The College Park City Council voted last night to recommend beginning the long-debated Route 1 reconstruction project with Segment I, the southernmost portion of the road that borders the university and continues north to University Boulevard.
The council voted 4-2-2 to start with the southern segment rather than two northern portions of the highway after city planner Terry Schum told council members the area had the most planned developments, the least opposition from local businesses and, while the longest segment, is the least expensive to reconstruct relative to its length.
Council members have considered breaking up the proposed $110 million project into more manageable portions since State Highway Administration officials introduced a specific plan to divide the project and asked the city to help decide how to prioritize the segments in mid-March. Choosing a starting point, Schum has repeatedly said, will help the project gain county and state support.
While significant, the decision by the council does not guarantee that construction, which would include adding a tree-lined median and bike and left turn lanes, will actually start with Segment I. The city first has to send a letter advocating a start with the segment to Maryland Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan, Schum said. State officials would then have to secure funding to begin construction.
The vote does mark an important first step in the process, however, after years of stalling and high hopes among developers, students and area residents, council members said.
Councilwoman Joseline Peña-Melnyk, who is a Democratic candidate for State Delegate, abstained from voting without explanation, but applauded the decision as important progress.
"It is imperative that we write a letter soon," Peña-Melnyk said. "We need something regarding the phasing. It is imperative; we really need a statement by November."
Council members Jack Perry and John Krouse voted in opposition after arguing that the city start instead with Segment II, the center portion of the highway that runs from University Boulevard to Hollywood Road.
Perry, who was the first to raise objections, said Segment II is the best starting point because it has the highest number of failing intersections, which generate heavy congestion. Starting in the middle will also keep interests on both ends of the stretch - including the university - in support of the project, he said.
Schum countered Perry's argument by noting that the aim of the project is not to ease congestion - a point she said is backed by the SHA, which oversees the project. While left turn lanes and center medians will be added under the plan, additional traffic lanes will not be added, according to the SHA plan.
"You'll recall that this improvement is not a capacity improvement," Schum said. "There's no guarantee there'll be a difference in traffic after this. Improving traffic is not the way to think about it."
Councilwoman Karen Hampton also abstained from voting.
Segment I will cost $38 million to reconstruct and will displace four businesses, according to information provided to the council by the SHA. While Segment II is the cheapest part of the project, costing $22 million, it is significantly shorter than Segment I. Segment III, which runs from Hollywood Road to the Capital Beltway, will displace the most businesses - nine - and will cost $49 million to revamp.
Northgate Condominium Complex, which will house mostly university faculty, apartment complex Starview Plaza and a Hilton Hotel are among the projects slated to appear on Segment I in the next few years.
Mayor Stephen Brayman praised the decision as an important start in an undertaking that, along with projects like installing sprinklers at Santa Fe Café, has been a contentious and grueling process.
"We need to pop it out," he said. "This has been inching along. We can make it move forward."
Contact reporter Raquel Christie at christiedbk@gmail.com.
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