Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Takoma Park staff present FY27 traffic‑calming, sidewalk recommendations; council presses on feasibility
Loading...
Summary
Staff presented a prioritized FY27 list drawn from 133 resident submissions and explained scoring (equity, safety, vulnerable users, roadway characteristics, population impact). Councilmembers pressed staff on feasibility in dense corridors, sidewalk widths, and timelines for neighborhood meetings and budget reconciliation.
Deb McNally, the city's housing and community development project lead, presented Takoma Park's draft FY27 traffic‑calming and sidewalk recommendations at the council's March 11 work session, saying the list was culled from 133 submissions and screened for feasibility and equity. "We received a 133 submissions, prior to October 31," McNally told the council, describing a process that evaluates equity, safety, trip generators, roadway characteristics and population impact.
Daryl Braithwaite of the public works department walked through staff screening decisions, noting requests outside city jurisdiction and projects on state highways were forwarded to the State Highway Administration for consideration rather than included in the city's CIP. Braithwaite also detailed constructability constraints, saying of one narrow pedestrian route, "The sidewalk is 4 feet wide, on Houston Avenue, from Sligo Creek Parkway up to Roanoke," and explaining curb, parking and adjacent driveways limit simple widening.
Staff highlighted several candidate projects the council may prioritize during budget reconciliation: a sidewalk connecting Maple Avenue up Ritchie Avenue to a 40‑plus‑unit multifamily building near 7610 Maple to improve pedestrian access; work on Kansas Lane between Westmoreland and Eastern Avenue to serve a key bus stop and neighborhood connection to D.C.; and Kansas/Cockrell area crosswalk and traffic‑calming measures. McNally said some requests were held for upcoming traffic studies (Flower Avenue and Lincoln Avenue) so they can be addressed holistically.
Council members pressed staff about projects that score highly but may face right‑of‑way or private‑property constraints. Councilmember Hansack said she was "a bit frustrated" that Ward 5 had few projects on the recommended list and urged staff to revisit more challenging corridors. Staff replied that where private property prevents construction the city typically seeks easements rather than buy land outright, and that some projects—like Brighton Avenue—would require negotiating with private owners to relocate decorative lighting or remove trees.
On next steps, staff will provide a spreadsheet showing project scores, notes and estimated FY27 budget impacts for council members to review ahead of the reconciliation discussion; McNally said the council should expect further budgeting conversations and a reconciliation session around April 15. Neighborhood meetings and design work are scheduled in spring for projects already assigned to engineering consultants, and raised crosswalks or installations typically occur in better weather months.
The work session left open several questions—how to balance high‑priority but difficult projects, how to fund more labor‑intensive installations, and how to time community outreach—while providing the council a concrete list to adjust during upcoming budget reconciliation.
