SHA officials told me there’d be no study of University Boulevard. Now, elected officials are taking up the cause.

When I asked Maryland’s State Highway Administration to collect data on a road that currently has fewer driving lanes than usual, I was told it wasn’t doable. A member of the Montgomery County Council and some Maryland state legislators disagree, and they’re now asking for the same thing.

A segment of Silver Spring’s University Boulevard shrank from six lanes to four last year to give more space to construction crews replacing the bridge that passes over the Capital Beltway. Even with less room for cars, I never noticed congestion getting worse, and in June I filed a service request asking the SHA to do an official count.

Last week, in response to my request, an engineer from the SHA’s District 3 office told me the agency would not be putting University Boulevard on a road diet. It appears they misunderstood my service request: I wasn’t asking for a change to University Boulevard, but rather for SHA to collect data on the road as it currently is.

Councilmember Tom Hucker gets involved

In the weeks preceding a response from the SHA, Montgomery County Councilmember Tom Hucker (District 5) showed a lot of interest in the University Boulevard issue. After seeing the response I received, Hucker and his staff decided to push for more from the SHA.

Hucker wrote a letter directly to Douglas Simmons, the SHA’s Acting Administrator, to formally request that the SHA document conditions on the bridge. You can read the full version here, and below are a few excerpts:

As SHA shifted and narrowed all lanes of traffic to demolish and reconstruct the westbound side of the bridge, our constituents - despite earlier fears to the contrary - have observed that traffic flow has remained adequate and steady even without the additional two lanes. This has raised the possibility of whether University Boulevard can be ‘right-sized’ and bike lanes, bus improvements, street trees or better sidewalks can replace the unused lanes.

Without traffic counts and data it is difficult to propose alternative pedestrian and transit-friendly options for MD-193 and make an informed decision. If SHA undertakes a study as the bridge project is completed, we will be able to determine if there has been any change in the total number of motorists who use the road and if there has been any consequential impact to congestion in the area. If the anecdotal evidence is confirmed through such a study, I believe University Boulevard would be an ideal candidate to be narrowed and reconfigured.

With the second half of the bridge redecking already underway, time is of the essence if we are to capitalize on this opportunity to study the traffic impact of the current lane configuration.

Other elected officials are on board

Several additional elected officials signed on to Councilmember Hucker’s letter to show their support for taking detailed look at the traffic conditions on the bridge. State delegates David Moon, Will Smith, and Sheila Hixon of District 20 also signed the letter, along with state senator Jamie Raskin.

How the SHA moves forward is ultimately up to Simmons, but so much interest from local elected officials should have some sway. A study seems especially reasonable given that that’s being requested is data on current traffic conditions to determine whether University Boulevard performs adequately with the four lanes it currently has.