Councilmembers Urge State Highway for 16th Street Traffic Signal

The traffic pattern at 16th Street and Colesville Road, leading drivers south to Washington, DC and north to Silver Spring, is traffic-prone, representatives on both sides of the Maryland-DC line agree.

Councilmembers have written a letter to the respective jurisdictions seeking action on placement of a traffic signal at 16th Street and Colesville Road—a signal that was approved by Maryland four years ago but has been stalled.

Councilmember Valerie Ervin, a Democrat who represents Silver Spring in the Montgomery County Council, and Councilmember Muriel Bowser, the council representative for Shepherd Park in DC, sent a joint letter to Maryland's State Highway Administration, and departments of transportation for both the county and the District this week, according to a staff member in Ervin's office.

The letter urged the departments to move faster on a signal on the Maryland side of 16th Street, a plan that was approved by the state over four years ago, the Washington Post reports. Working with DC government has slowed down the process, a state highway official told the newspaper. 

“When we first started looking into it, we knew it would be a long affair,” Anyesha Mookherjee, an assistant district engineer for State Highway Administration, told the Post.

“It is taking a little longer than anticipated. . . . I don’t have any deadlines right now as to when we will see construction on that project, but hopefully soon.”

Both drivers and pedestrians in both jurisdictions note how difficult it is to cross the traffic circle. More cyclists in the area adds to the danger of the area, a Silver Spring resident told the Post. 

Read more at the Washington Post. 

Do you have to cross 16th Street? What improvements do you want to see for the safety of drivers, pedestrians and bikers?