Mobility
Mobility issues include traffic (especially Rockville Pike), transit, bicycles and walkability. More information on each of these issues is on this page (below).
The Planning Board has spent a great deal of time on mobility issues, and the White Flint Sector Plan devotes a substantial portion of its discussion to describing proposed solutions and improvements to the mobility issues in White Flint. The White Flint Partnership has many images and a discussion of transportation and traffic planning around White Flint.
The Staff Transportation Appendix:
The Planning Staff presented a substantial "appendix" on transportation issues. The related presentation of the Appendix condensed the discussion into several goals:
- More efficient travel behavior (discussing density, population projections, and transit use)
- Land Use/Transportation Balance (discussing traffic congestion and measures at particular places)
- Recommended Infrastructure (discussing Rockville Pike and a new street network)
- Recommended Policies (discussing parking and traffic demand management)
- Implementation and Staging (discussing how infrastructure needs and financing will affect timing)
Traffic:
Traffic is a big problem in White Flint. Rockville Pike is generally full, especially at rush hour and on weekends. There are few alternatives to using the Pike.
Glatting-Jackson, a nationally-reknowned traffic and walkability consulting firm from Orlando, Florida, was retained by a group of property owners early in the planning process, and has been providing close coordination for several years on transforming White Flint traffic. Their basic point is that the days of adding lanes to streets are over; a more efficient and effective way to move traffic, while preserving walkability, is by developing a robust network of streets to take the load off the Pike. The theory is that traffic is like water; it will find a better way if there are alternatives available.
Street Network:
The White Flint plan is adopting this theory, and proposes a new network of streets throughout White Flint. The new street network includes both rebuilt existing streets, and new public and private streets throughout the Sector. By breaking up large "superblocks," which now dominate White Flint, the new street network helps both pedestrians and vehicles move throughout the Sector.
The purpose of the street network is to take pressure off Rockville Pike, both during the reconstruction of the Pike, and afterwards. The street network also adds to the east-west flow of both traffic and pedestrians throughout the Sector. Overall, the new street network should permit substantial increases in traffic flow, without congestion, and still providing increased walkability.
The approved White Flint Sector Plan includes a diagram of all the new and upgraded streets, showing how the older "superblocks" have been broken up into smaller, more walkable sections:
Rockville Pike:
Rockville Pike is the single most important stumbling block to efficient and desirable development in the Sector. An early video presentation to the White Flint Advisory Committee called Rockville Pike “The Beast that Ate White Flint.” Yet, Rockville Pike offers a huge potential for improving the entire Sector; thus, fixing the Pike is the single most critical element for success.
There are four steps to improve Rockville Pike:
- Create a robust new street network throughout White Flint to take the load off the Pike (see above).
- Add new medians and transit options, including Vehicular Rapid Transit capability, while keeping the same number of lanes for through traffic.
- Make the Pike pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
- Add stores, restaurants and parking for a lively Pike.
The overall idea? Make the Pike into a pedestrian-friendly boulevard. Here's an example from Montreal, Canada (courtesy Federal Realty):
The White Flint Partnership has many images and a discussion of transportation and traffic planning around White Flint.
Transit:
One of the reasons White Flint is central to the Planning Board's concept for a new urban destination is that it has an under-utilized Metrorail station. Orienting growth around accessible public transit is key to the "new urbanism" school of development. The White Flint Plan will include recommendations for another, northern entrance to the Metro station, for Vehicular Rapid Transit on the Pike, and for additional bus service throughout the area. Neighboring communities are also promoting shuttles and "jitney" services to bring more transit closer to the surrounding areas.
The Maryland Department of Transportation is already preparing plans for a Vehicular Rapid Transit system. Here is one of their concepts:
Bicycles:
White Flint and Montgomery County are ideal places for bicycle commuting and general use, and many residents use bicycles for transportation in all four seasons. The White Flint Plan contains numerous provisions for bicycle mobility, including bike lanes and shared use paths.
Traffic and walkability consultants Glatting-Jackson have proposed a comprehensive, bicycle-friendly revision of Rockville Pike, including both dedicated bike areas and bike-friendly intersections (courtesy Federal Realty).
Walking:
The concept of walkability is central to the new urbanism theory underlying the White Flint Sector Plan, and land use restrictions are tied to the walking distance of a property from the Metro station. The Planning staff believes, on the basis of its own walking tests, that "pretty much the whole sector is within a ten-minute walk of the Metro station," and "some of the walks are pretty pleasant even now."
Here is a map based on the Planning staff's tests of a ten-minute walk from the Metro station on the proposed new road network in White Flint:
The Plan also includes trails and paths for walking. Here is a proposed map of some of the trails wholly within the Plan area:
The Plan also provides for connections to the major public trails and facilities throughout the nearby area:
For more information on walkable communities, see our New Urbanism page.