Results from Laurel's Walking Survey

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

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

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

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

Navigating the Intersection of 4th and Cherry by Bike

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

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

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

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

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

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