Lanham resident Carrie Dike isn't particularly pleased with the recommendations in the recently released Lanham, Seabrook and Glenn Dale sector plan.
Dike said she doesn't want new infrastructure or development in the planning area and hopes Prince George's County planners will consider creating a more park-like setting in Seabrook.
"I wanted to see revitalization of what we already have [in the area] as opposed to anything new," Dike said. "Everybody I talk to likes to walk somewhere where it's green. In general, it's a way to pull the community together with a space to meet."
A public hearing on the Lanham, Seabrook and Glenn Dale Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment is scheduled for Tuesday to gauge reactions to the preliminary plan from area residents.
At the hearing, the county Planning Board will hear testimony and comments from residents. Staff from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission will be available to answer residents' questions before the meeting.
Lanham resident Jaan Kirby said she is pleased with the overall plan and its contents.
"The pedestrian issue is a really important one — more and more people are trying to find ways to use public transportation, walk and bike," Kirby said. "I do think it's important we get more sidewalks, particularly around Lanham-Severn Road."
The sector plan, which was printed in late summer and released in September, updates the 1993 land use plan for the area and makes recommendations for land use, historic preservation, transportation and parks. The process began in July 2008 when the M-NCPPC began holding community-wide meetings. Resident recommendations are incorporated into the updated plan.
The plan likely will be adopted in March after the County Council approves the final plan, said Bob Duffy, planning supervisor for community planning north division for the M-NCPPC.
Duffy said he believes the plan reflects the suggestions that M-NCPPC staff heard from residents during the 11 months of community meetings.
The plan works to maintain, enhance, improve and expand green resources, open space and parkland in the planning area, Duffy said, adding that there aren't changes to residential or commercial zoning.
The plan recommends the development of continuous sidewalks along major corridors in communities. It also recommends that parks and open spaces be protected and expanded and encourages "green," energy-efficient building techniques.
An evaluation of the buildings at the Glenn Dale Hospital site is recommended for the M-NCPPC's nomination of it for the National Register of Historic Places by the end of the year.
The plan recommends commercial, office and industrial redevelopment within existing commercial and industrial zones, developing design guidelines for commercial areas and a streetscape design and improvement plan for Lanham-Severn Road.
Other public facility recommendations are building a District 8 police station on Glenn Dale Boulevard and a new elementary school on Greenbelt Road.
Transportation recommendations include traffic-calming measures to reduce speeding in residential neighborhoods; building sidewalks, trails and bicycle paths to connect neighborhoods and open spaces; improving the Seabrook MARC station; and providing bus service and widening Lanham-Severn Road to four lanes to decrease traffic congestion.
The plan also recommends construction of a library at the Glenn Dale Community Center. The closest current branch is in Bowie, about six miles away.
Glenn Dale resident Mary Vondrak was pleased with plans for the new library.
"People who come to the rec center can make it one trip," she said. "Children can go to classes [at the center] and can go over to the library — it would be readily available."