I'm the person you cursed on the way to the school kiss and ride...let me explain

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, OP.

Signed, a bicyclist.

Do you ever exceed the speed limit when you drive? I don't know any person who is in a position to throw stones at other people for speeding. Everyone has done it as far as I can tell.

I may speed on a highway, but as a PP noted, no way would I speed in a residential area with kids running around. I'm cautious like that. Such a granny am I.

[Anonymous]

I live on a COMPLETELY STRAIGHT road that is 4 lanes wide (1 lane each way plus giant 'breakdown' lanes) with minimal development. Yes there is a medical campus, and some houses, but it is speed limit 25. There are alway speed traps, so I go 32 or so. But there is absolutely no need for the speed limit to be so slow. Why is it slow, you ask?
Well, a decade ago someone got hit on a similar, narrower road a couple miles away. They were walking in the middle of the road, wearing black, at night. So the cops made ALL the roads speed limit 25 and now use them as revenue boosters.
Kind of like Connecticut Ave. I'm sorry, but in CC MD it's straight as an arrow and 6 lanes wide. SIX LANES. The speed limit is ridiculously low.

[Anonymous]

Article about how DC area has inappropriately low speed limits in many places.
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/tag/speed+limits/

See also the 2010 DC Speed Study. http://dc.gov/DC/DDOT/On+Your+Street/Safety/Speed+Study/DC+Speed+Map+2010

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, OP.

Signed, a bicyclist.

Do you ever exceed the speed limit when you drive? I don't know any person who is in a position to throw stones at other people for speeding. Everyone has done it as far as I can tell.

Certainly not in residential neighborhoods, no. It's not that difficult to stay under the speed limit.

[Anonymous]

I'm one of the North Chevy Chase posters - other NCCES PP - where did you hear about the state wanting to widen Jones Bridge in front of the school? I have lived in the neighborhood for ten years and have been following all the school and traffic issues pretty closely, and I'm not familiar with this. Thanks!

I'm the other NCCES poster. The proposal to widen Jones Bridge Road in front of the school is part of the state's effort to address the failing intersections at both JBR/Conn Ave and JBR/Wisconsin Avenue, and related to the BRAC relocations. The Wisconsin work is ongoing, and the Conn Ave improvements (including an extra lane) went before the MoCo Planning Board in July(ish, maybe June?) Several people from the neighborhood testified against it, including someone from the NCC PTA who was great (not me!) The good news is that the Planning Board rejected the plans for the changes on the part of JBR east of Conn Ave (near the school), but the bad news is that (apparently) the state doesn't need to abide by the county planning. Still trying to figure that out, and there are some community meetings that are in the works with the hopes of clarifying where things go from here. If needed, there will be a big effort to mobilize the neighborhood and the school community. The most ridiculous part is that the changes would literally only shave a few seconds off the west-bound wait at the Conn Ave light. And our kids would be expected to cross 3 lanes of traffic, moving much more quickly, plus a bigger turn lane for Manor so almost all walkers would face more, faster traffic.

I'll post links if I can dredge them up, but if you check out the BRAC page and the MoCo Planning Board, you should be able to find the details. Also, be aware that there are HUGE expansion plans for the plots of land where CC Supermarket now sits - someday it may look like Friendship Heights around there - and there are ZERO traffic mitigation plans for Conn Ave. They basically plan to funnel all the traffic onto Manor Road, and then of course to Jones Bridge. Again, there are community meetings planned to discuss this in the next few weeks.

Sorry for the diversion everyone else. I do think what we're facing in CC MD / North CC MD is indicative of a broader problem, the intensification of development without any real consideration of the impact on communities and especially on children. A neighborhood school can and should be a huge asset for the community. Neighbors get to know one another on the walk and the wait; kids play at the school on the weekends; there are neighborhood events and camps and farmers' markets held at schools. I'm all for improvements, and I hate traffic as much as the next person. But kids and community should not be put in danger simply to move a few more commuters a bit more quickly.