Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Colonade residents press Gaithersburg council for help over Orchard project traffic and easement concerns
Summary
Residents of The Colonade condominium urged the council to take an advocacy role and press state highway authorities after the Orchard project's revised design and one‑way access raise concerns about traffic, pedestrian safety, and a 470‑space garage potentially overloading narrow private roads.
Several residents of The Colonade condominium told the Gaithersburg mayor and council on April 7 that revisions to the Orchard development — including a large underground parking garage and a change in vehicle access — could significantly increase traffic on narrow private streets.
Robert Rogers, a Colonade resident, said the February amendment to the Orchard project was not a minor change; he described a shift from stacked parking to an underground garage and criticized the application’s current ingress/egress plan, which he said lacked adequate egress and could push as much as three‑quarters of project traffic onto the Colonade’s private streets. Rogers asked the council to engage with the developer and the State Highway Administration (SHA) to find a solution and cited pedestrian and bicycle connectivity as essential to preserving neighborhood character.
“Right now there’s an ingress proposed from Quinc Orchard Road… the exit/egress is extremely important in preventing up to 3/4 of the traffic exiting from the Orchard in using the Colonade streets which are narrow,” Rogers said.
Another Colonade resident, Urban Charles Cohen, echoed the concern and suggested the easement that currently allows access might be legally challenged if it is being used in a way inconsistent with original intent. Both residents urged the council to coordinate with county and state officials — and with local delegates — to seek remedies if SHA’s position does not change.
Michelle Rubenstein, president of The Colonade board, urged the council to require a city‑commissioned traffic study rather than rely solely on the developer’s traffic engineer and to press the developer back to the negotiating table regarding the garage design and mitigation measures (signal timing, pass‑throughs) to protect the condominiums.
Council response and staff follow‑up: Council members acknowledged the concerns and said planning commission review remains in process; staff (Public Works Director Brian Fields) said the city will follow up with SHA on several technical items and that advocacy could be pursued if staff analysis indicates it is warranted.
Ending: Residents requested more direct council involvement; staff agreed to follow up and promised to respond publicly at future meetings and directly to the petitioners.
