Rock Creek Stream Valley Park- Wexford Drive and Beach Drive Intersection

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• Wexford Drive And Beach Drive Intersection

Division: Park Development

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Project Description

This project studies and proposes improvements to the safety and operation of the Wexford Drive and Beach Drive intersection in Kensington. The parkway is in the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail corridor within Rock Creek Stream Valley Unit#4.

Background

In response to citizen concerns about the difficulty of making a left turn from Wexford Drive onto Beach Drive during rush hour, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) initiated a traffic study of the intersection.  Montgomery Parks’ project team is exploring a range of options and is reviewing potential short term and long term solutions to minimize the delay for left-turning vehicles, as well as reducing the number and severity of accidents occurring at this location.  Parks staff also met with the State Highway Administration and Department of Transportation regarding various improvements at the Beach Drive & Knowles Avenue (MD547) intersection, directly to the south, which is anticipated to reduce the queuing of traffic through the Beach Drive & Wexford Drive intersection.

Please review these frequently asked questions for more details on the project.

Status/Project Update:

Montgomery Parks hosted a community meeting on February 13, 2020, to present study results and possible improvements and gather public comments.  Links to the presentation and meeting summary are below.

Project next steps include:

• Lighting is scheduled to be fixed by summer 2020. The restriping to divide westbound Wexford Drive should be installed in 2020, with MCDOT’s concurrence.
• Parks will continue to work with MDOT SHA and MCDOT on intersection improvements at Knowles Avenue and Beach Drive. This is outside of Parks’ jurisdiction, so we cannot provide a timeline.
• As Beach Drive will be repaved south of Wexford Drive after WSSC completes their water main replacements, Parks will work with MCDOT to determine whether traffic calming measures should be installed prior to or concurrently with that work. Parks will be working with MCDOT to install Beach Drive traffic calming measures between Garrett Park Road and Wexford Drive based on funding availability.

Calendar and Meeting Notes

Links to review meeting notes and presentations will be attached to each applicable calendar event as it is scheduled and completed.

* Date and time subject to change. Please confirm the schedule with Montgomery Parks Staff

M-NCPPC Staff Contact

Jennifer Bruneau, PE, LEED AP, ENV SP
M-NCPPC Park Development Division – Environmental Engineering
Jennifer.Bruneau@MontgomeryParks.org
Office: (301) 495-2568