SILVER SPRING – Montgomery County’s traffic congestion has remained at the same level for the past two years, according to the Mobility Assessment Report, a bi-annual study by county transportation planners that monitors local transportation trends.
The Planning Board will consider the report at its meeting on Thursday, October 27.
The mobility assessment, which also measures transit ridership, bike use and pedestrian activity, finds that the county’s network of roads continues to be strained by increasing numbers of residents and commuters relying on cars as their primary means of travel.
To improve the road network, but recognizing that roads alone can’t address congestion, planners are addressing new options, such as expanded transit, bike paths and sidewalks to achieve more sustainable, less congested communities. Moreover, building future homes near transit will create more opportunities for people to avoid driving.
Particularly bad for commuters, according to travel time indexing: southbound US 29 between Howard County and University Boulevard in the mornings and eastbound University Boulevard between Georgia and New Hampshire avenues in the evenings.
The travel time assessment is based on 50 real-time travel observations collected along priority corridors – MD 355/Rockville Pike, MD 185/Connecticut Avenue, U.S. 29/Columbia Pike and MD 586/Veirs Mill Road – that have a history of the greatest congestion. Planners analyze travel conditions by comparing the slowest time traveled along a corridor compared to a vehicle traveling at the speed limit.
The report also ranks the county’s most congested intersections based on critical lane volume data gathered between 2008 and 2011. Critical lane volume data takes snapshots of intersection performance, literally capturing traffic volume at a particular time and place.
The top most congested intersections include:
- Old Georgetown Road at Democracy Boulevard
- Darnestown Road at Riffle Ford Road
- Shady Grove Road at Choke Cherry Lane
- Rockville Pike at West Cedar Lane
- Georgia Avenue at Norbeck Road
- MD 355 at Edmonston Drive
- Great Seneca Highway at Muddy Branch Road
- Connecticut Avenue at Jones Bridge Road
WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Board
WHAT:
2011 Mobility Assessment Report
WHEN:
Thursday, October 27, approximately 3 p.m.
WHERE:
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD
# # #