"Traffic worsens as Gaithersburg narrows Diamond Ave."

Well folks, Doreen is in "print" again. I submitted some comments about one of the Washington Examiner's articles concerning traffic congestion and my whole note got printed in today's paper version. Their title is more dramatic than mine but why quibble with my 15 minutes of fame.

It's also online. See the second letter to the Editor entitled "Disastrous narrowing of Diamond Avenue "on this link: Washington Examiner - Letters to the editor-August-1-2012

Archstone at Gaithersburg Station – Luxury Apartments?

I pass by the A@GS everyday on the way to work via the MARC train. As it developed, I noticed a lot of problems but this article is about the term “luxury” used on the billboard advertising.

View of Archstone Apartments from MARC railroad tracks 2012-06-01

The thing is that when I moved to my current abode, I saw the train tracks were close (about a mile) and I specifically asked the realtor about the potential noise from the trains. The realtor looked me straight in the eye and said “The Metro stops running at 11 PM.”

I thought about it and figured while 11 PM was an hour past my bed time, I could live with it since I really liked the house.  Ron and I plucked down the big bucks and became a first-time homeowner.

Unfortunately, the tracks I pointed to were NOT the Metro tracks. They are the CSX tracks. His was not simple misinformation. The realtor lied to me because Yes we can hear them. The CSX freight trains run all night long, seven days a week, 365 days per year. And, it’s worse just before the Christmas holidays when the freight trains are doing their best to get toys and electronics to the stores.

So, I look at the Archstone building where most of the apartments face the aforementioned CSX train tracks and wonder how long it will be before renters realize that living across from a 24/7 railroad is not “luxury” living.

Notice how pretty the pics look but don't emphasize the inadequate road design and train tracks.

Copyright HotPads.com

http://www.archstoneapartments.com/apartments/maryland/montgomery_county/archstone_gaithersburg_station/

Maryland Road Designs – Why Stupid People Should Not Make Important Decisions

Mr. Ben Arnold makes a great point in his Letter to the Washington Examiner Editors: “Death Lane is not Md.’s only road design problem.” (5/22/12). Of course, I have my own to add.

I’ve been pointing out a lot of stupidity concerning the Archstone apartment complex in Gaithersburg to the City since last year.

The first design issue is allowing Teachers Way to become a through road. It’s called “Teachers Way” for a reason – that’s where the Middle School is. How clueless does one have to be to dump several hundred cars on to such a road?

The next issue is direct automobile access onto Diamond Avenue. I was originally told by the liaison to the Gaithersburg Planning Commission that there would be no Archstone access onto Diamond Avenue. So, what do I see about a month ago? Yup, you guessed it. Not one but two exits onto Diamond Avenue.

The third Archstone issue is on-street parking in along Diamond Avenue.
Why are two and three a problem? Diamond Avenue is an old two-lane road that is the major access to Shady Grove Road and Rte 355/Frederick Avenue and is not only heavily travelled by cars but also Ride-On and school buses. Even in the best of times, morning traffic comes to a complete halt when the buses or trash trucks or mail trucks stop. That area needs improved traffic flow not worse.

And you know that those parking on Diamond Ave. won’t wait their turn and open up their car doors into oncoming traffic. Likewise pedestrians already jaywalk and crazy Maryland drivers try to run pedestrians down even if we are in the crosswalks.

What’s also funny is the advertising literature for Archstone. It’s misleading to imply folks can take the MARC train into DC at night. It doesn’t run in that direction. One of the workers came into Java Junction and got an earful from another lady and me. He thought, poor soul, we’d be all happy. We told him about the traffic concerns and the train noise. He thought we were talking about the Metro. We both shouted “CSX”. I added not only do they run all night long, but toot their horns for several minutes at a time. And, forget about getting any sleep near Christmas because the freight trains run every 20-40 minutes. The lady said what I was thinking: they may get people into Archstone but it will be hard to keep them there. The construction worker knew he met his match and left quickly.

You can add your voice to mine by contacting the City with your traffic, road design, multi-dwelling complex concerns in Gaithersburg: cityhall@gaithersburgmd.gov

Gaithersburg Olde Towne Traffic

Archstone Apartment Traffic

Statistics show we can expect Archstone residents to own between 200-700 cars. The City has only approved three exits and intersection changes to accommodate all this new traffic.

Two exits will come from extending Teachers Way to North Summit dumping traffic on to both Summit and Girard. The third exit will be an alley dumping traffic on to East Diamond. (See current map below.)

The intersection changes will likely only be shorter traffic light cycles.

WhenThe Residences at Hidden Creek is fully occupied, more traffic will dump onto Summit Avenue and Girard creating even more gridlock.

The City has no plans to widen any of these roads. Smart growth is not smart if it does not include structural changes to the surrounding roads.

If don’t want your commute time tripled, let the City Planners know how you feel.

     Planning and Code Administration

     City of Gaithersburg
     31 S Summit Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877
     Phone: 301-258-6330; Fax: 301-258-6336
     E-mail: plancode@gaithersburgmd.gov

They meet the first and third Wednesday at 7:30 pm; location: City Hall Council Chambers.