New, Green Certified Businesses to be Featured on Ride On Buses; Businesses Must Apply by August 1

Montgomery County businesses that submit an application to the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Green Business Certification Program (GBCP) between now and August 1, and are certified, will be featured on a Ride On bus public service ad (PSA). The “Get On the Bus” initiative promotes the GBCP that provides businesses with a “greenprint” for introducing sustainability into their day-to-day operations and supply chain decisions. Organizations that embrace green practices enhance environmental quality while promoting economic development.

The GBCP is a partnership between DEP, the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) and Montgomery College.

Businesses eligible to participate are commercial office/retail tenants or owners and landscapers, including home-based landscape businesses. Businesses must apply for certification by August 1 and be certified shortly thereafter. Information about the program is available online. Download the GBCP application from DEP’s website.

Each Certified Green Business will be featured on its own exterior PSA that is 30 inches high and 80 inches wide and includes the GBCP logo and information about the program. The PSAs will appear on the buses this fall, featuring each business for about a month.

DEP provides free, onsite technical assistance to guide businesses through the application and certification processes. To learn more, contact DEP Program Manager Doug Weisburger.

County Reaches Settlement with Clarksburg Developer Newland to Assure Finishing of Uncompleted Clarksburg Infrastructure and Related Amenities

Montgomery County has reached a settlement with Newland Company (NNP II) to finish uncompleted infrastructure in their portion of the Clarksburg Town Center (CTC), brick pavers and amenities at Murphy’s Grove Pond.

Under the agreement:

1. Newland must restart work immediately to finish road, sidewalk and stormwater management facilities in the Town Center under its outstanding permits with the County. The work will include the amended site plan enhancements associated with the permitted work. These enhancements are infrastructure improvements that Newland agreed to make to the CTC as part of a Compliance Plan that Newland proposed to the Planning Board to resolve certain site plan violations. These site plan enhancements include items like brick sidewalks and a fishing pier, landscaping, and benches for Murphy’s Grove Pond. The estimated value of this work (including enhancements) is about $7.5 million. Newland will fully bond all work. The work must be completed by December 31, 2015. 
2. Newland constructed and the County has accepted arterial roads that cost $5.5 million to construct. Newland expected to be reimbursed by the County for these roads through the Development District. When the Council terminated the Development District in 2010, Newland received nothing from the County, and Newland has asserted a claim against the County for $6.5 million. As part of the settlement, Newland will release the County from all claims associated with the termination of the Development District. 
3. In exchange, the County will enter into a participation agreement with Newland and will pay a net of $671,500 after all work is done and accepted. That amount includes a payment by Newland to the County of $231,000 for future improvements to Snowden Farm Parkway. 
4. Consistent with recently adopted County law, the County will undertake responsibility for post-construction stormwater management monitoring.

Leggett Joins Lieutenant Governor Brown, Federal Delegation, Local and State Dignitaries to Celebrate Start of Cedar Lane Intersection Improvement

BRAC Project Will Help Reduce Bethesda Traffic Congestion

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (third from left) joined federal, state and local officials to celebrate the greenlighting of another BRAC project; the MD 355 and Cedar Lane Intersection Project in Bethesda. Pictured from left to right are: Deputy Transportation Secretary Wilson H. Parran, Senator Richard Madaleno, Leggett, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown, Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and County Councilmember Roger Berliner.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett joined Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown to celebrate the start of improvements to the Cedar Lane and MD 355/Rockville Pike intersection -- a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) project to help mitigate the traffic impacts from the expansion of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). Leggett joined U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards and Deputy Transportation Secretary Wilson H. Parran to highlight the many other BRAC-related improvements that have been made to ease traffic in Bethesda.

Staff at WRNMMC has increased from about 8,000 to nearly 11,600 and the number of visitors, most of whom arrive by car, has doubled to nearly one million. In 2007, Montgomery County and State of Maryland officials, together with community leaders and the U.S. Navy, created a comprehensive mobility plan to address the traffic impacts of BRAC through projects that improve traffic flow at key intersections and provide better pedestrian and bicycle access.

Montgomery County and the State of Maryland began implementing the plan, but additional resources were needed to complete it. The County’s congressional delegation, Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin and Congressman Chris Van Hollen, succeeded in obtaining nearly $120 million from the Federal government to make all the changes needed.

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has completed construction of the following new and upgraded hiker-biker paths and sidewalks to serve the Medical Center with the help of a U.S. Department of Defense grant:

• A hiker-biker path along Jones Bridge Road from Rockville Pike to Connecticut Avenue, provides a connection to the Capital Crescent and Rock Creek trails; 
• A hiker-biker path along Cedar Lane, from Rockville Pike to Old Georgetown Road, and a wider Cedar Lane bridge across Rock Creek connects to the Bethesda Trolley and Rock Creek trails; and 
• New and improved sidewalks and bike paths serve the Medical Center on Rockville Pike and in the Battery Lane neighborhood. 

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) will upgrade the Cedar Lane intersection to: 

• Add a southbound left turn lane onto Wilson Drive (at the National Institutes of Health) from westbound Cedar Lane. 
• Add a northbound right turn lane onto Cedar Lane from North Wood Drive, Naval Support Activity Bethesda. 
• Add a morning rush hour signal for southbound left turns onto North Wood Drive, Naval Support Activity Bethesda. 
• Increase space for more vehicles waiting to turn left going southbound at North Wood Drive, Naval Support Activity Bethesda. 
• Increase space for more vehicles waiting to turn left going northbound at the National Institutes of Health commercial vehicle inspection facility. 
• Replace two culverts beneath Rockville Pike/MD 355 at Cedar Lane. 
• Restripe Cedar Lane (no lanes added) to facilitate turns and traffic flow. 

SHA is also making improvements to three other major intersections that serve the Medical Center that will enhance traffic flow and promote pedestrian safety. The projects are fully funded with monies from the Federal government and the Maryland Department of Transportation:

• Rockville Pike at Jones Bridge Road 
• Connecticut Avenue at Jones Bridge Road 
• Old Georgetown Road at Cedar Lane 

Next year, MCDOT will begin a $68 million project to construct major upgrades to the Medical Center Metro Station, including a bank of deep elevators to the Metrorail platform on the Naval Support Activity Bethesda side of MD 355/Rockville Pike and a shallow pedestrian underpass to allow thousands of bus and carpool commuters and pedestrians to cross Rockville Pike safely.

More detailed information on the Bethesda area BRAC projects is available on the County’s website.

Update on Road Maintenance Projects

Several new road maintenance projects by the Division of Highway Services (DHS) are beginning in local subdivisions. With the warmer temperatures, DHS has begun patching and paving roads throughout the County.

Permanent patching is a cost-effective interim solution to maintaining roadway structural integrity. The following projects are underway and should be completed within three to four weeks, weather permitting. Work hours are between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

• Brookdale community, Chevy Chase, began week of May 26. 
• Carderock community, Bethesda began week of May 19. 

Concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk repair projects involve replacing defective sections to ensure structural integrity, proper drainage and to remove tripping hazards. When DHS crews are in a neighborhood, residents can take advantage of discounts for concrete work under the driveway apron and lead walk repair program.

Repairs in the Kingswell neighborhood in Wheaton began in late May and will take about six to eight weeks to complete. Work hours are between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For projects to preserve pavement while maintaining the rustic nature of rural roads, DHS will use a Chipseal resurfacing process that involves full depth patching of pavement; crack sealing; application of an asphalt emulsion binder, stone aggregate and Chipseal; compaction with rubber rollers; sweeping of residual stone; and repainting lane markings. Work continues to occur in June between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday: 

• Kings Valley Road in Damascus will take about three weeks to complete. 
• Sugarland Road in Poolesville, from Whites Ferry Road to Sugarland Lane, will take about four weeks. 
• Peach Tree Road, from Old Hundred Road/MD109 to Barnesville Road, in Dickerson will take about two weeks. 

For more information on resurfacing projects throughout the County, visit the Division of Highway Services’ website or call 311 (outside Montgomery County, call 240-777-0311; TTY 301-251-4850), Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

State Resurfacing Roadways in the County

The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) has begun resurfacing several roadways in the County. Weather permitting, the $4.6 million project will be completed by late summer.

SHA will remove the top layer of asphalt, patch, resurface and install new pavement markings on the following roadways: 

• MD 355 (Rockville Pike) from Southwood Drive to Wilson Drive; 
• MD 192 (Forest Glen Road) from Plyers Mill Road to MD 97 (Georgia Avenue); 
• MD 188 (Wilson Lane) from MacArthur Boulevard to MD 190 (River Road); 
• MD 188 (Wilson Lane) from Moorland Lane to Arlington Road; 
• MD 115 (Muncaster Mill Road) from MD 124 (Woodfield Road) to Avery Road; 
• MD 124 (Woodfield Road) from Woodfield School Road to MD 108 (Damascus Road); 
• MD 191 (Bradley Lane) from West Avenue to MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue) and; 
• MD 117 (Clopper Road) from the entrance of Seneca State Park to Long Draft Road. 

To complete the work, crews will close a lane of traffic on roadways inside the work zones weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and up to two lanes, overnight, Sunday through Thursday between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

SHA will use variable message boards, temporary signs, construction cones, barrels and flaggers to guide motorists through the work zones. Residents and travelers are advised that construction equipment can be loud and disruptive.

Two Bridges to be Replaced in Poolesville

Starting June 14, the County Department of Transportation’s Division of Transportation Engineering will begin constructing two replacement bridges on Whites Ferry Road that span the Broad Branch tributaries between Route 109, Beallsville Road, and Route 107, Wasche Road. Local residents will have access to their properties throughout the construction period.

Construction will occur Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. and is expected to be completed at the end of August. Occasionally, work may be performed on a Saturday to make up for work delays due to weather. Detour signs will be posted to direct vehicles around the work zone.

Throughout the construction process, a full-time County representative will be present to oversee construction progress, monitor the work zone for pedestrian and traffic safety and answer residents’ questions about the project.

Bus Stop Improvement Program has Improved Safety and Accessibility at Nearly 3,000 Stops

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (left) announced that an eight-year bus stop improvement program has enhanced pedestrian safety and accessibility at nearly 3,000 bus stops. Joining Leggett were Seth Morgan, member of the Commission on People with Disabilities and Carolyn Biggins, general manager Ride On. 

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett announced that an eight-year bus stop improvement program has enhanced the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility and pedestrian safety at 2,879 stops. A survey of the County’s 5,400 stops completed in 2006 identified 3,400 in need of some type of improvement. Work continues to upgrade the remaining bus stops.

Improvements to the bus stops have included construction of:

• 1,246 ramps at 813 intersections;
• 79,240 square feet of sidewalk leading to bus stops; 
• 161,647 square feet of five-by-eight-foot concrete pads at 2,400 bus stops; and 
• 408 “knee walls” at sloped sites to prevent wheelchairs from rolling onto dangerous terrain and to provide seating for waiting passengers.

The bus stop survey inventoried each of the County’s stops for 115 factors in five categories: precise location, accessibility, level of safety, information/signage and amenities. Upgrades were first made to stops with the highest ridership and those deemed of most urgent need of improvement, such as stops not located at intersections that required pedestrians to cross mid-block or were located alongside multi-lane roads with fast-moving traffic. Many bus stops were moved to safer locations. To save money, in one specific area, enhancements were also made to surrounding stops.

In addition to ensuring ADA compliance, the upgrades also reduce the distance to crosswalks, provide pedestrian refuge islands, establish connections to existing sidewalks, address slope issues and improve drainage. Ride On works closely with the County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) Division of Traffic Engineering and MCDOT’s sidewalk program to ensure that construction in a neighborhood is coordinated and improvements can all be made at the same time.

The $11 million Bus Stop Improvement Project was approved in the 2006-2011 six-year Capital Improvements Program budget. As well as enhancing Ride On bus stops, MCDOT is also improving about 600 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) stops and 900 stops in the County shared between Metro and Ride On. The average cost to improve each bus stop is $3,000.

MCDOT continues efforts to improve the remaining bus stops. Upgrading these stops is more complex, because many are located on roads not originally built to accommodate pedestrians. Enhancing these bus stops requires purchasing right-of-way from private property owners or trying to work around obstructions -- such as walls and fences -- that prevent installing ADA compliant facilities.

Information about Ride On routes and schedules is available online.