Following its July discussion of Bethesda’s one-way streets, a local advisory board asked the county to study returning some of the streets to two-way traffic.

On Aug. 1, the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board sent a letter to County Executive Isiah Leggett and County Council President Craig Rice asking for the study, claiming that two-way streets “simplify navigation for drivers. They are more successful for retailers. They are also considered more pedestrian friendly.”

Led by Board Chair Jad Donohoe, the group agreed that streets that should be included in the study include Woodmont Avenue (from Old Georgetown Road to Hampden Lane), Old Georgetown Road (from Commerce Lane to Woodmont Avenue), Montgomery Lane (from Woodmont Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue), North Lane (from Woodmont Avenue to East Lane) and East Lane (from North Lane to Montgomery Lane).

Not included in the list were the one-way couplet of East-West Highway and Montgomery Lane east of Wisconsin Avenue.

It’s unclear which county agency would take up the study, but the advisory board mentions the Planning Department’s rewrite of the downtown Bethesda sector plan makes this “the right time to study this change.”

The advisory board is a county-organized group of residents and business representatives from Bethesda, North Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac and Chevy Chase that make recommendations on county budget priorities and other policies.

The board made clear the study should include an opportunity for public comment and analysis of the positive and negative impacts of two-way traffic on nearby intersections such as Wisconsin Avenue and Commerce Lane, Wisconsin Avenue and Montgomery Lane and the central junction of Wisconsin Avenue, East-West Highway and Old Georgetown Road.

“Changing these streets to two-way traffic could improve Bethesda’s urban fabric and make Bethesda easier for visitors to navigate,” Donohoe wrote.

Photo via Google Maps