Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Like you said, people naturally slow down when driving southbound just at Brookeville Road before hitting the curve. The curve slows cars down.

It’s mind boggling that we’re spending $50M on this bypass. This was an unnecessary project spearheaded by one woman with too much power.

There’s no safety issue. No pedestrians. No “town.” It’s a smattering of houses. No businesses. The house on the corner in question is a rental. You literally never see any people on the stretch of road we’re spending $50M to protect.

Boondoggle.

https://townofbrookevillemd.org/

I’m 8:58 and yes, that corner is a town but in name only. It has some beautiful old homes and the Brookeville Academy, but really that’s it. It’s not a town in the way that most people think it is like Ellicott city, Mount airy, historic Frederick.

"The Town of Brookeville is one of 157 incorporated municipalities in Maryland. Municipalities are towns or cities that are self-governing under the Maryland State Constitution. Most commonly, municipalities have been incorporated by an act of the Maryland General Assembly. The Town of Brookeville was Established in 1794 and Incorporated in 1808."

While we're at it:

Frederick is a city: https://www.cityoffrederickmd.gov/

Ellicott City is not a city (it was disincorporated in 1935).

Mt. Airy is a town: https://www.mountairymd.org/

So you got 1 out of 4 right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Like you said, people naturally slow down when driving southbound just at Brookeville Road before hitting the curve. The curve slows cars down.

It’s mind boggling that we’re spending $50M on this bypass. This was an unnecessary project spearheaded by one woman with too much power.

There’s no safety issue. No pedestrians. No “town.” It’s a smattering of houses. No businesses. The house on the corner in question is a rental. You literally never see any people on the stretch of road we’re spending $50M to protect.

Boondoggle.

https://townofbrookevillemd.org/

I’m 8:58 and yes, that corner is a town but in name only. It has some beautiful old homes and the Brookeville Academy, but really that’s it. It’s not a town in the way that most people think it is like Ellicott city, Mount airy, historic Frederick.

Your idea of a “town” seems to be very selective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Like you said, people naturally slow down when driving southbound just at Brookeville Road before hitting the curve. The curve slows cars down.

It’s mind boggling that we’re spending $50M on this bypass. This was an unnecessary project spearheaded by one woman with too much power.

There’s no safety issue. No pedestrians. No “town.” It’s a smattering of houses. No businesses. The house on the corner in question is a rental. You literally never see any people on the stretch of road we’re spending $50M to protect.

Boondoggle.

https://townofbrookevillemd.org/

I’m 8:58 and yes, that corner is a town but in name only. It has some beautiful old homes and the Brookeville Academy, but really that’s it. It’s not a town in the way that most people think it is like Ellicott city, Mount airy, historic Frederick.

Anonymous wrote:

Like you said, people naturally slow down when driving southbound just at Brookeville Road before hitting the curve. The curve slows cars down.

It’s mind boggling that we’re spending $50M on this bypass. This was an unnecessary project spearheaded by one woman with too much power.

There’s no safety issue. No pedestrians. No “town.” It’s a smattering of houses. No businesses. The house on the corner in question is a rental. You literally never see any people on the stretch of road we’re spending $50M to protect.

Boondoggle.

https://townofbrookevillemd.org/

Anonymous wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/wtop.com/montgomery-county/2015/10/md-97-bypass-win-win-small-town-montgomery-county/amp/

Here’s Karen saying she can’t get out of her driveway.

There’s no bumper to bumper traffic. And if there were, it’s easy to merge into bumper to bumper traffic.

Zucker’s comment about kids darting into traffic are ridiculous. Nearly two decades in Brookeville, and I’ve never seen any people let alone kids on that stretch of road.

He said that? That’s a bald face lie.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/wtop.com/montgomery-county/2015/10/md-97-bypass-win-win-small-town-montgomery-county/amp/

Here’s Karen saying she can’t get out of her driveway.

There’s no bumper to bumper traffic. And if there were, it’s easy to merge into bumper to bumper traffic.

Zucker’s comment about kids darting into traffic are ridiculous. Nearly two decades in Brookeville, and I’ve never seen any people let alone kids on that stretch of road.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the area and I disagree entirely with you OP. It is needed. It is a safety issue for residents.

The road in Brookeville is narrow, and people use it as a thru-way, attempting to go 50 MPH. If you do not live there, your opinion matters little. It's a historic town and we should take the proper steps to ensure the safety of the town and its residents.

I live in Brookeville.

Nobody goes 50mph! There are speed cameras approaching the turn plus stop signs. It’s a very well controlled intersection. It’s not a pedestrian area at all. I’ve lived here for nearly 20 years and I never see people when driving that stretch.

Face it: we’re wasting $50M on a project that destroyed a forest to build a bypass so an elderly elected official could more easily back out of her driveway.

^^^
That’s literally what prompted this. Disgusting.

I agree, she really pushed it through. It’s funny that you said you don’t see people walking, neither do I so when when I saw a man walking his dog on the corner of high end Georgia I was surprised. I don’t think the speeding happens when people are driving northbound because of the cameras but I think people do dive very fast and slow down until just after Brookville Road. Maybe a speed calming measure could’ve been put in place there instead of having to build the Brookville bypass.

What boggles me is why it’s still hasn’t been completed.

Like you said, people naturally slow down when driving southbound just at Brookeville Road before hitting the curve. The curve slows cars down.

It’s mind boggling that we’re spending $50M on this bypass. This was an unnecessary project spearheaded by one woman with too much power.

There’s no safety issue. No pedestrians. No “town.” It’s a smattering of houses. No businesses. The house on the corner in question is a rental. You literally never see any people on the stretch of road we’re spending $50M to protect.

Boondoggle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the area and I disagree entirely with you OP. It is needed. It is a safety issue for residents.

The road in Brookeville is narrow, and people use it as a thru-way, attempting to go 50 MPH. If you do not live there, your opinion matters little. It's a historic town and we should take the proper steps to ensure the safety of the town and its residents.

I live in Brookeville.

Nobody goes 50mph! There are speed cameras approaching the turn plus stop signs. It’s a very well controlled intersection. It’s not a pedestrian area at all. I’ve lived here for nearly 20 years and I never see people when driving that stretch.

Face it: we’re wasting $50M on a project that destroyed a forest to build a bypass so an elderly elected official could more easily back out of her driveway.

^^^
That’s literally what prompted this. Disgusting.

I agree, she really pushed it through. It’s funny that you said you don’t see people walking, neither do I so when when I saw a man walking his dog on the corner of high end Georgia I was surprised. I don’t think the speeding happens when people are driving northbound because of the cameras but I think people do dive very fast and slow down until just after Brookville Road. Maybe a speed calming measure could’ve been put in place there instead of having to build the Brookville bypass.

What boggles me is why it’s still hasn’t been completed.

Anonymous wrote:I live in the area and I disagree entirely with you OP. It is needed. It is a safety issue for residents.

The road in Brookeville is narrow, and people use it as a thru-way, attempting to go 50 MPH. If you do not live there, your opinion matters little. It's a historic town and we should take the proper steps to ensure the safety of the town and its residents.

I live in Brookeville.

Nobody goes 50mph! There are speed cameras approaching the turn plus stop signs. It’s a very well controlled intersection. It’s not a pedestrian area at all. I’ve lived here for nearly 20 years and I never see people when driving that stretch.

Face it: we’re wasting $50M on a project that destroyed a forest to build a bypass so an elderly elected official could more easily back out of her driveway.

^^^
That’s literally what prompted this. Disgusting.

As someone that just drove this a few weeks ago, it is totally needed.

When you come up to that tight angled turn on High St the road is dangerously narrow and comes too close to houses for a state highway.

As others have mentioned, there are no businesses that will get disturbed. The most notable things I saw were an old church and an old historic school house.

I’m really just not sure why people feel the need to opine on things they don’t have a lot of information about.

If you feel that you are a stakeholder because state $ is involved, it would probably be good to compare how much state and local money has been spent on infrastructure improvements in that area over the past 30 years as opposed to other areas of the county. The answer is very little.

Maryland has very few small towns with unique character and a sense of community. Brookeville is a rarity, and I support the bypass as a means of keeping the flow of commuter traffic on MD-97 off the main street.

I find it a fascinating sign of the times that folks who live in either dense urban environments or in somewhat "placeless" suburbs place such a high value on preserving very small patches of forest in areas they know nothing about. Equally fascinating is the total neglect of what makes old-fashioned communities so pleasurable and natural-seeming. Take Brookeville as an example: One of the marvelous aspects of old, pre-modern towns like Brookeville is the way they mix nature and community in a seamless way. Big old trees filter the sunlight and provide shade and living space for generations of birds, cicadas, and squirrels. Older homes with older construction materials were designed without air conditioning in mind and deliberately let in light and air from the surrounding neighborhood. Porches in the front of the buildings provide a place for people in the neighborhood to watch each other's kids and enjoy both community and the outdoors at the same time.

Environmentalists in the 21st century, of which I consider myself one, need to be careful not to forget about the way actual human beings live when we advocate for environmental preservation. The easy path is to let developers do what they want with the land and cry foul whenever someone wants to cut down a tree. But wouldn't we be better off if we put a bit of pressure on developers and highway engineers to keep highways away from our neighborhoods, provide parks and walkable living spaces where community can flourish, and ensure that the natural world can be interlaced with our daily lives in an organic way?

There's very little wild forest left in Montgomery County, and the small patch of woods on the side of Brookeville, where the bypass is being built, was never any kind of crucial habitat. There are much larger patches of identical habitat along the Patuxent and many of the protected stream valleys in the county (Lake Needwood/Seneca/Rock Creek etc.). The small damage involved in building this bypass is a fair exchange for thevery important goal of protecting an equally valuable habitat for the residents of Brookeville. The way out of our environmental challenges is not to draw a hard line between humans and nature, and protect nature from humans at all times. Instead, we need to protect balanced environments and communities from encroachment and think of them as a model for future communities and neighborhoods,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well they use both as thru ways, but Georgia avenue is narrow, and because the town is historic, it cannot be widened. People own right up to the road, and in some instances part of the road.

Similar to 108 through the town of Laytonsville (actual town limits). It will never be widened. Speed limit is 30, it's next to a school, people walk every day, school buses stop to let kids off...and yet, county residents (and large trucks) think they can go 50+ through a tiny town. This is why bypasses are needed. I recognize the need for commuters to get to their locations, but their time does not negate the safety of the people who call these historic towns home.

Or speed cameras, which is the solution the Town of Barnesville used. Much more cost-effective and much less environmentally destructive than a bypass.

They have had speed cameras in Brookeville since at least seven years ago.

It's obvious you don't live in this particular area. Or navigate the almost 90 degree turn on Georgia thru Brookeville.

That's not remotely true at all

You obviously don't drive through there.

you essentially make a right turn on Georgia Ave / High St (which is it's name for a mile or two) from Georgia right now.



It's essentially a right hand turn to go through town to the other side of Georgia.

I don't know where you live pp, but it's obviously not anywhere near Brookeville.

Anonymous wrote:So are we getting other bypasses in MoCo?

There are some in the master plan, have been for 20 years. Who knows if they will come to fruition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well they use both as thru ways, but Georgia avenue is narrow, and because the town is historic, it cannot be widened. People own right up to the road, and in some instances part of the road.

Similar to 108 through the town of Laytonsville (actual town limits). It will never be widened. Speed limit is 30, it's next to a school, people walk every day, school buses stop to let kids off...and yet, county residents (and large trucks) think they can go 50+ through a tiny town. This is why bypasses are needed. I recognize the need for commuters to get to their locations, but their time does not negate the safety of the people who call these historic towns home.

Or speed cameras, which is the solution the Town of Barnesville used. Much more cost-effective and much less environmentally destructive than a bypass.

They have had speed cameras in Brookeville since at least seven years ago.

It's obvious you don't live in this particular area. Or navigate the almost 90 degree turn on Georgia thru Brookeville.

That's not remotely true at all

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well they use both as thru ways, but Georgia avenue is narrow, and because the town is historic, it cannot be widened. People own right up to the road, and in some instances part of the road.

Similar to 108 through the town of Laytonsville (actual town limits). It will never be widened. Speed limit is 30, it's next to a school, people walk every day, school buses stop to let kids off...and yet, county residents (and large trucks) think they can go 50+ through a tiny town. This is why bypasses are needed. I recognize the need for commuters to get to their locations, but their time does not negate the safety of the people who call these historic towns home.

Or speed cameras, which is the solution the Town of Barnesville used. Much more cost-effective and much less environmentally destructive than a bypass.

They have had speed cameras in Brookeville since at least seven years ago.

It's obvious you don't live in this particular area. Or navigate the almost 90 degree turn on Georgia thru Brookeville.