Planning principles are based on safety, connectivity and enhancing the Veirs Mill corridor
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, presented the preliminary recommendations for the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan to the Planning Board on Thursday, January 11, 2018. These planning strategies address land use and zoning; urban design; transportation; parks, trails and open spaces; sustainability and community facilities.
For details about the preliminary recommendations, consult the Planning Department web pages for the plan.
One of the chief goals of the plan is to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users within the Veirs Mill corridor, in accordance with Montgomery County’s Vision Zero policy to reduce traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries.
The Planning Department has launched a new digital GIS-based feedback map to allow stakeholders to provide comments online based on the three categories of recommendations: safety, connectivity and enhanced community.
View and provide comments on the Veirs Mill Preliminary Recommendations Feedback Map.
“We appreciate the Board’s comments and direction on the preliminary recommendations as we work to refine the Working Draft of the plan, now scheduled to be presented to the Board in early spring 2018,” says lead planner Jessica McVary. “We are pleased to provide another way for the community to give their feedback through our online feedback map and hope anyone who works or lives in the Veirs Mill Corridor area has a chance to contribute.”
In developing the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan, the team held extensive community outreach meetings and events, including a presence at neighborhood events and festivals in the plan area and Wheaton. In addition to a previously released feedback map for collecting comments on challenges and opportunities in the plan area, Spanish language advertising of the planning effort was introduced to reach and engage a broad audience.
Following the approval of the Working Draft, the Planning Board will hold a public hearing and work sessions, offering additional opportunities for the community to comment on the plan recommendations.
About the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan
The Montgomery County Planning Department, under the guidance of the Montgomery County Planning Board and Montgomery County Council, initiated the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan in January 2017. To develop the plan, staff is seeking feedback from the community and reviewing current land uses and existing conditions in order to make recommendations for improvements in the area.
The Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan extends approximately four miles, from the City of Rockville to the Wheaton Central Business District and Vicinity Sector Plan boundary. The plan boundaries roughly correspond to a ¼-mile area around each of the bus rapid transit (BRT) stations identified in the 2013 Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan.
The Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan provides recommendations to:
- Evaluate and guide future land uses along the Veirs Mill Road corridor from Wheaton to Rockville.
- Improve the compatibility between the land uses adjacent to Veirs Mill Road and the future bus rapid transit corridor.
- Increase pedestrian and bicycle accessibility, connectivity and safety within the plan area.
- Explore opportunities for redevelopment at strategic locations to provide more walkable, neighborhood-serving development.
- Consider a comprehensive streetscape design and opportunities for placemaking within the corridor.
The Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan complements the Veirs Mill Road Bus Rapid Transit Study recently completed by the Maryland State Highway Administration in coordination with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. This transit study evaluated alternatives for bus rapid transit service along Veirs Mill Road between Wheaton and Rockville, originally recommended as part of the 2013 Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan.
Learn more about the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan by signing up for the plan e-newsletter. For more information, contact lead planner Jessica McVary at Jessica.McVary@montgomeryplanning.org.