
bus is in front of you on a two lane road, then you stop when the bus 
stops and you go when the bus goes.  Frustrated drivers may be tempted 
to pull around the bus into oncoming traffic.  This is not traffic 
calming.

The negative impact of buses on Queensbury and on town quality of life 
is substantial and unnecessary.  Some people may be satisfied by some 
notional benefit provided by through buses that offsets the quality of 
life cost.  I am not satisfied.

Bus traffic is a manageable part of the through traffic load that does 
not belong on our local streets.  Let's manage it.  Let's do the 
directional sign thing to cut back on the rush-hour cut-through burden. 
Reducing through traffic on Queensbury will also make it easier for our 
town police and fire vehicles to get to their town calls faster.

If we had a full grid of streets, it would not be so bad. But the 
East-West grid is cut by the river and by the CSX tracks.  In our area, 
the E-W through streets are Decatur, Queensbury, 410, and Paint Branch 
Parkway.  Only 410 really is a through road that services cross county 
traffic.

Directing through traffic onto Queensbury is a mistake.  It makes as 
much sense as speeding up Route 1 commutes by taking the 83 bus off 
Route 1 at Chalmers' funeral home.  You could run the 83 up Cleveland 
Avenue to bring passengers/customers to (the Dearly Beloved Bookshop 
and Town Center and Farmer's Market and S&J's)  then over the tracks, 
up Lafayette (to serve the apts on Lafayette, of course!) then up past 
the Villas at Erco Place, onto Paint Branch Parkway, and then back onto 
Route 1. The people on Lafayette and Cleveland Ave. won't mind since 
they already have lots of through traffic on their streets, and anyway, 
the train is already there.

The people trying to get to Beltsville or wherever on the bus don't 
really want the scenic route through Riverdale Park.  They just want to 
get home fast.
Some problems have solutions.

WE are who we have been waiting for.
http://riverdalepark.blogspot.com/