More News

Pedestrian bridge only part of the solution

Tunnel needed to complete safety features at Forest Glen, community says

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006

While residents and public officials praised the opening of the Forest Glen Pedestrian Bridge last week, many said the area won’t be safe unless a tunnel is built to allow walkers to cross Georgia Avenue.

The $7.7 million bridge spans Beltway exit ramps to ensure pedestrians have a safer alternative along the west side of Georgia Avenue to reach the Metro station. But residents, citing the danger of crossing Georgia Avenue at Forest Glen Road, want a tunnel underneath Georgia.

‘‘That’s what we all want,” said Adam Pagnucco, a Forest Estates resident. ‘‘We’re in a state of revolt. We want someone to finish the job.”

‘‘My entire neighborhood is really excited [about the bridge],” said Paul Gordon, president of the Forest Estates Community Association, at the event. But Gordon said his association is committed to getting support for the tunnel.

The intersection at Forest Glen Road and Georgia Avenue was named the most congested in the county in a May report by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

Gordon also said the association, along with other community groups in the area, had gotten support for the tunnel project from all county executive, County Council and District 18 Senate and House candidates. Gordon said that he had not received written support from Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park and Councilman President George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park, who attended the Aug. 30 grand opening.

But Merle Steiner, an aide to Floreen, said that she does support the tunnel, and Leventhal said he also favors the idea.

‘‘I understand that’s a real pedestrian hazard. ... [The tunnel project] will be extensive and it will take some time ... but it’s something I’m confident will happen eventually,” Leventhal said during a phone interview afterward.

Aside from the tunnel, there was one woman from the community who said the bridge was not all she thought it would be.

‘‘I walk this bridge every day,” said Sonia Cruz, 50, who lives off Forest Glen Road. ‘‘The bridge was not built well for people in wheelchairs and the handicapped. I’ve seen it and helped people.”

Cruz said she had helped people get over the humps that line the walkway on the pedestrian bridge and said the dips often cause water to accumulate.

Bruce Johnston, chief to the Division of Capital Development in the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation, was head of the team that constructed the bridge. Johnston said the bridge is made to accommodate people with special needs and that the bumps are required by code. He said designers allow for plateaus and resting points for people in wheelchairs.

While the pedestrian bridge is open for use, Johnston said there will be touch-ups done in the upcoming week. Also, Raya Bodnarcuk, an associate professor at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C., will donate 11 sculptures to the bridge. The sculptures will be of animals that are found in the area and should be ready for installation on the bridge columns in November.

Susie Leong, director of the Public Arts Trust of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, said the art project was important because it featured a local artist and also brought increased awareness with public arts.

But residents in the area, while pleased with the improvements, are focused on further changes.

Heidi McAllister, who lives on Forest Glen Road on the east side of Georgia Avenue, said the tunnel should be a priority for the county.

McAllister, who lives just blocks from the Forest Glen Metro station, said she drives instead of walks because of the dangerous intersection.

‘‘We need a long-term solution to get pedestrians off the intersection,” she said in a phone interview. ‘‘My question is, if the pedestrian tunnel at the most congested intersection in the county isn’t a priority, what is?”

Just hours after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, two men were involved in a pedestrian accident while they were crossing Georgia Avenue at Forest Glen Road. According to a spokesman with the Montgomery County Police, they sustained minor injuries.

Government officials at the opening were adamant in their support of pedestrian safety issues, especially as people are trying to move away from using cars.

‘‘We all struggle with decisions of decades ago created to make it more convenient for the automobile,” Leventhal said at Wednesday’s opening. ‘‘We’re trying to improve a new paradigm on public transportation.”

Many public figures agreed, saying that more needed to be done countywide to ensure that pedestrian traffic could move to and from Metro stations and across state highways with ease.

‘‘The bottom line is that this is for you ... and to make everyone’s life a little bit easier,” Floreen said to the crowd.