BRAC Issues in Montgomery County

1
BRAC Issues in Montgomery County

• An Urban BRAC
• Walter Reed Has High Visibility
• Impact on Neighboring Communities
• Housing for Employees Visitors
• Access Mobility

2

• Issues
• Its Urban
• Its Visible
• Impact on Communities
• Housing for employees
• and Visitors
• Poor Access Mobility

3
Impact on Neighboring Communities

• Master Plan Anticipated Less Expansion
• Employee Housing Needs
• Visitor Housing Needs
• Consequences of Congestion

4
Walter Reed Employees and Hotel Rooms by Zip Code
56 live in Montgomery County
5
Moderate Income Housing is Limited

• Few options near the hospital for lower income
  employees
• Some lower rent apartments are available in
  Bethesda and North Bethesda.

6
Moderate Income Housing is Limited
12,262 efficiency and one bedroom units within a
5 mile radius are affordable to a single
household with an income of 66,150 Only 478
were vacant in 2006.
7
Insufficient Lodging Resources

• Bethesda and North Bethesda have 2,741 hotel
  rooms A third of all county hotel rooms
• Occupancy rates are climbing
• More rooms will be needed to serve visitors

8
Access Mobility

• Wisconsin Avenue from Beltway to Bethesda is
  among the most congested roads in the county
• Opportunities to improve capacity to the hospital
  facility are limited
• Metro has no East Portal
• Pedestrian and Bike access is limited

9
Major intersections are among the most congested
in the county
Existing AM Peak Period Volumes
NNMC
10
Major intersections are among the most congested
in the county
Existing PM Peak Period Volumes
11

• Traffic Congestion
• BRAC will add almost 900 trips during peak hours
  for a total of approximately 3,800 trips.
• NIH and NNMC combined generate half of all
  Wisconsin Avenue traffic in the vicinity.

12

• Transit Access
• To meet increased demand
• Metro needs East
• Entrance
• An off-site park and ride
• lot will be needed

13
National Institutes of Health
National Naval Medical Center
Metro Entrance NIH
Ave. Weekday Riders 10,000
14
Vehicle stacking to enter NMC Campus at Wisconsin
Avenue
15
Vehicle stacking on Wisconsin Avenue going south
at Cedar Lane (AM)
16
Bike and Pedestrian Facilities are Limited

• Pedestrian access from the hospital to Metro is
  inadequate
• One segment of the sidewalk is asphalt strip
• Parts of the sidewalk have no vegetated buffers
• Bike connections to neighborhoods are
  discontinuous

17
Summary

• To serve its patients and their families, and to
  ensure the safe arrival of employees - the BRAC
  consolidation must address the very severe
  strains it will place on an already strained
  transportation network at this location. These
  measures must
• Address traffic congestion
• Improve transit access
• Improve pedestrian and bicycle access and
  safety
• Address need for lodging for patients and
  visitors
• Address the need for moderate income housing
  for employees