Chevy Chase Village Continues Efforts for a Pedestrian Signal On Connecticut Avenue at West Lenox Street

In March, then-Chair of the Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers, Ms. Patricia Baptiste, appointed an ad hoc Pedestrian Safety Committee to continue efforts to obtain a pedestrian-activated traffic signal to allow pedestrians to cross Connecticut Avenue at Lenox Street. The signal must be approved by the State Highway Administration, which has denied the request stating that the area currently lacks the minimum number of pedestrians seeking to cross the avenue in accordance with thresholds that the State uses to determine if a signal is warranted. Although the Village has argued that residents of and visitors to the area are not attempting to cross given the current unsafe conditions, but would undoubtedly seek to cross if there was a safe way to do so, the State continues to point to the failure to meet the warrants as insufficient basis to proceed with the installation of a signal.

In July, the ad hoc Pedestrian Safety Committee sent a letter to the State Highway Administrator, Ms. Melinda Peters, reaffirming the Village's request, and reiterating the unique factors that exist along this corridor that should serve as the basis for the State's approval of our request. Please visit the Village website to view the community's letter to Ms. Peters and for any further updated communication between the Village and the State Highway Administration.

Board Action

As many residents know it is very difficult to travel on foot between the east and west sides of the Village. This issue is exacerbated for residents east of Connecticut Avenue traveling who want to visit the Village Hall or post office. The lack of safe pedestrian access across Connecticut Avenue between Bradley Lane and Chevy Chase Circle has been a decades-long concern for the residents of this and neighboring communities.

At the March regular meeting of the Chevy Chase Village Board of Managers, the Village Traffic Committee presented its research and recommendation requesting that the State Highway Administration (SHA) install a pedestrian-activated traffic signal at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Lenox Street. The Board unanimously voted to support the Committee's recommendation and has sent a letter to the SHA Administrator urging SHA to expedite installation of a signal. A copy of the Traffic Committee's report and the Village Board's letter to SHA can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

The Board thanks the members of the Traffic Committee, specifically Committee member Jan Acton and Committee Chair Porter Wheeler, for their efforts on this important public safety initiative. More information regarding this pending request will be uploaded to the Village website and included in future issues of the Crier as it becomes available.