WALK LAUREL

Year in review; and some new ideas, too!

2012-01-01T19:28:00.001-05:00

The following is a quick review of pedestrian & bike capital improvements in Laurel. The City:

added bike lanes on Cypress Street, including the City’s first bike box.
added sidewalk on 7^th Street in Old Town.
added Laurel Lakes Drive near the Safeway.
added a 8’ wide hiker-biker trail on Van Dusen, south of MD 198.
added bike sharrows on Laurel Lakes Drive
widened the sidewalk on a large portion of Cherry Lane to 8’ wide.
Brooklyn Bridge Road was resurfaced by the County with wider shoulders near the gully. The wider shoulders make it easier on bikers and joggers.
MD SHa, at the City’s behest, installed sidewalk on Route 1 south of Cypress, completing the sidewalk network for the entire length of Route 1 in the City.
The bike lanes on 4^th Street were completed
Bike parking was added to City Hall and to the new 5^th Street Community Center.
Decorative period-style sign posts and sign backers were installed on parts of Main Street.
The crosswalks were widened on Cherry Lane at 4^th Street.

Very good year for those not dependent on their cars. Now, let’s keep up the momentum by:

Installing bike lanes on the Mulberry and Laurel Place to complete the north-south bike route through the entire city. Conceptual plans have already been drawn up and can be incorporated into the CIP’s resurfacing project for both roads.
Updating policy and infrastructure goals/designs of the City’s Bike Masterplan. This should be a winter-time project. I volunteer to lead the public hearings, draft any policy changes and create the visuals, if need be. But given that the masterplan is now attached to the City’s Uniformed Land Development Code, it is imperative to keep this plan updated and fresh.
Prohibit parking on Laurel Place.
Consider policy changes that allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and signals as stop signs.
Installing cycle-tracks on Van Dusen and buffered bike lanes on Cherry Lane.
Completing the 8' trail south of the dog park.
Planting more shade trees along existing trails.
Finding a way to get more bus shelters in place – too many “sticks in the ground” are posing as bus stops, without shelters or even sidewalk leading to the stop. This needs to change if we are going to encourage alternative transportation modes.

Have a great 2012, Laurel!

Transit Improvements in Laurel

2011-11-03T12:41:00.000-04:00

While this blog is oriented toward pedestrian and bike infrastructure (and its role in planning and the creation of a sophisticated modern city), there is another transportation mode that are no less important to cities: transit. Two important transit improvements are coming (in a couple of years) that will help those that rely on the Metro bus or MARC trains. The first piece of news is that MTA is adding capacity to the MARC lines via more cars. The second piece of (old) news is that WMATA was awarded a TIGER grant last year to improve bus travel time on several routes, including Route 1 from Laurel down into DC (2MB PDF). Bus travel time improvements include Transit Signal Priority (TSP) and Queue Jumps. TSP allows buses to get through an intersection faster than they normally would by adding green time or truncating green time from cross streets. Queue Jumps provide space for buses to get ahead of a queue of cars (so that there actually is a potential time advantage to using a bus over driving yourself).

Both MARC and WMATA improvements are scheduled for a couple of years out, but are very welcome nonetheless.

Real-time traffic in Laurel

2011-10-17T23:19:00.002-04:00

Zoom and Pan within the map.

Doing Parking Islands the right way

2011-10-09T20:44:00.001-04:00

Laurel has a lot - a LOT! - of surface parking. These lots collect stormwater (and motor oil and antifreeze and debris) and send them directly into the nearby Patuxent river, and eventually into the Chesapeake. While treating all this stormwater prior to it reaching the river is expensive, there is a ubiquitous tool that can treat some of it : the humble parking island.

Old style parking islands

But instead of making them like the one above, for the same amount of money, they can be made like these:

"Green" parking islands

Capturing & treating run-off before it enters storm water inlets (photo credits: Lisa Zimmerman)

These parking islands are slowly becoming more common. They capture filter run-off from moderate storms. The only main difference between these "green" islands and traditional ones is 1) the use of rocks to slow down and capture water flow; 2) the types of plants that go in the island.

With a new Walgreens coming to town, and a new (reconfigured) parking lot, the City presently has the opportunity to try and start "greening" some its parking lots.

US Route 1 Sidewalk gap to be filled

2011-09-13T21:02:00.001-04:00

There has been a long-standing gap in the sidewalk network along the City's main north-south commercial corridor, Route 1. This gap is the section along Route 1 in the southern part of the City between the Contee Shopping Center and the rest of the City north of Braygreen Road. See picture below taken from the City's Bike MasterPlan.

Only sidewalk gap on Route 1.

DPW requested sidewalk from the State about a year ago. The State obliged and is putting in a new 5' sidewalk, with a 4' buffer between the sidewalk and road. The buffer provides room for further expansion to a full fledged hiker-biker trail that meets up with the City's existing designated bike routes (and ideally will go all the way down to Muirkirk Station and College Park, one day). This new sidewalk is a big feather in the City's cap, as it completes the sidewalk network for the entire Route 1 corridor (on the west side, at least). Well done DPW - you've made a lot of people safer and made their trips more convenient.

On a different note, posts on this Blog will be much more infrequent, as I am no longer in the City's employ. Hopefully, the City will grant me the opportunity to volunteer in whatever capacity I may be of service. Thank you Laurel; it has been an honor to work for you.

Bike Sharrows on Laurel Lakes Ave

2011-08-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

As part of the City's Bike Masterplan, Laurel Lakes Avenue and Cypress Street were designated as preferred Bike Routes through the City. As shown below, both Streets were marked with sharrows and signed as Bike Routes.

Bike Guide sign on Cypress, directing cyclists onto Laurel Lakes Ave for access to points south on Route 1.

Sharrows on Laurel Lakes Ave. Sharrows are located such that cyclists won't be doored by parked cars, yet motorists can still easily maneuver around them, if needed.

These two streets bring the City a little closer to having a complete north-south route the full length of the City, providing access to the commercial Route 1 corridor without requiring cyclists to actually ride on Route 1.

Hiker-Biker Trail on Van Dusen

2011-08-25T11:12:00.001-04:00

Contractors for the City of Laurel are putting the finishing touches on an 8-ft wide trail along Van Dusen Road, from MD 198 to North Arbory Court. Here is what the heavily-worn area looked like before:

Van Dusen, before the new hiker-biker trail

Here is what the upgrade - already lined with shade trees - looks like now:

New 8' sidewalk along Van Dusen Road

Comments from passers-by have been overwhelmingly positive!

Yes, that was an earthquake in Laurel

2011-08-23T15:43:00.000-04:00

But no, it didn't stop ongoing pedestrian and bike projects around town. Currently, there are two projects underway. The first is the marking and signing of Laurel Lakes Ave as a designated bike route. The second project is the installation of a new 8' wide hiker bike trail along Van Dusen Road. More on both of these important projects to follow.

Bike Box

2011-08-11T15:48:00.000-04:00

This is a photo of Laurel's first intersection bike box. It was installed with the Cypress Street bike lanes.

Left-turn Bike Box on Eastbound Cypress at Mulberry

The left-turn bike box provides a safe area for cyclists to wait out approaching traffic from westbound Cypress, without fear of being rear-ended by motorists behind them. The sketch below shows this a bit more clearly.

Sketch showing the two ways that a cyclist can turn left onto Mulberry from Cypress

From the sketch above, an eastbound cyclist traveling in the full lane of Cypress Street can make a quick and easy left turn onto Mulberry* (solid green line) assuming there is no westbound traffic on Cypress. If there is westbound traffic, the cyclist must wait (like any vehicle) in the intersection until westbound traffic has cleared (dotted green line). The box delineates a safe area where cyclists are protected from westbound traffic heading toward them, as well as from eastbound traffic coming up behind them.

*Bike lanes will be installed on Mulberry as part of that street's Capital Improvement Project, currently slated to begin next spring.

Bike Lanes on Cypress Street

2011-08-11T15:07:00.000-04:00

New bike lanes have been installed on Cypress Street from Oxford Drive to Mulberry Street. The bike lanes are 6 feet wide. 8-ft parking lanes have been delineated, as well.

New Bike Lanes on both sides of Cypress St.

Because Cypress Street is a collector road for the Vistas, the Tiers, Oak Pointe, as well as the Wellington neighborhoods, it sees a good deal of vehicle traffic; so separating out the bike lanes for this short stretch provides for a safer biking trip.

Using Traffic Counters to Target Speeders

2011-08-03T09:36:00.001-04:00

Typically, when DPW puts out a traffic counter, we end up with data that provides an overall speed profile, something similar to this:

Typical Speed profile for a road

By itself, this chart gives you high-level data such as average speeds, and percentage of speeders. While this data is useful in determining if a road has an overall speeding problem, it doesn't provide the micro-level details that tells you if a problem exists during certain times. For example, last year we presented speed data to residents on Main Street that showed that, on a relative basis, instances of speeding were low. However, the data didn't break down the speed distribution as a function of time-of-day. For example: what if all the speeding occurred at night? Or maybe they're all morning commuters?
To try and resolve this, DPW has a borrowed a new counter for the summer that outputs more manageable data that can be graphed into something like this:

The 3-D graph above shows how the speed distribution varies throughout the day. In the above street, for example, we can see that there is a spike of speeding in the 7:00 hour and the 8:00 hour - meaning that these likely are morning commuters exiting the neighborhood.
Also, we can drill down and see if there are individuals that may speed at the same time every day.

The above graph is a scatterplot of all the vehicles going over 30mph, broken down by time-of-day and by day-of-week. From this data, we can see that if there are speeders who speed every day at roughly the same time. Of course, there's no guarantee that it is the same driver, but the data still provides the opportunity for:

Selective and efficient radar enforcement; using radar enforcement only when the data shows it to be useful.
Micro-targeting speeders using radar enforcement on small time intervals to target likely repeat offenders.

Sidewalk widening on Cherry Lane

2011-07-27T12:06:00.001-04:00

Next week, contractors will begin widening the sidewalk on the south side of Cherry lane from Laurel Place to Ashford Blvd. The sidewalk will be widened from 4 feet to 9 feet. While this stretch of Cherry receives a lot of pedestrian traffic currently, the City anticipates even more foot traffic along this route. Further, this widening will induce even more pedestrians, joggers, bikers, etc. The growth of pedestrian traffic necessitates changes in the existing design of the road at driveway locations where pedestrians and cars will be in conflict. To accommodate this change and to make the widened sidewalk safer for faster moving pedestrians - joggers and bikers, the City will also sharpen the curb radii at the driveway entrance for the Laurel Lakes Executive Park. See the photos below. While this change to the driveway entrance may seem trivial, it is not; here's why: The current wide driveway entrance allows for very fast turning into and out of the executive park. These fast turn movements:

Reduce the likelihood of a turning motorists seeing a passing jogger;
Increase the injury level of a jogger, if one is struck.

By sharpening the curb radius, we force entering and exiting vehicles to slow down as they cross the potential path of fast moving pedestrians.

Driveway to Laurel Lakes Exec. Park showing locations for new curb location

Exit from Laurel Lakes Exec. Park, showing new curb location

Entrance into Laurel Lakes Exec. Park, showing new curb location

New Pedestrian and Bike Regulations in City Code

2011-07-12T13:34:00.001-04:00

As of July 1st, the City of Laurel has adopted a Unified Land Development Code. This new code consolidates and replaces the existing zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, forest conservation codes, and all other development-related regulations. Several particular changes have been made in the Code with regard to the way that new developments accommodate and mitigate traffic. Specifically, developments will now have to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle travel, in addition to the vehicle traffic that developments have traditionally been required to mitigate. These changes will help provide alternative choices for City residents to get around town. The changes are as follows:

Sec. 20-2.2. (b)(3) Requires traffic impact studies to look at the effects of bike and pedestrian traffic generated to and from new developments, instead of only vehicle traffic. This will insure that traffic mitigation, if needed, applies to pedestrian and bike traffic, instead of just car traffic.
Sec. 20-16.12. (b), (g) Reduces and/or consolidates the number of parking lot driveways during redevelopment projects. The purpose of this change was to reduce the number of conflict points the lead to crashes - for cars and for bikes and pedestrians.
Sec. 20-31.5. (b) All new blocks are now limited in length to 500 feet. The previous limit was 1400 feet. This change encourages shorter blocks to reduce the likelihood of mid-block crossing in commercial areas that get a lot of pedestrian traffic.
Sec. 20-31.1. (c) For new developments, minor streets are to be designed such that speeding is discouraged. Potential methods, offered by the Code, include traffic calming, sharp corner radii, narrow streets, and bump-outs at intersections. By providing for traffic calming in the design process, it prevents the City from going back and having to retro-fit a speed reduction fix into a neighborhood.
Sec. 20-31.1. (o) Dead-end streets (e.g. cul-de-sacs) are now prohibited.
Sec. 20-28.7 (e) Bike Parking requirements: All new multi-family, office and commercial developments must provide bicycle parking. For residential properties, two spaces are required for every five dwelling units (exemptions are made for Single family, duplex, triplex, and townhouse developments are exempt from residential bike parking requirements). For retail and restaurants, two spaces are required for every 2,500 square feet. For all other commercial or office properties, two spaces for every 5,000 square feet. A single rack constitutes two spaces. Bike racks shall be either an “Inverted U-Style (Bike Arch)” type or a “2-Bike Post and Ring” type and have a powder coat finish. Wave or Grid type bike racks are not permitted. Bicycles must be able to be locked in two places. Outdoor bike racks must be located within visual distance of the entrance of the building for which the parking has been designated. Bike parking for office buildings and for residential, if applicable, shall be located indoors. Rack areas located outdoors must be lighted with a minimum foot-candle of 1.0.
Sec. 20-44.6. On new developments, sidewalks are required on both sides for primary and secondary residential streets; the Code previously required sidewalk on only one side. Minimum sidewalk width is now 6' with the exception of residential-only areas. For new developments or redevelopments, roadside hiker-biker trails on property that abuts permittee’s property must be extended, in kind, through permitee’s property in the City’s public right of way. In addition, bike facilities shall be required in the City right-of-way, as referenced in the City of Laurel Bikeway Master Plan. Bicycle facilities should extend to the nearest intersection on each side of the permittee’s property. These changes provide for the continuation of investments the City has made in alternative travel modes.

New Sidewalk

2011-06-30T10:23:00.004-04:00

Updated
Now that many repairs to existing sidewalk around town have been made, the City's contractor will construct two new lengths of sidewalk to fill in some gaps in the overall network. There are two locations - one on the north side of town and the other on the south side:

7th Street, east side, between Montgomery Street and Prince George Street. (update: completed 7/7/11)
Laurel Lakes Ave, west side, from its intersection with Cypress south to where the existing sidewalk terminates. (update: sidewalk completed last night and has seen many users already!)

Each of these new segments will add about 400' of sidewalk to the City's overall network.

The additional sidewalk on 7th Street fills in a necessary gap that ought to prevent pedestrians from needing to cross 7th Street, near Prince Georges Street - an uncontrolled location. Similarly, the new sidewalk on Laurel Lakes Ave provides an off-street connection for pedestrians traveling between the Laurel Lakes Shopping Center and the senior housing facility on Laurel Lakes Ct.

(Left) New sidewalk on 7th Street; (Right) new sidewalk on Laurel Lakes Ave

Sidewalk Contract to Start up Next Week

2011-06-17T14:57:00.001-04:00

Contractors will be in town starting next week to make repairs at select locations where public sidewalk is damaged. They will also be installing new sidewalk at a handful of other locations around town in order to fill in gaps in the City's sidewalk network.

Brooklyn Bridge Road re-paving

2011-06-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

Prince Georges County will soon wrap up the re-paving of Brooklyn Bridge Road. The road will be re-striped the same as before, with one exception. At the City's request, the County has agreed to paint narrower travel lanes on Brooklyn Bridge near the gully right before it becomes Montgomery Street. Re-striping this narrow section of the roadway will have two effects - 1) it should have some effect on slowing down drivers as they enter the City; and 2) more importantly, it will provide a wider shoulder for all of the pedestrians, joggers, bikers, skaters, etc. that use this stretch of roadway.

View Larger Map
Brooklyn Bridge Road, prior to entering the City of Laurel

Complete Streets: 4th Street edition

2011-05-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

While form should always follow function in the creation of a complete street, form still matters. Here is 4th Street from 2 years ago.

4th Street, circa 2009

And here is 4th Street now. Note the:

Pedestrian refuge islands to provide for those crossing the street - function
Narrow lanes to reduce vehicle speed - function
Bike lanes to increase roadway capacity - function
Center-island medians that prevent 250,000 gallons of run-off per year - function
Tree-lined medians to provide boulevard-style tree canopy - form
Red brick medians - form
All on-street parking has been retained - function
Wide decorative "brick" crosswalks - form and function

The inclusion of form with function creates a complete street that not only works well but is attractive and beneficial to retaining property values for those that live there. What if Route 1 looked like this through our fair City? Why can't it?

Community Center Bike Parking

2011-05-06T15:14:00.001-04:00

Custom bike hitches at new community center on 811 5th Street

Phase 1 of Bikeway Masterplan Completed

2011-04-14T15:53:00.002-04:00

In the Fall of 2009, the City of Laurel passed a resolution adopting a City-wide Bike Masterplan (3mb PDF). In 2010, the first phase was designed and vetted in public meetings. This phase consists of 4th and 5th streets and connects to the City's Gude Lake Park with Riverfront Park, both of which have their own trails. 5th Street also fronts Laurel Elementary School and two of the City's community centers - the Anderson-Murphy Armory and the soon-to-be-opened community center at 811 5th Street. In addition, 4th Street provides access to two large shopping centers. Since 4th Street is only one block offset from Route 1 and carries far less vehicle traffic, these new routes provide safer alternative for north-south travel. See map below for a graphical depiction of the Phase 1 bike routes.

This initial phase started last summer with 4th Street bike lane striping in Old Town. Now, Phase 1 has been completed. The Phase 1 build-out consists of 3 miles of designated bikeways -1.25 miles of on-street bike lanes and 1.75 miles of shared roads designated as bike routes. These routes are signed with the familiar bike route sign and are marked in the road with sharrows. These sharrows help cyclists find the lateral location in a shared-lane where they are unlikely to be impacted by the sudden opening of a parked car door.

Click for larger image

New Street Lighting

2011-04-05T11:47:00.001-04:00

DPW has ordered additional street lighting for the following three locations:

Ward Street
Van Dusen Road, just south of Erica Lane
Intersection of 4th and Montrose (upgraded lighting)

These additional lights should in place in about a month.

Lane Striping on 4th Street

2011-03-16T16:04:00.001-04:00

Towards the end of this week, DPW is anticipating finishing the lane striping on 4th Street from Ashford Boulevard to Cherry Lane. The existing bike lanes will continue on for this entire segment, with access to the Gude Lake paths via the new widened median openings.

Mapping Pedestrian and Bike Crashes

2011-03-09T10:14:00.006-05:00

DPW has developed a database of all of the City's pedestrian and bike crashes. The database contains crash data starting in 2007 and is updated as we receive police crash reports. Over time, this information provides another set of data that we can apply when prioritizing roadway safety improvements. This database will also allow us to measure the long term effect of these safety improvements. The pedestrian and bike crash database contains location; date; time of day; crash type; injury; and jurisdiction (City-owned street versus State-owned street). With only 4 full years of data available right now, statistically significant trends can not yet emerge. However, of particular note:

The City, with a population of 25,000, has about 17 pedestrian or bike crashes per year.
There are 3 pedestrian crashes for every bike crash.
3:00pm to 6:00pm is the most likely time period for crashes.
No injury was reported in 21% of crashes.
One-fifth of all pedestrian or bike crashes occur in a parking lot.
The areas that appear to have the most daytime pedestrian and bike traffic (commercial portion of Main Street, commercial portion of 4th Street, and Bowie Road) have very few reported crashes. See map below.

Click on map for PDF. Excludes crashes in parking lots.

Decorative sign posts on Main Street

2011-03-01T15:48:00.005-05:00

At the intersection of 5th & Main Streets, DPW is replacing wooden 4x4 sign posts with black aluminum historic sign poles to match the existing historic luminaires. Three wooden posts will be replaced, and the new crosswalk sign pole will be moved off of the sidewalk and onto the new bump-out to increase its visibility. In addition, the sign frames have been added to match the historic-style sign poles.

New wider crosswalks at 4th and Cherry

2011-02-17T10:58:00.002-05:00

With a break in the weather - finally! - DPW has begun hot-taping new crosswalks at the intersection of 4th Street and Cherry Lane. These new crosswalks, along with the addition of the remaining bike lanes and signage, will complete the 4th Street reconstruction that began last fall. The new crosswalks across 4th Street will be wider and ladder-style for increased visibility.

2010 Census: City of Laurel

2011-02-10T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Census Bureau has released the official 2010 census results for Maryland. Included, is a set of tables (excel file) for the counties and largest incorporated cities. Notable stats for the City of Laurel:

The City of Laurel now has over 25,000 residents.
The City of Laurel added over 5,100 people from the 2000 Census, representing an increase of about 25%.
The increase has brought the Laurel into the Top 10 most populous cities in Maryland, surpassing Cumberland and Greenbelt.

Results from Laurel's Walking Survey

2011-01-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

Last November, DPW conducted a survey on the condition of the City's pedestrian infrastructure. The results of the survey are posted in two parts: 1) Responses to survey questions; and 2) Residents' additional comments.

Responses to survey questions can be found HERE,
Additional resident comments (along with DPW responses) can be found HERE.

The takeaway from this survey is that there is a big demand for adding to and improving upon our pedestrian infrastructure. Also, improvements in accessibility, safety, and aesthetics would encourage even more walking.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond!

Transportation & Public Safety Meeting

2011-01-18T09:31:00.001-05:00

There will be a Transportation and Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 25th, at the Laurel Police Station (811 5th Street) from 7pm to 9pm. The meeting is chaired by Councilwoman Robison, and members of DPW and the Police Department will also be on-hand. This meeting is open to the public.

Main Street: 100 years ago

2011-01-14T13:33:00.016-05:00

Here are pictures of Main Street, with captions on the back stating that they were taken between 1906 and 1908 - when on-street parking was meant for horses.

Click on each photo for a larger image:

Main Street showing P.O. and Bank, 1908

View of Main Street, 12-1906

Alcorn's Store 10-6-1907, 3:00 PM

Washington Ave and Main Street, 1908

Here is the same building, as it currently stands over 100 years later.

View Larger Map

Notable Main Street features already in place back then: granite curbs; brick sidewalk; overhead electricity; domestic water supply and underground stormwater management.

Year-end Review

2010-12-29T15:47:00.005-05:00

Here's a a quick recap of new Pedestrian/Bicycle infrastructure installed by the City of Laurel this year:

Traffic Calming

New traffic calming island at Tenth Street & Montrose Avenue
New bump-out at Main Street & Fifth Street.

Bikeways

Completed Phase 1 of the Laurel Bikeway MasterPlan, comprising three miles of striped/signed bike routes
Installed the City’s first on-street bike lanes and sharrows.
Procured 16 custom bike parking hitches to be installed at various public locations around the City.
Constructed 4th Street boulevard (CIP)

New sidewalk/paths

New pedestrian/bike path at Fourth Street and Cherry Lane for direct access into Gude Lake Park. Path was made with 90% recycled material.
Sidewalk repair along parts of Tenth Street; Phair Place; Clubhouse Boulevard; and Fourth Street as part of City’s CIP.
New sidewalk on west side of Van Dusen from Laurel Oaks Lane to Cherry Lane
New sidewalk on west side of 10th Street from Phair Place to West Street (CIP).
New Sidewalk along 9th Street near Park Ave.
Widened sidewalk on Cherry Lane at 4th Street to accomodate bikers and pedestrians.

Pedestrian crossings and related improvements

Added pedestrian countdowns signals (CPS) and audible pedestrian signals (APS) at Van Dusen Road & Cherry Lane; Van Dusen Road & Killbarron; and Main Street & Lafayette Avenue.
Installed new cross-walks at Laurel Lakes Avenue and Cypress Street; Van Dusen Road & Cherry Lane; Van Dusen Road & Olive Branch; Tenth Street & Montrose Avenue; Clubhouse Boulevard & Greenview Drive (CIP); Ward Street & Montrose Avenue; and Main & 5th.
Added Street lighting on 900 block of 5th Street and on Northlake Court.
Planted 48 street trees.

All in all, a good year for walkers and bikers in the City of Laurel.

Traffic signal requests on State roads

2010-12-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

Periodically, the City requests traffic signals or pedestrian signals on State Roads that run through Laurel, but are maintained by SHA: MD 198, MD 197 and US 1. This year, we requested signals at three such locations;

MD 198 in front of the Amish Market (pedestrian signal only)
MD 197 at Clubhouse Blvd. (pedestrian signal only)
MD 198 at 5th Street (Gorman Ave)

Here is an update:
The pedestrian signal in front of the Amish Market was granted and has been installed. The pedestrian signal at MD 197 & Clubhouse has been approved, but no installation date has been provided. The full traffic signal request at Gorman Ave and 5th Street has been denied, citing insufficient pedestrian or vehicle crossing traffic. SHA conducts several warrants for both safety and traffic delay when determining whether or not a signal is warranted. The intersection of Gorman & 5th Street did not meet these warrants at this time. As indicated by SHA in our correspondence, growth at or near that intersection may change the calculus in the future.

Right Turns on Red to be Prohibited at 4th & MD 198

2010-12-21T09:25:00.004-05:00

Within the next few weeks, State Highway Administration (SHA) will be prohibiting right turns on red for drivers on northbound 4th Street at its intersection with Gorman Avenue (MD 198 eastbound). When the signage is installed, the City will post a DPW news alert.

How Do We Commute?

2010-12-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

The Census Bureau just released their data from the 2005-2009 American Community Survey. Among the myriad data collected, is a survey on how people get to Work. In the City of Laurel, the commuting modes are as follows:

72% Drive alone
11% Car pool or Van pool
11% Take Public Transportation
3% Walk to work
2% Work from home
1% Other means

These commuting modes don't differ significantly from the overall State averages. The City of Laurel has a slightly higher percentage of workers that Car Pool, Walk, and take Public Transportation - but that can be expected in a City.

More Street Lights for 5th Street

2010-12-10T11:15:00.002-05:00

At the City's request, BGE ~~will be adding~~ has added a couple of overhead street lights and upgrading a couple of the existing lamps on the 900 block of 5th Street, between Montrose and the new Police Station HQ.
Updated: 12/13/2010

Walk Score Heat Map for City of Laurel

2010-12-06T12:24:00.005-05:00

WalkScore has put together "walkability" heat maps for the 2500 largest cities in the US. The maps attempt to quantify, visually, how walkable each neighborhood is within a City. Here is Laurel's Map or look at other Cities in Maryland.

City of Laurel Walk Score Heat Map

Navigating the Intersection of 4th and Cherry by Bike

2010-11-30T08:57:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, the City's contractors finished resurfacing 4th Street behind the Laurel. As soon as we can get some decent weather, DPW will stripe out the lane markings. There will be some subtle changes to the lane striping heading southbound as you approach Cherry Lane and Gude Lake. Here is the previous lane configuration on 4th Street, with a left turn lane and a right turn lane:

Left and right turn lanes on 4th Street, heading south

Now, here is the new striping layout for the southbound approach on 4th Street. Most notably, the bike lane that is on the right, shifts toward the middle of the approach:

New striping layout. Representation only. (click for larger size)

If you're a driver, nothing changes - you will still have a left turn lane and a permissive right turn lane. However, if you are a biker, you will take the center bike lane. This allows you to go straight toward Gude Lake or turn left, without fear of a "right hook" collision with a car. As shown with the green arrows, bikers can use the widened median opening on Cherry, with the widened sidewalk on Cherry and the new hiker/biker trail in order to access the paths around Gude Lake. These new features also allow inexperienced bikers to turn left to access Laurel Place or Route 1, without having to bike on Cherry Lane (which is still legal).

Speed Cameras are Up and Operational

2010-11-23T09:52:00.002-05:00

The City of Laurel has begun installation of its portable speed cameras, and it is currently in its 30-day "warning" period. After the warning period, the fine will be $40.00 for violators traveling 12+mph over the speed limit.

Survey on walking conditions

2010-11-12T15:36:00.013-05:00

We are taking a survey of City residents on the condition of our walking infrastructure and how we can improve it. Please take a moment to fill out our short anonymous SURVEY.
click HERE to take the survey

Survey is now CLOSED. Thank you for your participation.

Edmonston, Maryland's Green Street

2010-11-10T08:47:00.005-05:00

This post, while not about Laurel, may still be informative to our City's environmentally-conscious residents.
Yesterday, I stopped by the official street dedication of the greening of Decatur Street in Edmonston, MD. They received a Federal Grant and applied it to:

Reducing stormwater run-off
Installing new LED overhead street lighting
Adding bike lanes
All new ADA compliant sidewalk and ramps
Decorative, high-visibility crosswalks

Words can't do justice to the planning and effort put forth by Edmonston's Mayor Ortiz and his Staff, so here are some pictures that I hope will:

View of Decatur Street looking West toward Anacostia River

Another view of Decatur Street, showing bike lanes and street lamps

Edmonston is lucky to have the Northeast Branch Trail pass through their Town

90% of the stormwater run-off is collected in curbside biorention cells.

Another view of the bioretention cell

Yet another view.

New LED street lamps, powered by wind energy

LED bulb

Sidewalk widening on Cherry Lane

2010-11-08T10:48:00.002-05:00

The City of Laurel is expanding the width of the sidewalk along Cherry Lane at 4th Street. This is to accomodate both pedestrian and bikers access to the trails around Gude Lake from the newly-constructed access path down from the intersection of 4th and Cherry. Further, it will allow cyclists on 4th Street access to the Gude Lake trails via the widened crosswalk/median-openings and expanded sidewalk. The picture below highlights some of the new and pending changes.

Yellow captions indicate new or pending changes to 4th and Cherry.

4th Street Boulevard Construction

2010-10-26T11:57:00.008-04:00

Construction is underway on the final piece of the 4th Street Capital Improvement Project. This project includes the transformation of this...

4th Street near Ashford Blvd

...into this:

Cross-section of 4th Street, with bike lanes and tree-lined median

The tree-lined center-medians will aid in traffic calming on this road and also will allow for better traffic management, when traffic picks up again on the Laurel Mall site. DPW crew are currently installing bikes lanes, and contractors are repairing sidewalk, curb-and-gutter. A new pedestrian crossing is being installed at the intersection of 4th Street and Ashford Boulevard. In addition, the crosswalks and median openings at the intersection of 4th and Cherry will be widened to 14' wide on both sides of the intersection. These wider crossings will allow for easier and safer pedestrian and bike access from 4th Street to the Gude Lake, via the newly-built connecting path. When all the concrete work is complete, contractors will mill and overlay select portions of the road. Construction is expected to take up to a month, depending on weather conditions.

DPW crew installing bike lanes on 4th Street today

Transportation & Public Safety Committee Meeting

2010-10-23T12:16:00.001-04:00

The next Transportation & Public Safety Committee Meeting will be held in room #2 at City Hall on October 26th at 7pm. City staff from DPW and LPD will be there. The meeting is open to the general public, as well as committee members.

Effects of Traffic Calming on Montrose Ave: Before and After Study

2010-10-19T09:33:00.001-04:00

Traffic calming has previously been shown to reduce instances of speed in the City. And now here's more poof:

This summer, the City installed a traffic calming island in the intersection of Montrose and 10th Street in order to slow down motorists on Montrose Ave, which has a speed limit of 25mph. This new concrete center-island median is bisected with a ladder-style crosswalk and has added signage to improve visibility. DPW conducted a "before" study to determine the number of speeders prior to its installation. After letting drivers adjust to the presence of the new island for a couple of months, we conducted an "after" study to compare the island's effect on driver behavior. Here are the results:

Speeders in excess of 25 mph decreased from 72.5% of all vehicles to 41.3% of all vehicles.
Speeders in excess of 30 mph decreased from 47.7% of all vehicles to 14.1% of all vehicles.
Speeders in excess of 35 mph decreased from 19.4% of all vehicles to 2.4% of all vehicles.
Speeders in excess of 40 mph decreased from 4.7% of all vehicles to 0.3% of all vehicles.

The results, while not perfect, show that speeding drivers slow down dramatically when there is a large concrete island in the middle of the road; speeding drivers apparently prefer slowing down over crashing. Call it blunt, but nothing else reduces speed as much, or is more cost-effective than simply removing, by design, the ability to speed.

Before and After Study showing effect of traffic calming on Vehicle Speeds

New Pedestrian Signal Installed at Cherry Lane & Van Dusen Road

2010-10-14T10:43:00.002-04:00

This week, the City is installing a new push-button pedestrian signal to allow for safe dedicated crossing of Cherry Lane at Van Dusen. ADA-compliant pedestrian ramps were installed on the "pork chop" island, as well as on the southeast corner, to accomodate the crossing.

New Signalized Pedestrian Crossing at Van Dusen Road & Cherry Lane

Weather permitting, the City ~~will install~~ has installed a crosswalk this week in order to finalize the crossing. This crossing will allow pedestrians to safely cross Cherry Lane (ADT of 22,000 cars) without having to walk down to the nearest pedestrian signal at Ashford Boulevard, over a 1/4 mile away.

City Hall gets custom bike rack

2010-10-13T11:36:00.008-04:00

Click on Picture to Enlarge

New MD law on passing bicyclists

2010-10-05T11:10:00.001-04:00

As of October 1st, 2010, Maryland law now requires that when drivers pass a bicyclist on the road, they must give at least 3 feet separation between their vehicle and the bike. Exceptions to the rule include:

A bicyclist is not riding in the designated bike lane
A bicyclist has taken the lane. Bicyclists should use the entire lane on roadways that are too narrow for bikes and cars to share comfortably.
The road isn't wide enough to legally pass with 3 feet separation.

Aerial view of Laurel: Google updates its maps

2010-09-30T10:20:00.003-04:00

A month ago, Google's satellites passed over Laurel and they updated all aerial imagery of the City. There, you can see changes made to the City over the last few years. Below, are some of very projects that WalkLaurel has mentioned over the last year or so.

Roundabout at Montrose/Harrison

Traffic Calming Island at Montrose/10th

Intersection of Montrose/4th looking spiffy. Note the Sharrows

New Path connecting Gude Lake with Cherry/4th

New Pedestrian Signal and Sidewalk at Van Dusen/Killbarron

New Sidewalk and pedestrian ramps at Van Dusen and Cherry

The City's first Bike Lanes, on 4th Street

Decorative crosswalks at 4th and Montgomery

Bulbout and decorative crosswalk at Main and 5th

Decorative crosswalks at Montgomery and Sandy Spring

Finally, the future ICC interchange with I-95. And the empty land that will someday be Konterra Town Center

City Branding with Bike Parking

2010-09-27T14:40:00.001-04:00

The City has purchased new custom bike hitches. The hitches will be placed at municipal buildings and parks and facilities along existing and proposed bike routes. These offer a common bike parking solution that is unique and identifiable with the City of Laurel. In addition, they also complement and blend-in with our existing public infrastructure - such as the decorative lamp posts, trash can and benches found on Main Street and throughout the City.

City of Laurel Bike Hitch

CDBG funding for Bowie Road pedestrian improvements

2010-09-17T13:02:00.002-04:00

The City of Laurel has applied for CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding to make road improvements along Bowie Road from MD 197 to Lafayette Ave. The grant, if received, would be used to install sidewalk along this entire segment. Because this portion of Bowie Road contains mostly garden-style apartments and offers quick access to bus stop and shopping along Route 1, it has a lot of pedestrians. Currently, sidewalk is sporadic on the south side of the road, and virtually non-existent on the north side. The grant will allow for one continuous sidewalk to be constructed along the north side of the Bowie road - from MD 197 to Lafayette Ave, and on the south side, would connect both apartment complex driveway entrances to the existing sidewalk by the Fire and Rescue squad. Future grant requests (project phases) will address the remaining portion of Bowie Road - from Lafayette to US 1 Southbound.

Intersection improvements completed at Cypress & Laurel Lakes Ave

2010-09-14T08:40:00.001-04:00

The City just completed some minor safety improvements at the intersection of Cypress Street and Laurel Lakes Ave. These improvements include new crosswalks on the north, south, and west legs of the intersection; a relocated pedestrian ramp on the southeast corner; and new sidewalk leading to the Safeway grocery store.

MD 197 and Bowie Road

2010-09-08T09:29:00.002-04:00

The City of Laurel has made a request to the State Highway Administration for a pedestrian signal for crossing MD 197 at Bowie Road/Clubhouse Blvd. There is already a traffic signal at this intersection, and SHA has made many pedestrian improvements to the area – particularly on the west side. The request is currently in the 90-day review period. This blog will be updated when the review status changes.

Street Paving

2010-08-31T11:31:00.002-04:00

This week, the City is re-paving Phair Place, 10th Street (from MD198 to West St), and the intersection of Greenview Drive and Clubhouse Blvd. The milling and resurfacing is expected to be complete this week, weather permitting. Any crosswalks and lane markings will be re-striped by DPW after the streets are resurfaced.

Sharrows

2010-08-19T14:40:00.001-04:00

If you're wondering what those strange markings along 4th street are,

they are called Sharrows - shared arrow markings.

They are used to indicate to drivers that this is a

preferred bike route and to emphasize that the street is to be shared with bicyclists. Where the markings are right in the middle of the travel lane, they are combined with this sign,

"Bike May Use Full Lane" to emphasize that bikes are allowed to use the entire lane, the same as a vehicle. This combination is used on preferred bike routes where the travel lane isn't wide enough for bikes to ride side by side with vehicles.

The first photo above shows 4th Street from Montgomery toward Main Street. On-street parking is allowed on the left side of the street only. The rest of the street isn't wide enough to incorporate a 5' wide bike lane and still have enough room for a vehicle to travel safely. Instead, sharrows were used to indicate a safe bicycle riding location that also allows for a large enough gap between them and passing vehicles.

On other parts of 4th street, namely between Gorman and Talbot, sharrows are placed 11' from the right curb. This location guides bicyclists to an area that prevents them from getting hit by opening doors from cars parked on-street along the right side of the street, yet still allows for a comfortable separation distance for vehicles to pass on the left. See photo below.

Sharrow on 4th Street between Gorman Ave and Talbot Ave

New Bike Lanes

2010-08-16T15:11:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel is in the initial phase of implementing its Bikeway Masterplan. As part of this phase, the City has installed their inaugural on-street bike lanes. The lanes shown below are on 4th Street from Talbott to Montgomery Street. This segment is one-way only with on-street parking on both sides. The bike lane has been installed on the left side of the street to reduce the likelihood of bicyclists getting "doored." The next set of on-street bike lanes to be installed will be along 4th Street from Gude Park to Greenhill Drive.

Turning roads into walking paths - literally

2010-08-09T12:18:00.001-04:00

A short - but important - hiker/biker path was recently completed by the City in order to connect the intersection of the 4th Street and Cherry Lane with the popular walking paths around Gude Lake. The novel thing about this connecting path is that it was built from other City roads.

A recent repaving job on Sandy Spring Road provided the millings (ground-up asphalt) that comprised the foundation of the path. And the fill dirt that was used to provide a smooth grade on the sides of the path came from a new roadway currently being cut in another portion of the City.

From nothing, to a base-foundation, to a graded and top-coated path

The result is a path that required over 100 CY of base-course asphalt, fill dirt and surface-course asphalt - where over 90% of the materials used were recycled from other City roads.

Another view of the new connecting path

Bike Plan to begin roll-out

2010-08-05T15:47:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow, the City of Laurel will begin implementing the first phase of its City-wide bike master plan. This initial phase is a north-south route that connects several neighborhoods, ending at Riverfront Park to the North and Gude Lake to the South. The route runs along low-volume 4th/5th Streets and is a mix of on-street bike lanes and shared-route markings/signage, with a short hiker/biker trail connecting the intersection of 4th and Cherry with the trails around Gude Lake. In total, the City will be using signage and street markings to designate 3 miles of roads as preferred bike routes, with 1 mile of that stretch to include on-street bike lanes.* Sharrows and signage will be used on the remaining two miles to emphasize the shared nature of the road. Work north of Greenhill Drive will begin on Friday, with the exception of any sharrows that need to be installed on roads that WSSC is in the process of patching/re-surfacing. The on-street bike lanes on 4th Street from Cherry to Greenhill will be installed as part of a 4th Street CIP expected to start later this month.

A few of the bike guide signs to be installed

*To put this into context, the City maintains about 56 miles of local roadways and about 100 miles of sidewalk in a 4.5 square-mile municipality.

How to put in new sidewalk in a tough spot, without breaking the bank

2010-07-20T15:46:00.002-04:00

Most of Van Dusen Road has drainage swales on both sides of the road. These "ditches" catch rainwater runoff from the road and filter it into the earth and direct it to larger stormwater management systems. These ditches work fine for rural roads. The problem is that Van Dusen Road has lots of development on it and lots of pedestrians - it is not rural - and it needs sidewalk. However, one can't simply plop down sidewalk above the road-grade without redirecting the flow of water to someplace where it shouldn't be. Retrofitting ditches with concrete piping and stormwater catch drains/basins to alleviate this becomes extraordinarily expensive. The Laurel City Department of Public Works came up with a nifty solution to install sidewalk along Van Dusen Road that utilizes the existing drainage ditches, but also builds above-grade sidewalk. The initial segment of new sidewalk to take advantage of this solution is this segment of Van Dusen Road that leads from the intersection of Cherry Lane to the entrance of the Laurel Oaks development. As shown in the picture below, it is well traveled and in need of sidewalk, as Van Dusen also has its fair share of speeders.

The new solution involves utilizing a concrete flume, extending from a new gutter, that runs underneath the sidewalk panels, at predetermined intervals.

The flume allows water that is caught by the gutter to exit out into the ditch, as before, yet still allows for uninterrupted sidewalk. The sidewalk panel over the flume is reinforced with 1/2" rebar, because of concrete's weak tensile strength. This covered-flume solution has been installed along Van Dusen between Cherry Lane and Laurel Oaks for the past 2 months and appears to be working as intended. Provided it continues to hold up well, this system allows for continuous concrete sidewalk to be installed along the remainder of Van Dusen without the prohibitive costs of brand new stormwater management systems.

New Traffic Calming Island at Montrose & 10th

2010-07-06T12:30:00.001-04:00

Speed profile data collected on Montrose Ave, just east of 10th Street, showed a high number of speeders and an intolerably high number of excessive speeders (35+ mph in a 25 mph zone). See data below:

To mediate this, the City is installing a center-island median (26' long by 10' wide) in the intersection. This median will serve two purposes: 1) focus attention of motorists toward the intersection where a new crosswalk is being installed; and 2) force speeders to slow down to a residential speed.

The new island will look something like this and will be bisected by a ladder-style crosswalk:

Status update: Complete.

New Pedestrian Signal Crossing at Van Dusen & Cherry Lane

2010-07-02T15:59:00.002-04:00

The City of Laurel is installing a new pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Van Dusen Road and Cherry Lane.

The new crossing entails:

Opening up the walkway width of the 'porkchop" island on the northeast corner (this will allow for extension of the Van Dusen Road Bike sidepath in a future phase);
Tightening the turning radius on the south east corner and adding an extra-wide ADA compliant ramp;
Installing an 8' wide ladder-style crosswalk across Cherry Lane on the east side of the intersection;
Adding a pedestrian crossing signal phase and countdown timer.

There is currently no crosswalk or pedestrian phase for residents to cross Cherry Lane at this intersection. The new crossing desscribed above will fix this, providing students from the Wellington Developments a safer crossing to Laurel High School without having to cross at an unprotected location in front of the school, as is often the case. It will also allow all the developments near this intersection - Laurel Oaks, Laurelton Forest, Crescents, etc. - quick and safe pedestrian access to surrounding neighborhoods.

Status Update: Items 1), 2) and 3) are complete. Item 4 is scheduled for mid-October.

FY2011 Capital Improvement Projects Beginning

2010-06-29T15:38:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel has begun their FY 2011 "Street Improvements" CIP. These projects currently underway include:

Intersection of Greenview Dr and Clubhouse Blvd

New ADA compliant ramps;
Resurface/re-stripe intersection;
Resurface eastbound Clubhouse blvd. approach

Phair Place

Replace broken or separated sidewalk and curb-and-gutter;
New ped crossing on north side of intersection of Phair and 10th;
Resurface Phair Place

10th Street, from MD 198 to West Street

Replace 3' sidewalk on east side of street;
Replace broken or separated sidewalk and curb-and-gutter;
New sidewalk and curb-and-gutter to replace existing drainage swale on west side between Phair Place and West Street;
Resurface 10th Street

Status: Complete

Main Street in the Washington Post

2010-06-28T08:33:00.001-04:00

Flipping thru the Washington Post's weekly Magazine yesterday and saw a picture of a popular street in Laurel, deluged with snow from this past year's storm. I wonder which one our intrepid residents braved the elements to take the photo.

Pending Pedestrian Safety Improvements

2010-06-22T13:42:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel is currently making pedestrian safety improvements to two intersections: 1) Park Ave and 9th Streets; and 2) Cypress St and Laurel Lakes.

The Improvements at 9th and Park include:

a. Extending the sidewalk on the west side 9th Street until it reach a location across from the playground entrance on the east side 9th street.

b. Installing a high-visibility crosswalk across 9th street.

c. Installing pedestrian crossing signs to warn motorists.

d. Updating sidewalk ramps for ADA compliance.

Park Ave and 9th Street

The Improvements at Cypress St and Laurel Lakes Ave include:

a. Install sidewalk connecting Cypress Street to the Safeway grocery store and the rest of the shopping center.

b. Relocate southeast sidewalk ramp in front of stop bar so that it is oriented with the receiving ramp on the southwest corner.

Cypress St and Laurel Lakes Ave

Crosswalk Facelift on Main Street

2010-06-15T11:12:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel is field-testing a crosswalk enhancement procedure to make a busy unsignalized crosswalk on Main Street at 5th Street more visible to drivers. The procedure will replicate the decorative crosswalks recently applied to Montgomery Street.

Here are some photos mid-application.

And here is a before-and-after comparison of the visibilty of the crosswalk from a driver's perspective.

Pedestrian crossing signal for Amish Market (MD 198)

2010-06-07T16:00:00.001-04:00

Recent enhancements to the intersection of MD 198 and Laurel Plaza Ave (where the recently-opened Amish Market is in Laurel) include a dedicated left-turn phase for drivers coming in from Anne Arundel County along MD 198.

...but a closer inspection of the intersection reveals lines and circles spray-painted on the ground that indicate pole locations and conduit runs. Based on the locations of these circles and lines, this humble engineer can deduce only one thing - that MD 198 is getting a pedestrian crossing phase across from the Amish Market, complete with a push-button to trigger the phase (and ideally a countdown timer).

Those of you that go to the Amish Market know that available parking is much less than at its previous location in Burtonsville. Consequently, many drivers park across the street - that is, they park across the 6-lane divided highway - and make the rest of the trip on foot. So, one can see the necessity of having a dedicated pedestrian phase for crossing MD 198. We don't have an installation date yet, but the fact that the lines have been spray-painted means that the State is moving forward to correct this pedestrian safety problem and that installation is immenent.

Update: Pedestrian Countdown Signal is operational as of 7/19/2010. Crossing time provided is 36 seconds.

How walkable is your neighborhood?

2010-05-28T15:33:00.001-04:00

A while back, the good people at Walkscore created a tool that allows users to "measure" the walkability of their house. Users can type in an address at their site or in the "neighborhood walkability" widget on the right-side of this blog. Their measure of walkability is based on the distance to amenities nearby (i.e. within walking distance), such as grocery stores, restaurants, bars, public transit, schools, pharmacies, parks, etc.

Because The City is compact and has several parks, and schools and shopping centers, many of the City's older neighborhoods - such as Old Town or Fairlawn - score very well. However, some the new developments are a mixed bag in terms of their walkability score. The new Archstone-built apartments at the corner of 4th/Cherry and on Contee Road have good scores of 75 out of a 100 and 63 out of 100, respectively. Meanwhile, the newest developments of Wellington 7 and the Crescent on Cherry Lane fare worse at 45 and 28, respectively, in terms of walkability.

Now, the walkability score is far from perfect. Impediments such as rivers or highways are ignored, as well as, the existence (or lack) of sidewalk or pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. Fortunately, the City of Laurel has a well built-out sidewalk infrastructure and no large boundaries such as interstates or rivers to impede walking. So, in general, the higher your walkability score, the closer you are to many amenities.

Studies (PDF) have shown that, in general, higher walkability scores are correlated with higher home values in Cities. Based on a random selection of neighborhoods, this does not appear to hold true in the City of Laurel. With the exception of Old Town, the neighborhoods with lower walkablilty scores tend to be more expensive. Of course, home size and new construction have a large role in that corollary.

Biking & Pedestrian Infrastrucuture for Laurel included in Senator Cardin's FY2011 Appropriations Request

2010-05-04T13:42:00.001-04:00

In his Appropriations Request for funding in FY2011, Senator Benjamin Cardin has included a $400,000 request by the City of Laurel for bike and pedestrian infrastructure improvements. The funding will be used at select locations for:

10' wide Asphalt hiker/biker trail to be illuminated with solar-power overhead lighting.
Sidewalk gap infill.
Countdown Pedestrian Signals/Audible Pedestrian Signals.
Remove and replacement of existing ramps for ADA compliance.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Transportation & Public Safety Committee Meeting

2010-04-25T13:33:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday, April 27th, from 7pm to 9pm, the City of Laurel's Transportation & Public Safety Committee will meet in room #2 at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public and all interested residents are encouraged to attend. Representatives from the City Council, Police Department and DPW will be in attendance to answer your questions.

Bump-out on Main Street at 5th

2010-04-10T12:55:00.001-04:00

~~This~~ Next week, contractors will be installing a brick sidewalk bump-out on the north side of the intersection of Main Street and 5th Street. This bump-out will extend the sidewalk 7.5 feet into Main Street at the existing crosswalk location in front of Selborne House. The bump-out will allow for vehicle and crossing-pedestrians to better see each other without any reduction in on-street parking. This sidewalk extension will also reduce the incidences of speeding at this location. In addition to the bump-out, both ramps on the south side of the intersection will see improvements in alignment and ADA accessibility.

Are we filling out the Census? Let's check...

2010-04-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

The TV has been reminding us for weeks now to fill out the census, so that our local neighborhoods get the most money it can back from Uncle Sam for roads and such. To that end, the census bureau has a nifty website that updates daily with the census participation rates for your neighborhood. As of April 1st, the national participation rate is 54%. If you click on "View Participation Rates" you can drill down to the neighborhood-level and find that Maryland as a whole is at 56%, with the County at 50%. And here's a look at Laurel by neighborhood*

For the most part, the City of Laurel is on par with the State and County, with Old Town leading the charge and Fairlawn at the caboose.

*Not really by neighborhood - most likely by census tract - but roughly the same.

Upcoming Improvements to 4th & Cherry

2010-03-24T10:59:00.003-04:00

This Spring, the City will make the following improvements to the Intersection of 4th and Cherry. Together, these modification will improve pedestrian and biker access to Gude Lake and its surrounding trails.

Construct a hiker/biker path from the pedestrian ramp to existing Gude Lake paths.(completed)
Widen the existing sidewalk between curb cuts to allow for both bicyclists and walkers. (under construction week of 11/8/2010)
Expand guard-rail openings (completed) and widen pedestrian ramps to 10 feet.
Re-stripe and re-sign 4th Street for on-street Bike Lanes (partially complete).

Sidewalk Repair Contract Starts up Again

2010-03-08T17:10:00.001-05:00

After a long weather-induced hiatus, the current sidewalk repair contract has re-started this week. This contract will also cover:

New sidewalk along Van Dusen and
Bulb-outs at Main/5th.

Transportation & Public Safety Committee Meeting CANCELLED

2010-02-15T12:38:00.001-05:00

The Transportation & Public Safety Committee originally scheduled for February 23, 2010 has been cancelled.

What does your money buy you - the Transportation Edition

2010-01-27T22:19:00.001-05:00

A popular question that pops up during public hearings that involves new transportation construction is:

"What is it going to cost?"

The short answer is: It varies greatly, depending on what you're building.

In the last two years material and labor costs have plummeted. This is a good thing for fiscally prudent jurisdictions (ahem, like Laurel). Tomorrow night, the City has a public hearing on installing approximately 2 miles of bike lanes and bike signage along 4th and 5th Streets. To answer the inevitable question of cost - the proposed bike lanes, as presented, will run about $10,000.

To some, this may be a trivial amount; to others, it may appear exorbitant. So, in order to provide context for everyone, please see the following chart that looks at how much infrastructure $10,000 buys, for several different modes of transportation.

This is a simplified comparison that doesn't take into account maintenance costs or other construction costs that relate to terrain re-grading. It also doesn't factor in the time savings of one transportation mode over another - something that is tougher to put a price on, and something that diminishes in value as the distance traveled decreases.

Public Hearing: New Bike Lanes on 4th Street and 5th Street

2010-01-05T10:19:00.003-05:00

A Public Hearing will be held in Meeting Room #2 at City Hall on 7pm, Thursday January 28, 2010 on the topic of adding two miles of bike lanes along 4th Street and 5th Street. The on-street bike lanes will connect the Riverfront Park trail to the paths around Gude Lake Park. In addition, 4th Street provides direct access to Main Street, the Historic District, Laurel Commons and the Laurel Shopping Center.

For those that cannot make the Public Hearing, discussion material is presented below. As always, comments can be submitted directly to the City, DPW, or on this site.

Map of affected routes (shown in green)

Proposed Re-striping of 4th street from Cherry to Greenhill

Proposed Re-striping of 4th Street from Greenhill to Gorman (WB 198)

Proposed Re-striping of 4th Street from Gorman (WB 198) to Talbot (WB 198)

Proposed Re-striping of 4th Street from Talbot (WB 198) to Montgomery Street

Proposed Re-striping of 4th Street from Montgomery Street (WB 198) to Riverfront Park

Proposed Re-striping of 5th street from Main to Gorman

Proposed Re-striping of 5th street from Gorman to Montrose

Map of Designated Bikeways

Street Light Added to 6th & Talbot

2009-12-23T12:33:00.001-05:00

The City recently added street lighting to the intersection of 6th Street and Talbot Ave (MD 198 westbound). This intersection is at a sharp bend in MD 198, and is particularly dark when the trees are in full bloom. The added lights should make this intersection safer for pedestrians and motorists.

Sidewalk improvement project on vacation

2009-12-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

This month, contractors started working on sidewalk and curb/gutter improvements around the City. The City's contractors will not be working for the remainder of this calendar year. There will be no restrictions on on-street parking during this time.

Pedestrian Safety (unscientific) Poll Results

2009-11-25T10:54:00.001-05:00

Two months ago, this site polled residents on pedestrian safety. Given the size of the city, 27 respondents isn’t statistically significant, but here are the results nonetheless:

25% said “Yes, there is plenty of sidewalk and safe crossings"
33% said “No, too many fast cars”
7% said “Yes, but more lighting is needed”
22% said “Pedestrian facilities are inadequate”
11% of respondents said that “They don’t walk much through the City”

The City of Laurel regularly addresses the issues listed in this poll through periodic lighting surveys, new sidewalk, speed surveys, new crosswalks, traffic calming, etc. Since over 60% of respondents felt that pedestrian facilities were inadequate to some degree, we offer a follow-up question: Assuming you live in the City of Laurel (see Map below), where do you feel that pedestrian facilities are inadequate?

Click to Enlarge

Sidewalk Repair around Town

2009-11-17T10:02:00.001-05:00

Beginning at the end of November, cracked and separated sidewalk will be replaced on the following streets:

Berryleaf Drive
Summerwind Circle
Concord Ave
Scotch Drive
Colony Ave
Shannon Ave
Saratoga Ave
Plaid Drive
Scotch Drive
Haines Court
Killbarron/Van Dusen (ADA ramp)
Dorset Rd @ Scotchtown Hills Elementary (ADA ramps)

Decorative Crosswalks on Montgomery Street

2009-11-03T15:25:00.001-05:00

For the next few weeks, the City will be installing 9-ft wide decorative crosswalks at every intersection along Montgomery Street from 4th Street to 10th Street. This process requires closing one side of the Montgomery at the intersection where the installation is taking place. Your patience is appreciated for this final step in the lengthy process of repairing/resurfacing Montgomery Street's roadway and sidewalks.

The newly-improved Intersection of 4th/Montgomery

Results of Traffic Calming Study on Montgomery Street

2009-10-27T10:22:00.000-04:00

Last year, the Laurel Department of Public Works conducted a speed study on Montgomery Street, near 11th Street, and determined that there were a large proportion of speeders at this residential location. DPW recently installed a center-island median, bright crosswalks, and a pedestrian pedestal at 11th Street and Montgomery Street (see Figure). DPW then conducted an after study to see if the traffic calming elements had the desired effect. As shown in the Figure below, 59% of all non-turning vehicles exceeded 30 mph prior to the traffic calming installation. After the installation, this number was reduced to 19% of all non-turning vehicles. The graph shows the motorists can still conveniently travel at the speed limit (25 mph), but are far less inclined to speed excessively. This balance of safety and convenience represents a win-win for both motorists driving through the neighborhood and for residents of the area who are more inclined to walk.

New Sidewalk along Van Dusen Road

2009-10-23T18:56:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel will be installing new sidewalk and curb-and-gutter along Van Dusen Road between Cherry Lane and Laurel Oaks Lane. Van Dusen has a high number of speeders, and there is currently no sidewalk along this segment. This segment is heavily used by pedestrians (primarily by school children), as evident by the path worn out in the grass along the road's shoulder. As shown in the figure below, this new sidewalk will connect the private sidewalk adjacent to the condominiums on Laurel Oaks Lane with the sidewalk along Cherry Lane, allowing residents a safer and more convenient passage.

Transportation and Public Safety Committee Meeting

2009-10-19T10:45:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday October 27, 2009 at 7pm, Laurel will have its quarterly Transportation and Public Safety Committee meeting. The meeting will be held in room #2 at City Hall. Residents with concerns about roadway safety or congestion on City roads are encouraged to attend. Items currently on the agenda include:

Montgomery Street traffic improvements
Pedestrian safety at 10th and Montrose.
Prohibited Parking in Wellington Subdivision – Ordinance 1436
Traffic Safety at Laurel High
Nightime visibiliy at Talbot and 5th.

This is an opportunity for residents to voice their pedestrian/bike/vehicle safety concerns directly to a City Councilperson, as well as City Staff from the Public Works and Police departments.

Montgomery Street - the Light at the end of the Tunnel

2009-10-05T13:42:00.001-04:00

For some time now, local drivers have had to endure the Mess on Montgomery Street due to the installation of new water and sewer lines. As of this writing, The City has scheduled with contractors to pave Montgomery Street this month. We recognize that on-street parking is heavily used on Montgomery Street, but in order to expedite the paving, please adhere to the temporary "No Parking" signs when they are posted along the street. The signs will be posted 48 hours prior to paving, per DPW policy.

Prior to Montgomery Street, the following streets will also be paved:

Ward
8th Street
Lafayette
Fairlawn

The roads will be paved in the above order.

Bikeway MasterPlan Approved by City

2009-09-29T09:35:00.001-04:00

On September 28, 2009, the Mayor and City Council approved Resolution No. 10-09 - a resolution to approve and adopt a City of Laurel Bikeway Master Plan.

City unveils new Bikway Plan

2009-08-29T00:52:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel and the Department of Public Works is proud to release its draft Bikeway Transportation Plan for public review and comment. The draft can be downloaded here (3MB file).

Traffic Calming: Before-and-After Study

2009-08-25T12:55:00.001-04:00

The City of Laurel conducted a Before-and-After Study of traffic calming measures at two locations in the City:
1) Greenview Drive
2) Montrose Traffic Circle.

Results:

Narrowing the roadway on Greenview, by striping parking lanes, resulted in an 11% reduction in all speeders and a 21% reduction in motorists who exceeded the speed limit by 10+ mph.
Constricting the westbound lane entering the Montrose traffic circle from 16 ft to 13 ft wide and adding splitter islands to the traffic circle reduced the number of speeders (25+mph) by 80%. Motorists traveling 30+ mph were reduced by 96%.

(click Greenview graph for larger figure)

(click Montrose graph for larger figure)

Current or Pending Pedestrian Safety Improvements (updated weekly)

2009-06-14T21:23:00.007-04:00

4^th Street

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

High Visibility Decorative Crosswalks at multiple Locations
Pedestrian Crosswalk Locator Signs

Update: Completed July, 2009

8^th Street

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk
High-visibility crosswalks at McCullagh Field

Update: Complete

9^th Street

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

10^th Street

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

Alan Drive

Repair broken and uneven sidewalk
ADA compliant sidewalk ramps

Update: Completed July, 2009

Carrissa Lane

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

Dorset Road

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps at crosswalks in front of Scotchtown Hills Elementary School

Update: Completed

Fairlawn Ave

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

Greenview Drive

High Visibility Crosswalks at Clubhouse Lan
Pedestrian Crosswalk Locator Sign
Striping for parking lane to address traffic calming

See Figure 1 for illustration.

Update: Complete

Kalmia Drive

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
High Visibility Crosswalks at Erica Lane
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

KillBarron Road

Complete Sidewalk on north side to Van Dusen Roadpedestrian side path. See Figure 2.

Update: Completed July, 2009

Lafayette Street

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

Laurel Oaks Lane

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

Laurelton Drive

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Completed July, 2009

Main Street

Sidewalk Bulb-outs at 5^th Street. See Figure 4.

Update: Completed - Spring 2010

Montgomery Street

Traffic Calming near 10th Street. See Figure 10.
ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk
Traffic Calming at 11th Street. See Figure 11.

Update: Completed

Montrose Ave

High Visibility Crosswalks at Centennial Park
Pedestrian Crosswalk Locator Signs at Centennial Park. See Figure 8.
Concrete Islands and Pedestrian Crosswalk Locator Signs at Traffic Circle. See Figure 7.

Update: Completed

St. Mary’s Ave

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk
High Visibility Decorative Crosswalks at multiple Locations

Update: Complete.

Van Dusen Road

Countdown Pedestrian Signal (CPS) and Audible Pedestrian Signal (APS) at intersection with Killbarron Road. See Figure 3. Completed September 2009
Countdown Pedestrian Signal (CPS) and Audible Pedestrian Signal (APS) at intersection with Cherry Lane. See Figure 9. Update: Completed July,2009
High-Visibility Crosswalk at Killbarron Drive. Update: Completed August 2009

Ward Street

ADA compliant sidewalk ramps
Repair broken and uneven sidewalk

Update: Complete

FIGURES

Figure 1: Proposed striping/signage improvements to the intersection of Clubhouse and Greenview

Figure 2: Missing Sidewalk on Killbarron (before) and New Sidewalk leading up to the asphalt path on Van Dusen (after).

Figure 3: Intersection of Van Dusen and Olive Branch/Killbarron

Figure 4: Illustration of bulb-outs at Main and 5^th.

Figure 5: High-visibility thermo-plastic crosswalks.

Figure 6: Illustration of new Decorative Crosswalk

Figure 7: Before-and-after conditions showing concrete islands for traffic circle and new circle striping. Not to scale.

Figure 8: Relocated pedestrian ramp and new crosswalk and signage.

Figure 9: Van Dusen and Cherry. Installation of new Pedestrian Countdown Signal (PCS) and new Audible Pedestrian Signal (APS)

Figure 10: Rendering of the Intersection of Montgomery Street and Sandy Spring, with realigned decorative crosswalks and bulb-outs to reduce pedestrian crossing distance and calm vehicle traffic.

Figure 11: Rendering of the Intersection of Montgomery Street and 11th, with traffic calming center island and high-visibility crosswalk.