Rockville presents Vision Zero progress: fewer serious crashes on North Washington, state asked to re-evaluate Veirs Mill/Atlantic intersection

City staff on Sept. 8 updated the Rockville City Council on the Vision Zero roadway-safety program and recent projects the city says have reduced serious injuries in key corridors.

Brian Barnett Woods, the city's principal transportation planner, presented crash data and the updated high-injury network (crash data from 2020to2024). He said the city is prioritizing segments with four or more serious or fatal crashes over that five-year window and noted that, several high-injury segments in the updated map are on state-maintained roads.

"Vision 0 is a roadway safety program. Its primary goal is to eliminate roadway crashes that result in fatalities or serious injuries," Barnett Woods said as he reviewed current crash trends and program activities.

Key findings and projects reported to the council:

- Crash trends: For the first half of 2025 the city recorded eight fatal or serious-injury crashes compared with a five-year first-half average of about 7.2; the citywide total crash count for the same period (all severities) was slightly below the five-year first-half average.

- North Washington Street: After a 2023 complete-streets project that added parking, reduced posted speed and installed separated bike lanes with concrete buffers, staff reported no serious or fatal crashes on that corridor since construction; only minor-injury and property-damage crashes were recorded.

- Veirs Mill Road and Atlantic Avenue: Following a recent serious pedestrian crash, city staff met with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration and requested additional countermeasures, including evaluation of left-turn restrictions, prohibiting U-turns, prohibiting right turn on red, or other timing and geometric changes. The state agreed to evaluate the intersection and report back.

- Sidewalks and curb ramps: The city said it is actively constructing new sidewalks. Using the city's sidewalk prioritization process, staff reported 50.17 miles of sidewalk gaps remain in the inventory; with upcoming construction the remaining gap will be about 49.7 miles. The public works department reported completing 112 curb ramps and 303 driveway aprons since last fall as part of accessibility upgrades aimed at meeting the Public Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWA).

- Street lights and LED conversions: The city is converting city-maintained street lights to LED to improve nighttime visibility and reduce energy use; the first phase is complete and the second phase is about two-thirds finished.

- Traffic calming and bicycle facilities: Staff highlighted recent raised crossings, pedestrian medians, a speed feedback sign on Rollins Avenue, and new and upcoming separated bicycle lanes and "fix-it" bike repair racks. A Redland Boulevard demonstration project will repurpose an outside travel lane for 24-hour parking to calm speeds, starting Sept. 15.

- Twinbrook pedestrian/bicycle bridge feasibility: Staff said phase 1 (feasibility) remains funded and will look at four crossing alternatives and cost/benefit. However, federal funding for phase 2 (preliminary design) was rescinded; staff are preparing a request for proposals for the feasibility study.

Councilmembers praised the city's community outreach, school-based bike education programs and the data-driven approach. Mayor Ashton and several councilmembers noted the equity implications of sidewalk and transit-access projects for residents who do not drive.

The presentation concluded with staff committing to continue working with the state and county on state-owned corridors and to return with updates on intersection audits and MDOT evaluations.