County officials have so far demurred on these suggestions, and have repeatedly mentioned simple restriping and minor signal changes as potential improvements. This response is inadequate and would benefit greatly from the community’s broader scope of view. While repainting/restriping is certainly important to increasing crosswalk visibility, it is just one small component of the needed improvements. Far more is necessary. Unfortunately, the requested library study offered relatively minor changes instead of the necessary improvements that the community suggested. Several of our community’s recommendations had not been included or fully addressed. Although the report is a step forward, community reaction suggested dissatisfaction because people felt more pedestrian-friendly measures should be included. Below are several of new concerns: •
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Few of the community’s suggestions were incorporated; most were not even examined. The contractor had not been given a copy of our earlier letter, and was unprepared to respond to questions about raising or lighting crosswalks to improve safety. The study did not examine several popular street improvement suggestions from Park and Planning, and seemed averse to changes that might affect auto traffic. Statistics for pedestrian volume are likely incorrect. For example, the report reasonably projects a major increase (almost 80%) in pedestrian traffic due to the new library, but then inexplicably assumes only a minor increase (about 15%) when a Purple Line station is introduced. This does not agree with MTA projections. Despite this, the proposed crossings themselves did not seem take into account the future Purple Line. Proposed changes are timid and minor, but a major overhaul is required to ensure adequate access for the millions of expected pedestrian visits. Failure to make ground-level pedestrian crossing safe with major (as opposed to the proposed minor) changes may lead to tragedy.
We look forward to cooperating and helping in this process, and thank you for your attention to this matter. Our board has long facilitated and contributed to community discussions on the new library. Over the years we have: • • •
supported the construction of the Purple Line, and look forward to a Silver Spring library station urged improvements to the library Program of Requirements, and we are grateful that those changes were implemented favored the creation of a safe street-level crossing that will facilitate safe access for all pedestrians instead of the construction of a parking lot bridge. PAGE 9