[RP TownTalk] Closing of the UMD parking lot-clarification?

Mon Dec 14 11:44:07 UTC 2015

RE the closure; I use the cut-through to walk home from work and on Saturdays to walk TO a bus stop where I can catch the R 12 bus, on days when my arthritis allows.  Once the road is closed, I'll have to walk a few blocks out of my way up past Gosling Pond to get where I'm going.  Not the end of the world, I'll grant you, however, walking extra distances, esp. on days when I have to use a cane, isn't fun.   Too, while the closure might be necessary, I have to think it will adversely impact local businesses - Town Center Market, S&J's, our weekly farmers market, to name a few.  (Not trying to start a fight, just my 2 cents' worth).
On the subject of construction, etc; does anyone know what's going on, on Riverdale Road, in East Riverdale?  I may have missed the 'news', but I noticed that, as you're driving east on Riverdale Road, from Mustang Drive down to East Pine Drive, almost all of the homes on the right are vacant, and many have siding, etc., stripped off.  Also saw in the Post a while back that a house in that stretch where I'd lived years ago had been sold to MD Highway Administration.  Is that part of Riverdale Road going to be widened, is it something to do with the Purple Line, or?  Thanks. 

    On Sunday, December 13, 2015 9:54 AM, Chris Currie <crcurrie at gmail.com> wrote:

 Thanks for providing that helpful -- and reassuring -- information, Alan.  The bridge project seems a good step toward putting the pieces of Riverdale Park together. -- Chris
On Sat, Dec 12, 2015 at 10:38 AM, Alan K. Thompson <akthompson at riverdaleparkmd.gov> wrote:

Chris,
You can see the drawings for the bridge and connection to Rivertech and Lafayette at: 
http://www.thompsonward2.org/105circleinfulllayout.pdf (2.5 megabyte pdf, think before you click on your mobile device)

There are more recent drawings with landscaping (and minor changes to the sidewalks, etc.), but the overall structure of the connection has not changed.  I don't have the more recent drawings in digital form.
After construction of the bridge, all roads shown will belong to the Town of Riverdale Park (the structural parts of the bridge will be the responsibility of the County), so future changes will be up to the Town.  If there is a large negative traffic impact on the neighborhood the Town does have the right (and duty!) to mitigate it.  That being said, when the bridge is in operation you will be able to go up Maryland Avenue (the street closest to the tracks to the north of Town Center) and cross the bridge.
I hope this helps!
Best,
Alan

On Sat, Dec 12, 2015 at 8:35 AM, Chris Currie <crcurrie at gmail.com> wrote:

My family used this cut-through at least 25 times per week for work and school commuting.  I've estimated that the closure will cause an additional 80 hours of commuting time for our family alone -- the equivalent of two full weeks of work.  I can only imagine what the aggregate amount of time lost will be for the residents of Riverdale Park and surrounding communities.
This is not to kvetch -- I know the closure is necessary for an important transportation project -- but simply to note the enormity of the burden it puts upon many of us.
In light of this fact, do we have any real assurance that the ERCO parking lot cut-through will be reopened after the bridge construction is complete?
Sorry, but I can just imagine some bureaucrat in Annapolis or Upper Marlboro or College Park thinking to himself, "This was a great way to shut down an irregular and improper mode of vehicular traffic without provoking a huge outcry."  Just like Queens Chapel Rd. was shut down through University Park for the construction of a public-works project and then never reopened, I can easily foresee the same thing happening here.  
To be honest, many times I've driven through the Erco lot and wondered how long it would be until I arrived one morning to find a couple bollards and a chain had been put across the Lafayette St. entrance to the parking lot.  I'm sure there are insurance implications for the Univ. of Md. to allowing all that public through-traffic across their private parking lot.  Or maybe a new office building would be built on the Erco site and then there would be another reason to restrict entry into the parking lot.
What really should happen is that Riverdale Park and the University of Maryland should hammer out an agreement to create a public right-of-way through the parking lot, and then build a real street on that section.  Funding that modest project would have been a nice thing to include in the original concordat with the Cafritz family, but that's water under the bridge now, so to speak.
Can anyone in the know comment on the ultimate designs on the Erco cut-through, if there are any?
Thanks --
Chris

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jessica Barnes <jbarnes at riverdaleparkmd.gov>
Date: Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 2:13 PM
Subject: [RP Town Announce] Special Announcement Construction Update Notice
November 25, 2015
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org, townannounce at riverdale-park.org

*SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*

*CONSTRUCTION UPDATE NOTICE*

*November 25, 2015*

*Closure of Parking Lot of Former ERCO Plant Between the Rivertech Court
Cul-de-sac and Lafayette Avenue in Riverdale Park*

Work will soon begin on the much awaited new CSX crossing at Riverdale Park
Station. The bridge construction work is significant and requires the
closing of the former ERCO plant parking lot between the Rivertech Court
cul-de-sac and Lafayette Avenue. This route has been used for years as a
?short cut? from Lafayette Avenue to M-Square. *The closure will begin on
or about December 14, 2015 and will continue until the new bridge is open ?
estimated to be in April 2017.*

The initial construction activities include the relocation of existing
electrical and gas utilities that run parallel to the CSX tracks. Utility
relocations are necessary for the construction of the new bridge over the
CSX railroad tracks.

Temporary detour signage will be installed at the point of the construction
directing bicyclists to an alternate route around the bridge construction.
In addition, Gateway Park along the Route 1 frontage of the site will soon
be open and provide bike/pedestrian access along Route 1.

While this will create a temporary inconvenience for motorists, when
completed the new bridge will greatly improve mobility in the area. Below
is a rendering of the new bridge.

The closure is scheduled to take effect on or about December 14, 2015 and
will continue until the new bridge is open ? estimated to be in April 2017.
For any questions, please contact Robert Lockhart of Capital Construction
Consultants at 202-669-7157 or email at rlockhart at ccci-dc.com.

Jessica

Jessica E. Barnes

Town Clerk

Riverdale Park

5008 Queensbury Road

Riverdale Park, MD 20737

http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info/

301-927-6381

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