corridors

Cooling Montgomery County’s corridors

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By Montgomery Planning Staff

Residents who walk, ride bikes, and wait for buses along busy roads in the Washington, DC region more often feel the unhealthy effects of traffic-related air pollution and blistering summer days.

Asphalt roads and parking lots, as well as concrete sidewalks, absorb the sun, creating “heat islands” with higher temperatures. A 2022 heat mapping study of Montgomery County found that these areas reached up to ten degrees hotter than rural areas.

As Montgomery Planning Environmental Planner Steve Findley explained: “Obviously, anybody who is outside a vehicle – anybody who is walking, biking or rolling along the corridor or waiting for transit – is going to be exposed to these heat island impacts.”

This seemingly complex … Continue reading

Considering a New Way to Combat Traffic

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guest post by Larry Cole

Transportation planners often say we cannot build enough roads to fix congestion. In fact, building new roads or expanding existing roads accommodates growth but can also encourage people to move farther out. The result is more people driving longer distances, more carbon emissions, more wasted time in traffic. This effect can be amplified when increased traffic on widened roads lessens the desirability of established neighborhoods.

We believe that there is a better way. This week, we will present the Planning Board with preliminary recommendations for a countywide transit network. Our goal is to increase the appeal of transit serving our activity centers, such as Silver Spring, Bethesda, White Flint, and Germantown, and to move … Continue reading