Phase 1 of Bikeway Masterplan Completed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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