How walkable is your neighborhood?

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

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

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

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...

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

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.

Transportation & Public Safety Committee Meeting CANCELLED

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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