M-83 Walk: Option #1
Casual Walk Through Non-Woods Areas
on Proposed M-83 Highway
What To Expect
Round-trip 1.5 miles
Directions and Observations along M-83 Walk
South Valley Park and Watkins Mill Elementary School (#8, #9 & #10 on Map)
Entering the M-83 Route (#10 on Map)
Public Ball Fields and Heron’s Cove Condos (#7 & #8 on Map)
Impact on Walker’s Choice Town Homes (#4 & #5 on Map)
Confluence with Walker’s Run (between #4 & #5 on Map)
The Sedimentation Pond (#6 on Map)
Cross Over the Route of M-83 (#4, and area between #4 & #5 on Map)
The Condos: Breckenridge, Normandie I & II, and Christopher Court (#1, #2 & #3 on Map)
Retrace the Route
An Addition at the End of the Walk: 1997 Bridge and Blohm Park
The 1997 Bridge (#12 on Map)
Blohm Park (#13 on Map)
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!
Casual Walk Through Non-Woods Areas
on Proposed M-83 Highway
What To Expect
Round-trip 1.5 miles
- This walk avoids wooded areas but could occasionally be muddy or in wet grass on brief sloping areas.
- Where To Park
Directions and Observations along M-83 Walk
South Valley Park and Watkins Mill Elementary School (#8, #9 & #10 on Map)
- Next to the parking area is the South Valley Park public ball field area, where many youth leagues play.
- Walk back towards Watkins Mill Elementary School first to see the long playing field that now has clean air and a beautiful wooded edge.
- Children playing there are within 50 feet of M-83.
- The wooded edge will be replaced by a fenced-off highway above a retaining wall just beyond the run, with noise and exhaust for the kids.
- Serious concerns have been raised about health concerns for the children from exhaust fumes from morning rush traffic, with backups, which would be inevitable.
- Take a moment to walk over to the edge and see how lovely Whetstone Run is here.
Entering the M-83 Route (#10 on Map)
- Now look across the run and the woods.
- If the leaves are mostly down, see how very near the Windbrooke Condos would be to M-83.
- A high retaining wall would be needed next to the condos, and the condos will lose all their wooded view and quiet.
Public Ball Fields and Heron’s Cove Condos (#7 & #8 on Map)
- Return to South Valley Park, and note the current environment for the large public ball field. This is used for youth league play.
- Now use your imagination to replace the woods with the highway.
- Look to the left at the view from Heron's Cove Condos, and consider their loss of quiet and beauty if M-83 is built.
- Across the bridge, turn right again and keep woods on the right as you walk.
Impact on Walker’s Choice Town Homes (#4 & #5 on Map)
- M-83 would now begin veering slowly closer to where you are walking, and of course, to Whetstone Run.
- Walk on, glance back to the left and view the windows that would look out onto proposed M-83 and miss the lovely woods.
Confluence with Walker’s Run (between #4 & #5 on Map)
- Turn left where Whetstone Run leaves the woods edge and heads away towards Lake Whetstone.
- A smaller stream continues at the woods edge. It is called Walker's Run. Continue alongside Whetstone Run for about 30-40 yards and then take a bridge to the right across the Run.
- Look again to the left and see the current lovely views from Walker's Choice town homes and the high-rise condos.
The Sedimentation Pond (#6 on Map)
- Turn back to the right and follow the woods edge.
- Walker’s Run is now on the right.
- Across the Run is a grassy berm rising up in a larger grassy opening and an outflow structure leading from the berm down to the Run. This is the outflow from a sedimentation pond.
- The homes behind the field are part of Woodland Hills.
- The M-83 roadway would go across the top of the grassy area and very near the homes.
- This pond was recently rebuilt. The previous pond was built to contain storm runoff from Woodland Hills, the subdivision up the hill. Then it was left in a primitive state for probably 30 years.
- This rebuilding seems unnecessary, unless it is to contain runoff from clearing land to build M-83, and then it would only contain a small part of that.
- Finally, note the steep slope up from you to Woodland Hills.
- M-83 would require large retaining walls throughout most of this route.
Cross Over the Route of M-83 (#4, and area between #4 & #5 on Map)
- Continue to walk, keeping woods on the right.
- Pass next to tennis courts and a pool for Walkers Choice high rise.
- Keep right, and follow a path through the woods.
- This path cuts across the M-83 right-of-way.
- The Run on the right is Walkers Run.
The Condos: Breckenridge, Normandie I & II, and Christopher Court (#1, #2 & #3 on Map)
- Begin walking down the grassy area towards Montgomery Village Avenue.
- You are now walking either on a southbound lane, or on the adjacent bike path, of proposed M-83.
- The woody hill on the left would be bulldozed and paved to make M-83.
- It would be elevated and edged by a retaining wall. No sound barrier walls are expected to be built.
- The far side would have a very high retaining wall. No sound barrier walls are expected to be built.
- The result would be great projection of traffic noise towards the condos on the right: first, Breckenridge and then Christopher Court.
- Some calculations suggest that Christopher Court would lose many needed parking spaces to make a turn lane at MV Avenue.
- When the grassy area narrows, pass through the line of pines on your right and continue south on the parking lot.
- Very near on the left, but barely visible when the well-treed slope is in full leaf, are the condos of Normandie I and II.
- Those homeowners would have this quiet and leafy view replaced with asphalt, noise, and vehicles.
Retrace the Route
- Now walk back by the same route, but shortcutting as you wish, instead of always keeping next to the woods.
- Or, diverge and enjoy the beauty of the ponds in South Valley Park and admire the lawn theater before returning to your car.
An Addition at the End of the Walk: 1997 Bridge and Blohm Park
- While leaving the parking area, one more stop could be to turn left on Watkins Mill Road and glance at the bridge over Whetstone Run and at the small Blohm Park just beyond the bridge.
- If more time allows, walk instead up to Watkins Mill Rd, cross the bridge, and examine the Blohm Park.
- At the bridge and the park, review the following…
The 1997 Bridge (#12 on Map)
- On Watkins Mill Road, a broad concrete bridge crosses Whetstone Run, the Run that is in the woods at the back of the school playing field.
- Sometime between 1992 and 1994, the Montgomery County Council was presented with two alternative designs for this bridge. The more expensive design could be used with M-83 if that were ever built. The less expensive design was chosen, however, because the Council, at that time, was determined NOT to build M-83.
- MCDOT’s 2013 Draft Environmental Effects Report says simply that the county lacked enough money then to build M-83, but that is deceptive. If the Council expected to build M-83 in the future, they would have opted for the more expensive bridge, and saved money in the long run.
Blohm Park (#13 on Map)
- BLOHM PARK gives a good winter bird-watching view from its gazebo, and has trails allowing for walks that cross Whetstone Run on nice wooden footbridges.
- It preserves the wetland qualities of the area. Its trees cool the run. Its grasses prevent runoff.
- Proposed M-83 replaces most of this with a broad, 200 foot long bridge with mudflats beneath.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!