More Gridlock In Wheaton?

Wheaton may soon be facing more traffic problems - both Ride On and WMATA bus routes may be radically altered by the beleaguered Wheaton Town Center project.

The County is calling for the drastic bus route change to allow for narrowing and/or closure of Reedie Drive - a designated Wheaton Sector Plan business route that connects Georgia Avenue and Viers Mill Road in the busy Wheaton Central Business District - to now be used as a "town square" instead of the one third of Lot 13 the County promised on numerous occasions to the community.

The new route will channel all Ride On & WMATA buses through the busiest intersection in the Wheaton Urban District - Georgia Avenue & University Boulevard - while the current bus scheme avoids it at all costs and for good reason.

To make matters worse, the new scheme will increase the number of turns in the routes, especially the crucial left-hand ones that get buses stuck - taking up turning lanes at intersections and creating even more gridlock.

Further exacerbating the matter, the Ride On buses will be routed to the Wheaton Metro Transit Center in a closed loop via Grandview Avenue, which poses its own problems...  This narrow street currently closes for Taste of Wheaton to accommodate the performance stage and exhibitor booths, yet the County provides no contingency bus routing for Wheaton's busiest day of the year.  Running buses on Grandview the other 364 days a year may also likely require removing the on-street metered parking - the lifeblood of small businesses along this street in the Wheaton triangle.

To add insult to injury, the County has not made public the developer's preliminary traffic study, yet the straw vote to appropriate more money for this project will be taken by the County Council tomorrow, March 25th, despite the mounting concerns from civics and environmentalists alike.

Contact your elected representatives at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov