US Route 1 Sidewalk gap to be filled

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.

Hiker-Biker Trail on Van Dusen

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!

Sidewalk widening on Cherry Lane

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 Sidewalk

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:

1. 7th Street, east side, between Montgomery Street and Prince George Street. (update: completed 7/7/11)
2. 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

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.

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.

Sidewalk widening on Cherry Lane

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.

Aerial view of Laurel: Google updates its maps

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 

CDBG funding for Bowie Road pedestrian improvements

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

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.

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

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.

Pending Pedestrian Safety Improvements

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

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

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.

Upcoming Improvements to 4th & Cherry

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.

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

Sidewalk Repair Contract Starts up Again

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.

What does your money buy you - the Transportation Edition

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.

Sidewalk improvement project on vacation

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.

Sidewalk Repair around Town

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)

New Sidewalk along Van Dusen Road

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.