All 11 Montgomery County Council members are backing a bill that would make it easier to build sidewalks on roads where pedestrians share space with cars.
Bill 51-26, introduced Oct. 20 by Councilmember Evan Glass, would lower the petition threshold needed to waive a public hearing on a sidewalk project, as first reported by The Banner. Under current law, a majority of property owners along a proposed route must sign a petition to skip the hearing. The bill would drop that to 25%.
The legislation has a direct tie to Potomac. The county's Vision Zero Fiscal Year 2027 Work Plan lists a River Road corridor project, from Springfield Drive to Little Falls Parkway, in the design phase for vulnerable road-user safety improvements.
Glass pointed to rising danger on county roads. Pedestrian-involved crashes are up 10% from last year, he said, and 15 pedestrians have died in Montgomery County so far in 2026. State data showed 14 pedestrian deaths in 2025.
"I don't think that half a community should dictate the safety of the other half," Glass told The Banner.
The bill would also waive the public hearing requirement when the county determines a proposed sidewalk would not require the use of private property, would not materially impair access to private property and would not impose a special assessment on affected owners. Under current law, a civic or homeowners' association must file a notice of support before a hearing can be skipped. The bill text replaces that step with the county's own property-impact review.
Wade Holland, the county's Vision Zero coordinator, told The Banner his office has not yet evaluated the bill. But he said sidewalks in general boost safety by separating pedestrians from vehicles. Vision Zero is the county's program to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Sidewalk projects have divided neighborhoods before. The Banner reported that a debate near Parkwood Elementary School in Kensington drew bright yellow "no sidewalks" signs and strained relations among neighbors. The father who had applied for the sidewalk for his son with a disability eventually withdrew his request.
Dan Reed, Maryland policy director for Greater Greater Washington, a civic organization based in Silver Spring, called the bill overdue. Reed told The Banner that residents sometimes worry sidewalk construction will damage trees or draw more foot traffic to their streets.
The county has also been lowering speed limits as part of its pedestrian safety push. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has reduced speed limits on 33 roads since July 2025, and more than 250 neighborhood streets have seen reductions since 2021. Potomac is among the areas where limits have dropped.
The council will hold a public hearing on Bill 51-26 on Tuesday, Nov. 10. A Transportation and Environment Committee work session has not yet been scheduled. The bill expires Dec. 7 if not enacted.
