I applaud the city for this plan. I believe that prioritizing pedestrian and bicycle access within our city will have long term benefits and is in line with our goals for more sustainable development. My one objection to the plan is the extension of 39th Avenue to Nicholson street. I don't feel that extending this street offers much in the way of connectivity and it would greatly impact the quiet character of 39th and Madison. I would also add that putting in a sidewalk on Madison street between 40th and 41st (currently only one side of the street has a sidewalk on that block of Madison) would be very nice.

Toole Design is a great outfit and I love that we are working with them on improvements to our city's transportation plan. I would speak about two issues: a light at Nicholson and Queens Chapel, and a connecting road between 39th and Nicholson.

Re: The Light. After living at the top corner of Nicholson and Queens Chapel for 3 years, I can tell you a light is desperately needed. I witnessed countless accidents at that corner sitting on my front porch. Every single one was an issue of someone taking a shortcut through the neighborhood (hence all the speed bumps to deter people from doing so). A light there will save lives and save property -- just ask the people who have found cars in their yards from crossings gone bad.

Re: The Connector to 39th and Nicholson. I have a vested interest in this not happening since it would dramatically and negatively impact my street. But it also doesn't make a lot of sense to create traffic flow there anyway. Why? What destination is at the top of the hill that people need to get to with better flow or urgency? Just residential houses. Creating bikes and walking paths and even a pocket park at the top of that hill? Sure, that would achieve more active transportation and commerce goals by making connecting to the PG Plaza metro and shops a little easier. But a full blown street just seems silly and an unnecessary undertaking for no clear gain. Again, I have a lot of faith in Toole, so I'll be following this with interest. But I will oppose a street connector.

I am completely opposed to the idea of connecting 39th Avenue to Nicholson Street. While it is true that eliminating dead end roads can create more convenient ways to get around the neighborhood, and redistribute traffic, it also eliminates low-traffic spaces that residents make use of on a regular basis. In this particular case, the cul-de-sac where 39th Ave terminates near Madison Ave is used by neighborhood children for recreational purposes. The fact that this is low traffic area has also made it ideal for the annual block party and, this year, the Soap Box Derby race. I question the wisdom of spending money on a feasibility study in this location in the first place. There are houses dividing the 39th Ave termination point and Nicholson Ave. How could the city possibly connect these two roads given the current situation?

A major omission is the long-standing pedestrian-safety problem due to lack of sidewalk on 42nd Ave. between Crittenden and Decatur and on Decatur between 42nd and 42nd Pl. Given just the number of children who use that route to and from school in the morning, and the lack of alternate, safe routes to the civic center of Hyattsville from the southside of the Historic District, I would hope that the City would follow its Sidewalk Enhancement Policy in at least this one case. In fact, 10 years ago the Neighborhood Design Center formally requested the City to install sidewalks there as part of the trail-access project on Crittenden St. I've heard a number of neighbors complain about how uncomfortable it is to drive that block of 42nd Ave. due to the narrowness, lack of sight lines, and frequent presence of children and other pedestrians on the roadway. It's not great for drivers or pedestrians. But let's at least fix this for the children in our community, if nothing else.

In my corner of Ward 5 there is already a large amount of traffic that passes through the neighborhood to avoid the intersection of Hamilton and Queens Chapel Rd. It seems to me that restructuring Hamilton St to reduce traffic speeds will increase the motivation to avoid this intersection, and the light at Queens Chapel and Lancer will make it easier for commuters to use the small neighborhood streets. I worry that some of the proposed new roads will turn other previously quiet corners of the city into heavily trafficked throughways. Large numbers of commuters passing through small residential streets at high speed is a good way to inhibit building community with others on your street, and is a hazard as well. Wouldn't a better goal be to redirect traffic flow around neighborhoods to maintain the neighborliness that many areas of Hyattsville have?

There's a lot of great ideas in the priority list. I avidly support making Hyattsville a safe and comfortable place to walk and bicycle. The proposal to transform Hamilton seems particularly good. However I didn't see any documentation about the need to connect 39th Street and Madison to Nicholson Street. The traffic signal at Queen's Chapel and Nicholson will likely create back up traffic on Nicholson. Any increase in traffic on Nicholson would negatively impact the Bicycle Boulevard proposal. Connecting another road there doesn't seem like a great idea. If a road-size outlet is in demand from 39th and Madison, it would make more sense and be shorter to connect through the existing driveway at Independence Court across from Manorwood. There is room for pedestrian / bicycle trail access if that was the need. I don't like the idea of taking someone's home for a road. It's not that far from 39th and Madison to Longfellow which connects to Queen's Chapel. There is redevelopment planned for Sacred Heart at the end of 38th Street which could incorporate a new connection to Queen's Chapel as well.