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A plan to realign intersections in the Montgomery Hills area of Silver Spring is expected to improve safety in a highly congested area, county officials say, but residents are wary the plan doesn't address bigger traffic issues in the area.

Under a proposal from Montgomery County's Department of Transportation, traffic flow around the intersections of Seminary Road, Second Avenue and Brookville Road would be altered.

The Seminary Road "sweep" – the uncontrolled roadway between the Seminary Road/Second Avenue/Linden Lane intersection and the Seminary Road/Seminary Place intersection to the north – would be removed so all traffic meets at Second Avenue and Seminary Road, where a traffic light will remain. There would also be a "T-intersection" controlled by a three-way stop sign, where the northern portion of Seminary Road meets Seminary Place and Second Avenue.

"That's the biggest problem," said County Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) of Takoma Park during a review from the County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee. "I mean, it's all a mess here, but [the sweep] is a huge problem."

A portion of Brookville Road between Linden Lane and Seminary Road that is currently one-way would be made two-way to ease traffic flow. Parking along the road also would be added. A pedestrian refuge median would be constructed in the middle of Linden Lane, which is four lanes, two going in each direction.

The DOT chose the plan from several alternatives it designed during the $403,000 Phase I of the Seminary Road Intersection Improvement Study. The County Council subcommittee approved the plan Thursday. The Montgomery County Planning Board approved the alternative in September.

"This is not a traffic capacity project and there will be some queuing, but it will improve the safety of this very confusing intersection," said Patricia Shepherd, DOT's study manager.

Phase II will cost about $470,000 and will include a more detailed design, environmental impact plans and considerations for additional green space in the area. The project is not expected in the county's Capital Improvements Program until at least 2011.

Transportation department officials and councilmembers agreed that the area – which is surrounded by Interstate 495 to the north, Georgia Avenue to the east and downtown Silver Spring to the south – could not safely manage high volumes of traffic as currently designed.

But residents aren't convinced the proposal will improve traffic conditions.

The North Woodside/Montgomery Hills Citizens Association preferred one of the rejected alternatives being considered by DOT and said its stance was "neutral" on the approved plan.

The association's preferred alternative resulted from a public meeting with DOT in November 2007 and would create a three-way intersection controlled by a stoplight where Brookville, Seminary Road and Seminary Place would meet. That option also would include a stoplight at Second Avenue and Seminary Road.

Project planners felt this alternative would create too large an intersection south of the nearby Montgomery Hills Neighborhood Park, which has heavy pedestrian traffic.

But Woody Brosnan, association president, said the Seminary Road improvements will only be effective if they are part of a much greater effort to improve conditions along Georgia Avenue. Brosnan said the prohibition of left turns off Georgia at Forest Glen Road cause those trying to access the Forest Glen Metro station to cut through Seminary Road.

Also, traffic resulting from additional parking and a museum planned for the nearby Walter Reed Forest Glen Annex would need to be examined, he said.

"The question is how much safer is it given you still have a whole lot of cars?" Brosnan said after the hearing. "Until they address the Georgia issue, we're still going to have problems."

Funding for the Maryland State Highway Administration's Montgomery Hills project, which examines that portion of Georgia Avenue's traffic concerns, was cut two weeks ago, according Glenn Orlin, County Council's deputy staff director. Brosnan asked the council to petition that cut.

The nearby Linden Civic Association approves of the recommended alternative, but would rather the one-way portion of Brookville Road remain one-way to avoid further confusion.

Bill Warren, association president, said he too hopes the Seminary Road improvements are part of a bigger focus on the area and that changes won't have a negative impact on his neighborhood.

"I'm interested in having a set of intersections that will just be safer for motorists or pedestrians alike and I hope in doing this, they don't destroy the character of the neighborhood," he said Monday.