Plans approved for high school

The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a plan to convert Rocky Hill Middle School into a new high school last week.

The new Clarksburg high school is expected to relieve overcrowding in the Damascus, Seneca Valley and Watkins Mill clusters. It is slated to open in the fall of 2006.

The project will add a two-story academic wing to the back of the existing building and enclose the two existing open areas into courtyards. A second gymnasium will be built, as well as an auditorium.

The high school is designed for an initial capacity of 1,600 students. Plans for a twelve-classroom addition, to be completed after the initial renovations, have also been prepared.

County officials told the Planning Board that the project is $6 million over budget. The project is expected to cost $47 million.

The board's recommendation for Montgomery County Public Schools to build a private driveway connecting the current and future Rocky Hill Middle School sites in Clarksburg was a subject of disagreement. School officials stated the roadway would pose safety concerns.

"There is no programmatic need for a vehicular connection," MCPS mechanical engineer Steve Reeves told the board Thursday. "We have safety and security concerns for our students."

The board said the road would improve connectivity and relieve traffic jams. The driveway would be private, so the school system could close it at any time, and officials indicated they would do just that.

"We fully intend to gate the driveway and lock it as soon as it is built," Reeves said.

Construction of the new Rocky Hill Middle School is nearing completion adjacent to the existing school. A new street called Brickhaven Way will provide access to the school. It will connect to the extension of Newcut Road, which will intersect with Route 355. The new middle school will open this fall to replace the current building, located on Wims Road.

The Planning Board recommended that a private driveway connect Brickhaven Way to Wims Road. But in an April letter to the Planning Board, Rocky Hill Middle School principal Steve Whiting said any interaction between the schools -- use of athletic fields, for instance -- would be facilitated by a pedestrian path.

"According to the plans there is adequate access with a hiker/biker trail," he wrote. "A road would create a serious safety hazard to our students as well as those of the new high school."

"What I don't want is a throughway for cars to go in front of my school," Whiting said in a telephone interview after the hearing. "My fear is that high school students are going to use it as a cut-through while our school is still in session."

The Clarksburg Civic Association's executive committee discussed the proposed road at a meeting on May 31. The committee resolved that only a trail should be constructed.

Dan Hardy, transportation supervisor for the Planning Board, said that the Clarksburg Master Plan calls for connectivity among neighborhoods.

"In general, as we approach any action -- be it master planning or anything else -- we're suggesting that you don't want to have a world of cul-de-sacs," he said. "You want to find ways for folks to move from one place to another."

Without the roadway, drivers would have to turn left three times -- onto Newcut Road extended, Route 355, and Wims Road -- to travel less than half a mile to the future high school.

"There's always a good reason to have a second way to get into a large location," Planning Board Commissioner Meredith Wellington said. "Down the road everyone seems to agree it will be needed."

The Planning Board also recommended that a new traffic signal be installed at the intersection of Route 355 and Foreman Boulevard. This will be used as a primary access point to the school. The plans were approved by a vote of 4-0, with Commissioner John Robinson abstaining.