The following was my testimony at the Tuesday CIP hearing
pertaining to County Budget. The County Executive recommended delaying
the 2006 implementation of Shady Grove Noise Abatement Walls.
I recommend all community members send in at least a few lines of feedback to the County Council stating that the New Master Plan required the Noise Abatement Walls that have been needed for years.
Montgomery County Council Community
Feedback
CIP Feb 7th 2006
Community Liaison Jim Snee
As a
representative of the Derwood Community I am here to address two critical
issues that should be funded in this current CIP budget consideration:
·
Noise Abatement Walls
on Shady Grove Road East of I-370
·
Land Acquisition Funding
for the Casey Mill Creek Elementary School in the New Shady Grove Master Plan
During the
past year, two critical issues have been completed that will directly impact
the noise levels of the traffic on Shady Grove Road:
1. The completion of the Shady Grove Road expansion, and
2. The completion of the Shady Grove Master Plan that may cause relocation
of many heavy duty industrial vehicles into the WEB tract or other lots North
and East of the I-370 entrance at Shady Grove Road.
In the year
2004 the then current President of the County Council, Mr. Silverman, informed
the community in a letter that the design of the Noise Abatement Walls was
being completed for implementation during 2006. Now we understand that the current County Executive is asking for
a delay of the Noise Abatement Walls and asking that funding be deferred until
a further date.
The
community has seen extensive noise increase over the past two years and the
noise levels justified these walls before his letter was sent to the community. The prior Master Plans were created ignoring
the corridors and wedges by zoning the Gaithersburg Air Park and surrounding
areas industrial. That move of years
gone by, allowed extensive increase of large delivery and maintenance vehicles
along with 18 wheelers, trash trucks and soon the heavy industrial vehicles of
the County Service Park that will be moving to the WEB tract. All of this traffic with only one practical
path to get to I-370 and/or I-270, (down Shady Grove Road).
If the
Council is willing to consider building a 6-lane throughway up Centerway Avenue
onto Montgomery Village Avenue that alternative path could reduce the noise
level on Shady Grove. We all know the
up-roar of Montgomery Village would never allow that, since their up-roar on
the Web tract is already impacting our Urban Village in the New Master
Plan.
That means
you are going to continue using Derwood for a dumping ground of maximum
industrial services and traffic and deferring the noise abatement on Shady
Grove Road will guarantee a grass roots uprising of 19,000 registered voters in
Derwood during next year’s elections.
All we are
asking for is the keeping of promises that were made years ago. If we have to tolerate industrial traffic
through the middle of residential neighborhoods, then Noise Abatement Walls are
not too much to ask for.
The SECOND
issue is the creation of the new Casey Mill Creek Elementary School will
require acquisition of land by developers and/or County Funds. The two-year reservation clock has already
started and come December 2006 the probability of the Service Park relocation
and school land acquisition by developers is unlikely. That means the County must step up to
funding the land acquisition or at least put it in the budget for contingent
possibilities.
With all
other development concerns across the county, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Potomac
and many others, infrastructure was provided by the county. Now the Shady Grove, Derwood Community is
only asking for the use of our tax dollars to build our own infrastructure and
not just every other community in the county using our tax dollars.
Thank You
Jim Snee
18006 Mill Creek Drive
Derwood, Md
301-924-6424