Rockville council directs staff to study traffic noise on Goody Drive after residents’ complaints

Residents of the Woodley Gardens neighborhood and nearby communities urged the Rockville Mayor and Council on April 7 to pay for targeted noise-abatement studies of Goody Drive to address what they described as constant, intrusive traffic and late-night racing.

Why it matters: Speakers said vehicle noise — including heavy trucks and racers — is damaging quality of life for families who back onto the state-owned road. Council members asked staff to study the specific segments cited by neighbors, target disadvantaged areas first, and return with options for engineering solutions and estimated costs.

At the council’s public forum, Fran Thompson read a statement from neighbor Kristen Konopka Pizon describing daily life “whose home backs up directly to Goody Drive” and asking the council to “fund a study to develop a recommendation for abating noise” in the segment east of the Goody–Picard intersection. Resident Jim Resovski told the council he counted “between 30 and 40 vehicles per minute” during rush hours and said the noise is worst overnight, when motorcyclists and drag racers are active.

Janine Gold Kotska, also of Woodley Gardens, said neighbors have seen vegetation die on the narrow berm that once buffered the road and that, in her view, recent speed-limit reductions have not reduced noise from trucks. Emily Stelzer, speaking for the Woodley Gardens Civic Association, asked the council to fund a study that would recommend engineering and enforcement actions tailored to the quarter-mile stretch east of Picard Drive.

Council discussion and direction Council members agreed the city should study noise in the neighborhoods identified by speakers rather than wait for a broader, citywide review. City Manager Jeff Michalek told the council that noise studies are needed to determine which remedies — from expanded vegetation and berms to sound walls or other structural measures — would be effective in each location. He also warned that some long-term remedies can carry additional regulatory requirements depending on land ownership and funding sources.

After hearing residents and staff, the council signaled support for two targeted studies — one covering the Woodley Gardens stretch east of Picard Drive and the other covering the David Scull area — using a straw poll of members. Several council members emphasized equity in selecting study areas and asked staff to look for efficiencies (for example, a joint RFP) so nearby neighborhoods could be assessed without duplicative contracting.

Next steps Staff said it will scope the studies and return with a recommendation on costs, schedule and community engagement. Council members discussed preliminary funding ranges for each study during budget balancing but did not adopt a formal appropriation on April 7. The mayor and council asked staff to prioritize neighborhoods where buffering has been lost or where residents report chronic overnight disturbance.

Ending The council’s direction was advisory: no formal ordinance or regulation was adopted. The studies, once scoped, will be subject to the budget process and will come back to the mayor and council for funding approval if outside available operating or CIP reserves.