Montgomery County planners presented their view of what they want a three-mile stretch of University Boulevard in Silver Spring to look like.
Tuesday morning, they presented to members of the Montgomery County Council a plan that includes wider sidewalks, safer spaces for pedestrians and bicycles, more tree canopy, reduced traffic congestion and homes of all sizes.
Wednesday at 7 p.m., the public will again have the chance to comment on plans for the busy thoroughfare from Colesville Road in Silver Spring to Amherst Avenue in Wheaton. The public hearing will be held at Montgomery Blair High School, located at 51 University Blvd. E. in Silver Spring.
A second public hearing is planned for Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. at the Council Office Building in Rockville.
The County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Parks Committee will then begin a review process of the plan, tentatively scheduled for September 29.
“We want to make it easier and more comfortable” to live in the area for the next 20 years, explained County Planning Board Chair Artie Harris.
The plan has been on the drawing board for more than three years, according to Harris.
Buffer zones around University Boulevard will be widened under the proposal to allow for more landscaping, better walking areas and the extension of dedicated bus lanes from the current Dennis Avenue to Colesville Road, according to Carrie Sanders, chief of the planning department’s east county division.
Some residents whose homes face University Boulevard will lose some of their frontage under the proposal.
Those properties, which currently are all single-family homes, will be zoned for duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, condominiums and small apartments. However, nothing will be changed unless the property owner agrees, she said.
Some residents fear renters will be evicted, and developers will attempt to buy up properties in order to build new units. Other residents are concerned that once University Boulevard becomes narrower, drivers will cut through their neighborhood roads to avoid congestion.
The three-mile stretch of University Boulevard is one of Montgomery County’s busiest areas, according to a video the planners showed councilmembers.
About 12,000 people ride Metro buses there daily, and 440 pedestrians cross University Boulevard and Colesville Road per hour. More than 6,000 students walk along this section, mostly to get to Montgomery Blair or Northwood high schools. Northwood currently is being rebuilt, and students attend classes in Rockville.
These numbers also include students who attend Saint Bernadette Catholic Church and School.
Between 2015 and 2024, there were 38 crashes with serious injuries, including four fatalities, according to the video. Some 40 percent of those crashes involved pedestrians and cyclists.
There are 9,800 residents living in that area. They have a median household income of $103,116, according to Zubin Adrianvala, a coordinator for the county planning department. While the median income is lower than the average county resident, the income per home is higher, he said.
The area in the middle of University Boulevard that is home to a McDonald’s and 7-Eleven is expected to remain.
Buildings in nearby Kemp Mill Shopping Center on Lamberton Drive currently cannot be taller than 45 feet. If the plan is accepted, that height limit would rise to 70 feet.
The full University Boulevard Corridor Plan is available to the public via Montgomery Planning‘s website.
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