If gas prices are adding fuel to your fire, let us know

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Gas prices are on everyone’s mind these days. It’s hard to drive into a gas station and not gasp at the price list, not to mention have a few other unmentionable words slip.

According to gaspricewatch.com, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.62 as of Tuesday and the highest price was $3.19 in Kihei, Hawaii (of course, that state has voted to cap its prices).

So Bumper to Bumper wants to hear your thoughts — any thoughts — about gas prices. Tell us what price per gallon would be the tipping point for you to drastically change your driving habits. Or have you changed them in some way already? Or — gasp — have you started to carpool? Have you found the gas station gold mine, where prices are too low to pass up in this area?

Feel free to send any thoughts you have about rising gas prices and how we can all conserve, commiserate or combat the ever-increasing cost of driving.

Send your thoughts to Bumper@gazette.net.

Now on to some questions.

Q: I would like to bring attention to the potentially dangerous intersection on West Edmonston Drive in Rockville on the south side of Wintergreen Plaza. Within about 70 feet, there are four driveways (one to the M&T Bank, one to Wintergreen, one to the Tenley Building and one to the apartment complex) and a crosswalk.

Most of the time, trying to pull out onto Edmonston Drive from one of the driveways safely is tough since you have to watch for speeding traffic coming from Wootton Parkway to Rockville Pike, but also for other traffic at the three driveways and pedestrian crossing. That’s a lot to watch for.

During the evening rush hour, when traffic backs up from Rockville Pike, it is very difficult to merge into or across Edmonston Drive traffic, causing many motorists to jump into short breaks in traffic, which endangers pedestrians. In addition, traffic on Edmonston Drive backs up behind vehicles trying to make left turns.

I’m not sure what to do about the traffic and driveways, but I think this crosswalk is definitely a candidate for the flashing lit crosswalk like the one on Twinbrook Parkway and on Chapman Avenue near the Metro.

John Rausch, Rockville

A: Traffic officials with the city of Rockville share your concern about this intersection and have been evaluating four potential solutions for improving pedestrian safety.

What they have decided is to install advance pavement markings stating ‘‘Pedestrian Crossing Ahead.” The option you suggest — an illuminated crosswalk — is significantly more expensive to install and maintain without being more effective.

Other options considered — a vertical yellow paddle sign and pedestrian flags — were not chosen because of the number of driveway turns, as you describe.

The work should be completed by mid-September.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much the city can do about traffic, but officials do ask that people driving do not block driveways, so as not to make it more difficult for people entering traffic.

Q: Life has been made much harder on commuters who use the Shady Grove Metro station since the road that worked great for years was taken away.

This summer, there has been construction on a new turn lane from the road that leaves Shady Grove Metro (Interstate 370) and exits onto Shady Grove Road. This new turn lane is replacing the existing ramp, which takes traffic from I-370 heading northwest onto Shady Grove Road to head northeast.

On June 14, this new turn lane opened and the ramp was closed. This change caused traffic to back up significantly where there was no backup before.

I am confused about this change because in the 10 years that I have been traveling this route daily, I have never seen an accident at this ramp and know that traffic has flowed smoothly.

David Layer, Gaithersburg

A: Blame it on safety.

Sure, there might be some traffic backups during rush hour — a fact that transportation officials with the county fully admit — but the new ramp will make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

In fall 2002, transportation officials looked at the traffic, including bicycle traffic, both on and around the Shady Grove Road and Interstate 370 interchange. There were 18 reported accidents — predominantly rear-end collisions — in the merge area of the ramp from I-370 to Shady Grove Road heading north, according to accident data from January 1999 to December 2001.

In studying traffic at the ramp and collecting traffic volume and speed data, officials concluded that two problems would have to be fixed: the length of the merge area and the high speed of vehicles exiting from I-370.

Officials decided, after meeting with the nearby community and the State Highway Administration, that the best way to improve traffic safety was to build a new ramp that was closer to where the intersection of the westbound off-ramp of I-370 and Shady Grove Road has a signal. The new ramp slows traffic from I-370 and increases the merge area to Shady Grove Road heading north. And it better protects bicyclists.

Add a few more minutes to your commute. The change is permanent.

Q: As you drive south on Connecticut Avenue from Aspen Hill to Washington, D.C., there is no parking allowed. However, when you reach the Manor Drive area near Chevy Chase Lake shopping center, traffic is suddenly confronted with usually one or two parked cars, causing everyone to quickly shift over to the left, resulting in a major slowdown of traffic, and frequently dangerous lane changes.

Since there is a large free parking lot behind the stores where the parked cars are, it doesn’t make sense to obstruct hundreds of cars a day to give a few people the option to park there.

Where on Connecticut Avenue is parking allowed and why?

Kira Lueders, Kensington

A: Currently, the SHA only restricts parking on Connecticut Avenue (Route 185) in the area of Manor Road during rush hour — 6-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

However, the administration is currently studying traffic in the area to determine if parking along southbound Connecticut Avenue should continue to be allowed or be discontinued. The study should be completed in the fall.

Q: Some months ago, I saw a notice that roadwork was upcoming on Muncaster Road and the road would be closed during part of the project. I thought it said work would start in April of this year, but I’ve not seen or heard anything since. I looked online and found the project but no scheduling information.

Can you tell me what’s happening? What is the project and when will is start and be completed? It will seriously affect my commute — and a lot of other folks.

Susan Sharp, Olney

A: You have a couple more months before it affects you. But it will.

The project will replace the bridge over Rock Creek and make additional alignment improvements to a 3,300-foot section of Muncaster Road at the bridge, according to officials with the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation.

Construction is slated to begin late this fall. After Jan. 1 (no specific date has been set, and it will depend how far along the project is), the road will be closed and traffic will be detoured for up to four months while the bridge is replaced. The project is scheduled for completion — weather permitting, of course — by next summer.

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In closing: School began Monday, and with more than 150,000 students in the public and private schools in Montgomery County, drivers will have to pay even closer attention to the rules of the road.

Remember that crosswalks are not just nicely painted lines on the street for motorists to speed through. They serve a purpose. So watch for more young pedestrians crossing streets, for school buses making stops, and for children walking along busy roads making their way to and from school.

Bumper to Bumper, a biweekly column dedicated to answering your questions related to transportation issues, is compiled and written by Staff Writer JoAnn Grbach. For past columns, log on to www.gazette.net⁄specialfeatures⁄bumper.html.