MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County officials closed two lanes of traffic on Little Falls Parkway during the pandemic from Arlington Road to Dorset Avenue to open up roads for pedestrians and cyclists. Now, those changes are here for good.
Talia Migdon, who grew up there, said she's a fan.
"This is an invaluable thing for the community just because it allows the bikers to be way safer," she said. "You can walk around and there's way more through foot traffic which is helpful. It keeps it feeling like a neighborhood and not a very fast street."
But she says walking or biking across the parkway isn't always the safest. During an interview with WUSA9, a driver almost hit a cyclist that was trying to cross the street. So Migdon thinks keeping the four lane road to just two lanes prevents drivers from speeding.
Kenwood resident Sarah Colon agreed. She thinks the parkway should stay the way it is.
"I have seen several accidents right here at this location where a person right in front of me jogging was hit by a car," she said.
On the flip side, some people who live in the area think limiting the road to just two lanes is dangerous for everyone. Gordon Schatz is a motorist and cyclist and uses Little Falls Parkway regularly.
"It takes a moderate amount longer [to get around], but it also tries people's patience who are driving and they often become more dangerous drivers," he said. "Because they just feel pissed that they've been held up so long, and the real problem is you never see the cyclists using the bike lane."
Schatz does think there is a happy medium and a solution, but someone just needs to figure it out.
"I think the county has to seriously rethink how to strike the right balance, give a little bit more for the cyclists, but let the cars have pretty close to what they have before," he said.
Montgomery Parks officials say they will start working on a permanent design and will ask for community input on what to do with the two unused lanes of traffic.
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