Route 1 Pragmatism
October 25th, 2006 | by David Daddio | Published in Route 1 | 2 Comments
Last night, the College Park City Council recommended to prioritize the Route 1 reconstruction segment closest to the university – between College Ave and 193 (estimated cost: $38 million). The project, once it’s eventually funded by the State Highway Administration (SHA), will create a tree-lined road median, wide bike lanes on each side of the roadway, and safer pedestrian facilities.
The city had recently made the decision to break the estimated $110 million road reconstruction into 3 segments to make the price tag easier for the SHA to swallow. We applaud last night’s recommendation since the segment closest to the university is the one in most need of improvements – especially given the continuous flow of new developments near the University View and north of the University’s North Gate (including 2 large condo buildings, an office building, and a hotel) and of course the East Campus Development Initiative.
October 30th, 2006 at 4:19 pm (#)
Why is the section near the university “the one in most need of improvements”?
I’d give that “honor” to the intersection of Route 1 and Cherry Hill Road (and up toward the beltway entrances and exits).
Have you ever tried driving around there during the evening rush hour?
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October 30th, 2006 at 9:44 pm (#)
Agreed that that particular intersection is a disaster. I believe I heard that a completely seperate project was underway to add lanes to that area. In terms of a median, controlled turn lanes, and pedestrian facilities I’d still say the section closest to the university is in most need of these particular improvements (of the 3 sections being proposed). A couple more disaster intersections like the one in front university view (put side by side) will be very problematic without the controlled turn lanes this project will provide. This section is also preferable in terms of business displacements (very few).
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