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Commissioners authorize letter to MDOT after revisions to Maryland 235 pedestrian safety plan
Summary
After a presentation from public works staff, the board authorized the commissioner president to send a letter to MDOT seeking a completed traffic analysis and urging consideration of a full‑movement intersection at Town Creek Drive; MDOT confirmed it will retain a right‑turn lane and consider a mountable curb.
County public works director John Norris briefed the board May 19 on recent revisions to the State Highway Administration’s Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP) for Maryland Route 235.
Norris said state staff revised key design elements after county engagement, including a written confirmation from MDOT that the southbound right‑turn lane at Chancellor’s Run will be retained. He described MDOT’s proposed deterrents to speeding in that lane — a lowered, mountable curb that emergency vehicles could traverse but that would discourage high‑speed passing — and said the agency was also recommending the 3‑Notch Trail and FDR Boulevard as preferred pedestrian and bicycle corridors rather than widening sidewalks directly on 235.
Norris told the board that traffic counts and growth patterns made the corridor sensitive to changes: “Maryland 235 is carrying 61,000 vehicles per day,” he said, and urged careful review of signalization, stormwater management and lane‑configuration impacts. Commissioners raised residual concerns about a potential slip‑lane change at Chancellor’s Run, the risk of added turning lanes, stormwater impacts from any sidewalk widening, and the fact that parts of the work remain unfunded.
The board approved a motion authorizing the commissioner president to sign a letter to MDOT Secretary Katherine Thompson that (1) acknowledges MDOT’s responsiveness, (2) requests a completed traffic analysis for the Chancellor’s Run slip‑lane proposal, and (3) asks SHA to consider a full‑movement intersection at Town Creek Drive consistent with the county’s transportation priorities. Norris said the county will continue monitoring SHA’s May 28 review and that an open house on the FDR Boulevard phase is scheduled May 26 at the library.
Why it matters: MDOT’s design decisions on MD 235 affect pedestrian safety, commuter traffic and access to major employers, including NAS Patuxent River. Commissioners emphasized preserving traffic flow while improving pedestrian and bicycle options and requested more detailed analyses before final design decisions.
What’s next: county staff will seek the completed traffic and intersection analyses from SHA and continue engagement through the May 28 review; the board formalized its position with the authorized letter.
