There has been some concern about the most recent construction on Hurley Avenue to add new traffic calming devices. As you know, the City has been working closely with the neighborhood to meet the requests of residents to slow speeds on Hurley Avenue and improve pedestrian safety. The devices that were constructed at the intersection of Sherbrooke Way/Hurley Avenue and mid-block on Hurley Avenue between the two traffic circles are designed to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety along Hurley. The key to effective traffic calming is the right spacing (approximately every 400-600 feet between traffic calming devices where possible) and forcing motorists to physically slow down either by navigating around devices such as traffic circles or narrowings or forcing slower speeds through devices that drivers must go over, like speed humps. The original traffic calming plan for Hurley Avenue was developed through a series of meetings with residents in 2001. It called for a median at the mid-block location between the two traffic circles and a raised crosswalk at the intersection of Sherbrooke Way/Hurley Avenue. The original concept plan was developed around the existing bike lanes on Hurley Avenue. The bike lanes have since been removed and the devices have been modified to address the revised cross-section of the street. In addition, since the original traffic calming plan, the City has revised its Neighborhood Traffic Control Guidelines. Those guidelines discourage raised crosswalks and speed humps on Primary Residential Class I roads, such as Hurley. These elements are discouraged because they slow emergency response time and Primary Residential Class I roads are major emergency routes. The revisions to the plan replaced the raised crosswalk at Sherbrooke Way/Hurley Avenue with intersection narrowing and achieves the same goal of slowing traffic. In addition, after the bike lanes were removed, the median was replaced with two bump-outs to narrow the lanes, which slows traffic and better accommodates emergency vehicles. If you have any questions or would like more information on this project, please contact Sandra Marks, Traffic and Transportation Division (240-314-8509, smarks@rockvillemd.gov) or Bo Ferguson, Assistant to the City Manager (240-314-8105, bferguson@rockvillemd.gov). | 
