MCDOT to Close Select Roads to Vehicles in Downtown Bethesda Beginning Wednesday, June 10, to Support Restaurants and Retail Businesses in Phase I of Reopening Efforts

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Phase 1 of Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s plan to reopen the County as the COVID-19 health crisis eases will take another step on Wednesday, June 10, as the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will close several streets to vehicular traffic in Downtown Bethesda and allow restaurants and businesses to use the streets for outdoor seating and curbside retail activity.

The “Bethesda Streetery” program was conceived by the Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) and will be the first closure of this type as a part of MCDOT’s “Shared Streets” initiative.

The areas that will be part of the Bethesda Streetery will be open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily and include:

• Norfolk Avenue, between St. Elmo Avenue and Cordell Avenue.
• Norfolk Avenue, between Cordell Avenue and Del Ray Avenue.
• Woodmont Avenue, between Elm Street and Bethesda Avenue.
• Veterans Park, corner of Norfolk and Woodmont avenues.
• Cordell Avenue, between the parking garage near Old Georgetown Road and Triangle Towers (Streetery hours on Cordell will be Wednesday through Sunday, 4-10 p.m.)

The locations were selected to maximize benefits to businesses in recovery while also minimizing traffic disruptions. Access will be maintained for emergency services. The road closures will be clearly marked and the plans have been coordinated with the Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

“I am pleased to report the successful collaboration between MCDOT, the Bethesda Urban Partnership and other County agencies to make temporary adjustments to our public streets as we support economic recovery,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “We hope that the outdoor dining areas in Bethesda are helpful to local businesses as they reopen and expand services, and our engineers are in active discussion with representatives from other activity centers across the County to support similar Shared Streets in additional locations in the coming weeks.”

MCDOT will post maps and additional information to the Shared Streets website at montgomerycountymd.gov/DOT/sharedstreets.

The website also includes information on curbside pickup zones for restaurants and retail activity and an active survey seeking input from residents and businesses.

For ongoing updates, follow @MCDOTNow and @MCDOT_Parking on Twitter or go to the department website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dot.

For the latest Montgomery County updates during the health crisis, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.

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Release ID: 20-117
Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389