Rockville, MD 
Corridor and Neighborhood Plan

Rockville’s Pike: Envision a Great Place was a planning initiative designed to involve members of the Rockville, Maryland community in developing a vision for the future of Rockville Pike­­—a suburban corridor that serves a dual role as both a high-traffic thoroughfare and a local and regional retail destination. The Pike is largely characterized by low-density, car-oriented, single-use development.

Planning NEXT staff and a multidisciplinary team, under leadership of Gianni Longo (Principal of ACP Visioning+Planning), engaged the Rockville community in an effort to develop a vision and new plan for the Pike. That vision reframes the corridor as a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use environment featuring a green, attractive public realm—while still accommodating high traffic demands and retaining its economic success.

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Inclusive Engagement

The team designed a substantial and inclusive approach to solicit input by all stakeholders, including citizens of Rockville, affected property owners, state and county officials, and residential and business tenants along the corridor.  A key component of the process was the Rockville’s Pike Community Design Charrette, which attracted the participation of nearly 150 individuals from in and around the Rockville community. The charrette was tailored to provide the widest range of opportunities for public input over a short period of time.

A new vision for a suburban corridor

The final plan reframes the Pike as a green, multi-modal boulevard; expanding the street grid to improve network connectivity and walkability; promoting a mix of uses; intensifying development, particularly near the Metro station; reducing surface parking; and regulating to achieve more attractive and environmentally sustainable development along the Pike.

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Form-based regulations to implement the vision

To implement this vision, the plan includes a new set of form-based development regulations and a regulating plan for the corridor and its immediate surroundings.

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Tags

Project Type: Area plan, form-based code, corridor plan
Community Type: City
Client: Rockville, Maryland
Services: public engagement, urban design