Rock Creek Manor Sidewalk Project Public Input Period Ends Wednesday

ROCKVILLE, MD — Residents of the Rock Creek Manor in Aspen Hill have until 5 p.m., on Wednesday to let the county know if they support or oppose the installation of 5,352 linear feet of sidewalks in their neighborhood.

As part of the county's annual sidewalk program, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation is proposing to install new sidewalks within the easements along the following streets:

• The west side (even-numbered homes) of Parkvale Road from Manorfield Road to Manorvale Court.
• The east side (odd-numbered homes) of Manorvale Road from Manorvale Court to Russett Road.
• The south side (odd-numbered homes) of Greenspan Lane from Bauer Drive to Parkvale Road.

The project is estimated to cost a total of $535,200, which covers construction, inspection, and administration costs. Funding will be come from the county's sidewalk program.

A handful of Rock Creek Manor residents requested the installation of the sidewalks about 12 months ago, according to Bobby Gonzales, a project manager with MCDOT.

"Once we get a request, we have field inspectors check the situation and there's things we have to make sure like that we have adequate right of away," he said.

MCDOT maintains a list of all outstanding sidewalk requests and the one from Rock Creek Manor was given priority due the number of "pedestrian generators" nearby, according to Gonzales.

The new sidewalks would improve pedestrian accessibility from the neighborhood to many nearby facilities, including Aspen Hill Cooperative Nursery School, Meadow Hall Elementary, Earle B. Wood Middle School, Rockville High School, Montgomery County Recreation, Rock Creek Overlook, Rock Creek Trail, and several of houses of worship.

At a Sept. 14 public hearing, members of the community came to voice their support and opposition to the sidewalk proposal.

Those submitting written comment in support of the sidewalk proposal included the principals of Rock Creek Valley Elementary and Wood Middle, Rabbi Marc D. Israel of the Tikvat Israel Congregation, the owner of Happy Child Family Day Care, and a Move-On Digital Petition with the names of 89 residents.

Approximately 50 people submitted written testimony objecting to the project. Many of the objections concerned the disruption the construction would have on an older, established neighborhood, the necessity of the project when the county had other priorities that needed to be addressed, the potential for increased water runoff, and the fact that homeowners would be responsible for keeping the sidewalks clear of snow and ice.

Some residents objected to the removal of 47 older trees in order to make way for the new sidewalks. Two older trees in poor health already scheduled for removal will also be eliminated.

The Roadside Tree Protection Law requires the county to allocate funding to the Street Tree Replacement Fund to plant three new trees — 141 trees in total —for every tree removed, according to Gonzales. Once the sidewalks are installed, any trees that do not fit the new configuration would be planted elsewhere in the community.

MCDOT is accepting additional written testimony until 5 p.m., on Wednesday via email at [email protected] or by mail at ATTN: Lori Jean Main, 100 Edison Park Drive, 4th Floor, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Once all of the testimony is gathered together and reviewed, Hearing Officer Michael Taylor will submit all of the materials and his recommendations to MCDOT Director Christopher Conklin, who will make the final decision on the project.

The decision-making process may take one to three months, according to Gonzales. Once the decision is made, construction would begin approximately six months later.

The Rock Creek Manor Sidewalks Project is similar in size and scope to other projects Gonzales has worked on over the last couple of years.

"We actually had a more heated project prior to this one," he said. "Ironically, it had a very similar name."

A handful of residents from the Rock Creek Forest community in Chevy Chase had initiated a sidewalks project in their neighborhood.

"We also had a group of folks who were opposing that project," Gonzalez said. "What resulted from that was that we had a lot more input than this current project."

As a result of that input, MCDOT removed segments of the proposed project that were further away from a nearby school.

"We did probably 80 percent of what we proposed," Gonzales said. "So, though the hearing process, we try to listen to the neighbors' priorities for their neighborhood."