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On February 8th, we honored the memory of Brett Badin and Michael Gamboa, County residents killed trying to cross Rockville Pike. We failed Brett. We failed Michael. We have failed so many other pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, passengers and motorcyclists who have been killed or seriously injured on roadways designed to prioritize speed over safety.
Cars go too fast and our progress toward fixing them has gone far too slow. Reversing 90 years of road design that deprioritizes the safety of all road users and that doesn’t reflect our desire for livable, walkable, and accessible communities is a difficult task. But by truly understanding what’s responsible for severe and fatal crashes and how we can fix it, we can prevent future tragedies.
It hasn’t happened as quickly as we’d like, but we’re starting to see substantive safety improvements. We’ve successfully pushed for pedestrian-activated HAWK signals on Tuckerman Lane and the Bethesda Trolley Trail crossing and at The Hills Plaza and Willard Avenue in Friendship Heights. County DOT is designing HAWK signals for the two Democracy Boulevard crosswalks between Walter Johnson High School and the Davis Library and Summit Avenue and Brookfield Drive in Kensington. The State Highway Administration (SHA) has agreed to signalize three popular and currently unsignalized crosswalks of Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda.
Last summer, we lost Jake Cassell, who was riding his bicycle on the Old Georgetown Road sidewalk when he swerved out of the way of an obstruction and fell into the street. He was hit by an oncoming driver because there was no protection or buffer between the sidewalk and curb lane. I’ve partnered with State Delegate Marc Korman to work with SHA, including during a December community safety walk of Old Georgetown Road, to clear obstructions and build a sidewalk buffer. We are optimistic SHA will be able to make changes providing more space and protection to pedestrians and bicyclists during a scheduled road resurfacing project this spring and summer.
Thank you to everyone – including the many District 1 residents – who testified at the Council’s February 5 and February 6 public hearings on the County Executive’s recommended FY 21 Capital Budget and FY 21-26 Capital Improvements Program (CIP).
We heard passionate and knowledgeable testimony about the importance of fully funding the school system’s request for construction and capital needs, fulfilling the County’s promise of building a new tunnel for the Capital Crescent Trail under Wisconsin Avenue, fully funding Montgomery Parks’ capital needs, and other infrastructure such as the Bradley Boulevard Bikeway, storm drainage improvements, and the White Flint Metro Station Northern Entrance.
While we recognize the fiscally necessary limits on how much we can spend in order to control debt, we must prioritize our school system and the replacement of critical transportation infrastructure.
There is also good news in the County Executive’s recommended capital budget, projects that we’ll be fighting to preserve:
- Replacement of the Glen Road Bridge, built in 1930 and that last underwent major repairs in 1992. We’ve reached out about the need to upgrade this bridge and the recommended budget proposes design funding for the upcoming year and construction from summer 2022 to fall 2022.
- Additional funding for proven pedestrian safety tools and traffic-calming in the recommended Pedestrian Safety Program and a host of other transportation projects that will provide protected bicycle lanes, intersection improvements, and off-road trails.
- Funding to eliminate the high-speed and dangerous channelized right turns at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike and to improve the sidewalks near the White Flint Metro Station.
- A recommendation to preserve $22 million of affordable housing funding annually in the County’s Housing Initiative Fund, the baseline level to which I worked with my Council colleagues to increase this in last year’s budget review.
In my continued effort to make government work for the residents and business owners of our county, I recently introduced and the Council unanimously passed Zoning Text Amendment 19-09 in order to modernize some of our outdated rules governing the design and placement of signage on commercial buildings. While the county’s sign ordinance is not a flashy issue that garners a lot of attention, it can, at times, present unnecessary obstacles to owners of commercial buildings and retail establishments.
We have many broad-brush issues to address which are critical to improve and grow our county’s economy. But while we work on those macro issues, we also should identify smaller common-sense measures such as this one to remove unnecessary bureaucracy that serves no public benefit.
We are increasingly concerned about our children’s mental health with one in five youth suffering from a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. Recognizing how these issues affect not only a child's performance in school but also their relationships and outlook on their future, the importance of early and swift intervention can not be overstated.
Last month, the Council voted to support $164,279 to the school system to help fund six additional School Community Health Nurses. These new positions will allow for a dedicated nurse at every County high school and further reduce nurse-to-student ratios to better support our students. As school nurses are often the first point of contact for a student in terms of health needs, including mental health issues, we are glad that we were able to make this change to improve our services to our youth, and to better support and retain our front line staff.
Just as important, if children want to reach out anonymously outside of the school system, EveryMind currently is on the front lines operating a text and chat line as well as a phone line. Last year, I worked with Councilmember Jawando to include money in the budget to expand the hours of EveryMind's text and chat line to reach our youth at night when they are likely to be most isolated and vulnerable. This year we are working together again with Council colleagues to fight for funding both to expand this text and chat line and to help EveryMind to dramatically reduce their missed call rate to functional zero. We know that mental health crisis services are needed around the clock and whether it is a call or a text, we cannot afford to miss these calls for help. Lives literally depend on it.
It was a personal thrill to celebrate the success of Dr. Josh Funk and his growing Rehab 2 Perform business at the ribbon-cutting of their new Bethesda location. Josh and I were high school lacrosse rivals when he played for Poolesville and I played for Churchill, and we were later teammates on a County All-Star Team. At least one of us is still in top playing shape after all these years!
It doesn't get much better than homegrown talent propelling our County's economy with jobs, wages, and needed services to our community. Congratulations Josh and the entire team, and thank you to Susan Kenedy for capturing this local success story!
I recently joined my Council colleagues and hundreds of volunteers to go out at night to connect with and count our homeless neighbors as part of our County's annual Point in Time Survey. It was a frigid night, which underscored just how vulnerable so many of our residents are living without adequate shelter. While our County has made significant progress to end homelessness for veterans and those who were chronically homeless, now the County is working to end homelessness for all other individuals by the end of 2023. The work continues and volunteers are always welcome to participate in these annual counts.
To get involved, you can contact HousingForAll@montgomerycountymd.gov or volunteer with one of our local organizations below.
In our continuing effort to bring the Council to the community, we have some exciting events coming up.
Grab a Cup of Coffee or Tea with Us
February 28th 8:00-9:30 AM Tally Ho Restaurant (9923 Falls Road, Potomac, MD, 20854)
Discuss Important Local Issues
March 5th 7:30-9:00 PM at the All-Purpose Room at Poolesville Elementary (19565 Fisher Avenue, Poolesville, MD 20837)
Faith Groups, We Want Your Input
In response to the recent increase in violence and threats against faith communities, we are joining with Council President Katz and Councilmember Albornoz to host a forum to hear from our faith communities about safety and security concerns. RSVPs are encouraged, but not required. Click here to RSVP.
February 27th 7:00-9:00 PM at theThird Floor Council Hearing Room in the Montgomery County Council Office Building (100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850)
It's truly an honor and privilege to represent our extraordinary community on the County Council. As always, we hope you will continue to keep in touch and reach out to us with any issues.
Fielding Questions at Friday with Friedson in Sunday Morning Bakehouse & at Our Community Conversation in Bannockburn
Celebrating Lunar New Year with CCACC & Touring Main Street Connect’s Affordable, Inclusive Housing Project for Adults with Disabilities
Addressing BCC Rotary Members on My County Priorities & Speaking about Quality of Life Issues at the NARFE (National Association of Active and Retired Employees), Chapter 258 Meeting
Hosting a Meeting with Local Leaders on the Pike District & the Council's Commemoration Breakfast for Black History Month
Touring Leveling the Playing Field’s (LPF) Silver Spring Warehouse & Celebrating the Launch of the County’s Business Connect Program at the BCC Regional Services Center
Joining Local Singing Sensation Kelvin Dukes at the County’s MLK Day Celebration & Restocking Manna Food Center’s Shelves
Celebrating the Opening of Suburban Hospital’s North Building & Conversation with Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s Leaders
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