The central district of Burtonsville is, by definition, a crossroads. Heavily traveled state roads, Route 29 and Route 198, meet just feet from where the neighborhood conducts its business: eating, shopping, doctor’s appointments and re-fueling cars. 

A new vision from Montgomery County’s planning department might enable residents to get out of their cars, enjoy the sights and make it easier for businesses to further develop the area. 

“So much of Burtonsville has been highway,” said Kristin O’Connor, senior planner with Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. “The vision here is turning a crossroads into a community.”

O’Connor began work on a one-year study of the neighborhood in November 2010 at the behest of County Councilmember Nancy Navarro (D-Dist 4). Community meetings with residents revealed that the neighborhood lacks public spaces and central gathering places. 

The plan asks that the owners of Route 198, Maryland’s State Highway Administration, give the street a Main Street makeover: adding sidewalks on the north side and bike trails on the southern side, plus medians in the street. More trees and lighting along the street and the creation of public spaces are also requested.

The Burtonsville Commercial Crossroads Neighborhood Plan calls for re-zoning of virtually all of the business clusters, including Burtonsville Crossing, a shopping center that was unable to retain most of its tenants after an anchoring Giant grocery store moved across the street. 

Currently, the shopping center’s zoning severely limits the type of business that can fill the old Giant space. O’Connor’s plan recommends giving the center one of the county’s “catch all” zones, which allows for both residential and commercial development on the same property.

Burtonsville Town Square, a competing shopping center across the street, and the cluster of properties on the north side of Route 198 will be re-zoned similarly. The plan also includes recommendations for a network of private streets behind the row of restaurants on Old Columbia Pike to allow pedestrians to travel between the buildings. 

Public spaces along Route 29, preservation of rural and environmentally sensitive areas and turning the Burtonsville Park and Ride into a station for the county’s proposed Bus-Rapid Transit system were suggested in the plan.

In Montgomery County, the planning board must first approve planning efforts before they go before the County Council. The planning board will likely review the Burtonsville plan next month. 

Want to get caught up on plans for Burtonsville? See past news articles about planning in Burtonsville.