On Monday Montgomery County Councilmembers went on a bus tour to see firsthand the plan for the University Boulevard Corridor.
Members of the county’s Planning Commission learned about plans for a three-mile section of University Boulevard running between I-495 and Amherst Avenue in Wheaton.
The corridor plan aims to ease traffic congestion and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. It also allows varying housing options beyond the currently zoned single-family homes. Plans include widened sidewalks, improved bus stops and added trees to reduce paved surfaces.
Tour Stops and Details Learned
Councilmembers stopped at four sites, including the historic Romeo and Elsie House, Dennis Avenue and Gilmore Drive, the Safeway at Four Corners and the Kemp Mill Shopping Center on Lamberton Drive.
While at the Safeway parking lot, County Planner Zubin Adrianvala explained about zoning and height changes, adding he didn’t expect to see taller buildings until people opt to sell their property.
Alex Rixey, Acting Transportation Planning Supervisor, explained how dedicated transit lanes through the Four Corners area will include wider buffer lanes. Some landowners will need to be reimbursed for up to four feet of their frontage property. He said this will not affect Montgomery Blair High School.
Widening buffer lanes is not expected to be included in phase one of the project, he added.
In June, the Planning Commission approved the corridor plans and then submitted them to the Council for review.
County Executive Critiques Plan
Executive Marc Elrich submitted a letter to Council President Kate Stewart criticizing the upzoning of the area allowing for duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and small apartment buildings where single-family homes now stand.
In his Sept. 2 letter, Elrich pointed out the plan is based on a non-existent Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line that’s not even in the planning stage. He also noted the plan “incentivizes the disappearance of existing naturally affordable housing and the displacement of residents who live there now, especially renters.”
Resident Reactions
A handful of residents greeted councilmembers at their stops Monday.
At the Safeway, John Holden, a nearby resident and past president of South Four Corners Citizens Association, listened to the speakers and then declared, “I feel worse.”
“I am very concerned about it. I think it’s going to lead to an increase in traffic,” he said. Some of the information shared during the bus tour didn’t conform with the plan’s drawings, he said.
While officials talk about taking small bits of property, the plans call for extending Gilmore Drive to University Boulevard, he said. “If you look at the map, they can’t avoid” going through Mary’s Center, a nonprofit that assists the needy.
Holden said he had serious reservations about the plan, which he expects will send traffic from the narrower University Boulevard onto nearby neighborhood roads not designed to handle a heavy volume of vehicles.
Another nearby resident said upzoning homes along University Boulevard will end up displacing residents from some of the most affordable homes in the area as developers scoop up the land and kick out renters.
Public Hearing Wednesday
The County Council has scheduled a public hearing Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Montgomery Blair High School Auditorium on University Boulevard East.
Photo Courtesy The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
County Councilmembers toured the University Corridor Monday morning to better understand plans for that road between 495 and Amherst Ave, Wheaton. @mymcmedia @MoCoCouncilMD pic.twitter.com/fXFl7an5xN
— suzanne pollak (@SuzannePollak) September 8, 2025
