Comprehensive Transportation Planning with the Community in Mind
Description
Rochambeau French International School in Montgomery County educates over 1,000 nursery, elementary, and secondary students across two campuses. With young people traveling from across the region to attend, the school requires careful consideration of traffic flow and safety. Gorove Slade helped develop circulation systems for student pick-up/drop-off and bus traffic, ensuring smooth operations at both campuses.
When the school looked to move to the Maplewood campus, our team conducted comprehensive traffic studies and site access analyses to optimize the campus layout and minimize impact on surrounding areas.
Overcoming Traffic Challenges
Our team conducted multiple analysis scenarios to minimize impact on the roadway network. We designed a strategic access point to reduce traffic congestion on MD 355 (Rockville Pike). This novel solution incorporated a deceleration lane for efficient bus access and an acceleration lane with a physical separation to prevent unsafe weaving across traffic on MD 355. By consolidating access points along the school’s frontage, we further streamlined traffic flow and enhanced safety.
Community-Focused Approach
Gorove Slade prioritized community concerns throughout the planning process. We worked closely with neighbors to limit the school’s impact on adjacent residential areas, implementing measures to prevent cut-through traffic in nearby neighborhoods. Our team also optimized bus routes to the school, balancing efficiency with minimal disruption to local traffic patterns.
Comprehensive Planning and Coordination
Throughout the project, our team prepared detailed technical reports with capacity analysis and school operations considerations. We developed a robust transportation demand management plan, which included a bold Transportation Management Plan (TMP) with mandatory busing for elementary students. This approach significantly reduced private vehicle traffic to and from the campus. Additionally, we proposed off-site multimodal transportation improvements to enhance overall accessibility and safety in the area.
Our planning process involved extensive coordination with key stakeholders, including M-NCPPC, Montgomery County Department of Transportation, Maryland State Highway Administration, and local community members. This collaborative approach ensured that all perspectives were considered and addressed in the final design.
Ongoing Support
Gorove Slade continues to assist the French International School by supporting the implementation of their Transportation Management Plan (TMP). We provide ongoing consultation to optimize pick-up and drop-off efficiency at both the Maplewood and Forest Road campuses, ensuring that the transportation solutions remain effective as the school’s needs evolve. In addition, we provided support developing new, optimized bus routes to accommodate the significant number of students participating in the bus program.
Our innovative solutions and collaborative approach ensured a successful outcome for this complex project, demonstrating Gorove Slade’s expertise in educational facility transportation planning and our commitment to sustainable, community-friendly design.
Details
- Client: Rochambeau: The French International School
- Location: Bethesda, MD
- Project Size: 170,000 sf
- Land Use: Education
““From the very start of our partnership, Gorove Slade was tenacious in helping Rocheambeau achieve our ambitious vision of a brand-new educational environment that welcomes an intellectually curious and culturally diverse student body. Our challenges were numerous, particularly with the large number of approvals required to build out our Maplewood campus. Katie and Maribel were with us every step of the way, clearing hurdles and coordinating across multiple constituencies. I really appreciated their ability to come up with well thought out solutions that met the agencies’ many requirements and requests while ensuring the feasibility for the school. Gorove Slade’s expertise in transportation planning meant that my team could do what we do best: focus on the learning environment. Our students are so much the better for it.””
Relevant Services
Studies
Relevant Team Members
Katie Wagner
Principal
Maribel Donahue
Associate, Project Manager