Year-end Review

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

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

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?

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

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

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