Greenbelt residents say they want to leave their cars at home and travel around the city on foot and by bike, and they’d like to do so with more trees to better handle the summer’s sweltering heat.
Residents are asking Prince George’s County planners to consider adding additional crosswalks, bike lanes and striping to Greenbelt’s roads in an effort to improve the safety of city streets for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Nearly 25 Greenbelt residents and city officials met with planners from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission on July 21 at the Greenbelt Youth Center to discuss the updated Greenbelt Metro Area and state Route 193 Corridor visioning plan.
Residents shared what they like — that speeding is not a widespread concern in the city and a lack of traffic congestion — and what they want to change at these sites, such as more bike lanes and trees, as it relates to land use, transportation, the environment and public facilities.
“I want to have more green areas and increase the city’s walkability. Greenbelt was built on the concept of walkability and we have lost some of the green to shopping centers,” said resident Michael Hartman. “We can still plant trees. It helps the environment and beautification of the area. We need to move in that direction as we move forward.”
Resident recommendations will be incorporated into the city’s visioning plan, which makes recommendations for land use, historic preservation, transportation and parks, planners said.
“We want to hear what you like, what you don’t like. It’s your future,” said Judy D'Ambrosi, an M-NCPPC senior planner.
College Park resident John Krouse, who attended the meeting, said he wants to see more crosswalks for pedestrians with synchronized stop lights, striping on the roads for bicycles and bus shelters at bus stops.
“If you want to get people to use the buses, you have to protect them from the sun in the summer and the rain and the wind in the winter,” Krouse said.
A draft of the plan is expected to be released to the public in early 2012, with a public hearing scheduled for March and final approval scheduled by September 2012.
eskalski@gazette.net
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