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CARROLL AVENUE STREETSCAPE PROJECT Project DescriptionProject MapProject FundingRequest for ProposalsCommunity Workshops
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Send us Your CommentsHelpful LinksContact InformationIf you have ever walked along Carroll Avenue between Old Town and Takoma Junction, you know how unpleasant and unsafe this stretch of road is for pedestrians, especially on the southeast side of the street. Fortunately, this will be changing over the next several months. The City of Takoma Park is initiated a new project to redesign and reconstruct much of the streetscape on Carroll Avenue between Philadelphia Avenue and the D.C. line as well as on Laurel Avenue. The goals of the project are to make these sections of Carroll and Laurel Avenues safe for pedestrians and bicyclists, to strengthen the connection between the Old Town and Takoma Junction business districts, and to enhance the economic vitality of Old Town. The project will also look for opportunities to restore the tree canopy on Carroll Avenue, improve the economic vitality of Old Town, and integrate public art, pedestrian-oriented lighting, seating, and other amenities. The City has hired the design and engineering firm of KCI Technologies to work with the community to develop the conceptual streetscape design and then use this design to generate construction documents. There was ample community involvement in the design through a series of workshops on four consecutive Thursdays in February and March. Community involvement is critical to the success of this project. Designs and concepts presented at community workshops are available on the City of Takoma Park web site ( www.cityoftakomapark.org ). This project is the result of grants from the State of Maryland and Montgomery County.
This project has been funded in two parts. The residential portion (shown here in blue) has been funded by a State grant at $375,000. The City has contracted with the city contractor for the residential portion of this project. The commercial and institutional portion (shown here in yellow) has been funded by State and County grants for $275,000. The City has a total of $650,000 to complete this project . Currently, Maryland State Highway Administration is considering exceptions to their design standards to take into account the historic and community character of Carroll Avenue. Once this is completed, construction documents may be drawn up and permits obtained.
The City hosted a series of six community design workshops within a tight timeframe to receive ideas and feedback from business owners, property owners and residents.
Date: Thursday, 2/12 Times: 8:30-10:30 AM and 7-9 PM (both workshops on this day covered the same material) Location: Washington Theological Union's General Lecture Room, located at 6896 Laurel Street NW This first workshop introduced the project and asked the community to identify opportunities and problem areas along Carroll and Laurel Avenues. The following were emphasized:
Workshop Comments
This workshop presented a series of alternative design concepts for the site based on community input and the existing site constraints for feedback. Date: Thursday, 2/19 Time: 7-9 PM
These workshops presented a single design that combined the most viable elements of the alternative concepts for community feedback. Date: Thursday, 2/26 Times: 8:30-10:30 AM and 7-9 PM (both meetings on this day cover the same material) Draft Concept Design: Go to design .
This workshop presented the final concept based on feedback from the draft design for community comment and looked at materials alternatives. Date: Thursday, 3/4 Time: 7-9 PM
Please note: Laurel Avenue has not been added to this site plan. The planned Laurel Avenue will have a curb extension of 3 feet on the commercial side and also on the median (Church side). New trees on the commercial side (with larger pits), and on the median are proposed. Click here to see the concept in plan view . Final Design concept presented to the Takoma Park City Council Date: Monday, March 15
Both www.walkinginfo.org and www.bicyclinginfo.org are the go-to web sites for information on design solutions, data, and even have ways to evaluate your neighborhood with your kids. Dan Burden's site on walking and design is a great resource for design tools, success stories, and photos with examples from neighborhoods to town centers. To access Burden's site, go to www.walkable.org . For ideas and examples of incremental and major changes that improve the sociability of towns, cities and neighborhoods, www.pps.org are the experts. When Main Street is a State Highway is a guide to main street design published by the Maryland State Highway Administration. To access the guide go online to: http://www.sha.state.md.us/businesswithSHA/projects/ohd/mainstreet/MainStreet.pdf
Tree ProposalPlease comment on the tree proposal by sending an e-mail, fax, letter, or calling us at the contact information below ASAP . The City will be planting new and replacement trees in the public right-of-way. Many existing trees are severely stressed due to adverse heat, soil, and water conditions, which increase susceptibility to disease and reduce growth and lifespan. Some trees require more space for roots than provided in tree boxes (tree pits). Others have lost tops due to utility lines that reduce available growth space. Some tree boxes have dead, dying, or long-removed trees. In addition, where new sidewalks are proposed, the reconstruction work will damage the tree to where future healthy growth is unlikely. Where possible, existing trees in good condition will be retained, and tree boxes widened. In areas where the sidewalk will be reconstructed, the new tree boxes will be considerably larger and structural soils may be added under the paving materials. New tree boxes will be spaced in accordance with the mature dimensions of the new trees. In some locations there is an opportunity to replace one tree box with two. All proposed trees are based on availability. The City would like to install trees between 1½ -3 inches in caliper. There are advantages to smaller and larger caliper trees, and the City will choose tree sizes based on availability of selected species at a reasonable price.
These trees will survive urban conditions, have a variety of sizes for specific locations and exhibit a variety of ornamental features such as canopy, seasonal flowers and berries, bark variation, and leaf shape. The mixture of sizes and tree types overtime will give the commercial district texture through the seasons. Many of these trees are native and will improve the urban bird habitat.
The White Oak is the Maryland State tree and the native canopy. While slow growing, it is an extremely hardy tree that will withstand the harsh conditions in the median. The very large spreading branches will shade the street in the summer and create dramatic patterns in the winter. Deep red-purple foliage in the fall, White Oaks provide a show all year.
The American Elm is famous for its graceful vase-like canopy. New cultivars of the American Elm are highly disease resistant. The long, straight residential portion of Carroll Avenue is the most suited to showcase a row of the stately native tree.
LightingWe appreciate the many responses that we received regarding street lamps. There was overwhelming support for pursuing a design that matches the lamps in Old Town. The City requested assistance in selecting a lamp style for the residential portion of Carroll Avenue between Columbia Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue on the south side. In the late nineteenth century, the City of Takoma Park had both electric and gas lamps. Generally, posts were made of iron. "Transportation of iron lamp posts by wagon was expensive, even for short distances. Most towns used local foundries to manufacture their municipal iron products including their lamp posts. These locally produced cast iron lamp posts have provided a rich heritage of designs that are unique to specific cities and towns across the United States." (Excerpted from the Antique Street Lamps company catalog, Austin, Texas) Currently there are many more material and design options available. Street lamps may be less expensive, more resistant to salt corrosion, easier to install and maintain, and better at directing light where it is needed. While today's street lamps are manufactured of different materials, many companies offer lamps with similar designs to those installed a hundred years ago, and also those existing today in Old Town and Takoma Junction. Shielding and cutoff reflectors placed inside lighting fixtures greatly reduce glare and light spillage onto private property and the night sky. New technologies, such as metal halide and induction lighting can provide very high color rendering at lower light levels. Lighting fixtures now may refract light towards the street and sidewalk and away from the sky. There is also a greater range of more efficient and longer lasting bulbs. Takoma Styles: The first half of the 20 th Century Historic photos are courtesy of Historic Takoma, Inc. , and may be viewed in "Takoma Park: Portrait of a Victorian Suburb 1993-1983").
Currently existing in Old Town and Takoma Junction
Choices: These choices are offered as they have a strong design relationship to the dominant pole and fixture types already installed in Old Town and Takoma Junction (no drawings are to scale).
Bollards to protect the median: The City is seeking additional comments regarding bollard design for the Carroll Avenue Streetscape ASAP. Please look at the material below and send us your comments via e-mail, fax, phone, or post. The new Laurel Avenue median design will remove the curbs so that the median (center island) is at the same level as the street. A series of trees in half oval tree pits will be placed on alternating sides allowing people to meander along and diagonally across the median. There will be a small square located in front of the Post Office that will not have trees . The City is looking at a variety of options for keeping cars and trucks off the median area and would appreciate comments. Generally, a bollard or other obstacle such as a planter may be used. These obstacles will need to be spaced to protect trees, allow people to walk across the median during the farmers market, and enhance the aesthetic value. The choices the City is looking at may be used in combination and have up to a several hundred dollar price difference.
(Images are not to scale) Existing Bollards on the median : the City plans to reuse these at the top of the new extension of the median.
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