Two County Councilmembers say they’re tired of seeing sidewalks around downtown Bethesda construction projects closed off for long periods of time, in apparent violation of county regulations.

The issue came up Thursday in a wide-ranging discussion of pedestrian safety at a meeting of the Council’s Transportation and Public Safety Committees.

Councilmember Roger Berliner asked the county’s Department of Transportation for a list of all sidewalk waivers it’s approved for development projects over the last three years. The waivers, as described by MCDOT Chief of Traffic Engineering Emil Wolanin, allow contractors and developers to close a sidewalk next to a construction project for more than two weeks.

Wolanin told Berliner that MCDOT only approves those waivers if the contractor proves pedestrian safety would be at risk or there’s no other way to complete the project. Contractors, for instance, aren’t allowed to close a sidewalk simply to stage or store equipment on that space.

But Wolanin also said a lack of enforcement means “we’re seeing developers who have not asked for permission” close sidewalks around construction sites.

“If they can get away with it, they will encroach farther and farther,” Wolanin said. “I agree with you that situations are happening out there that aren’t how the law intended, not how the timeframes intended. We’ve got to tie up the enforcement process.”

There are at least four ongoing projects — 8300 Wisconsin Ave., 7770 Norfolk Ave., 4500 East-West Highway and Lot 31 — where sidewalks around construction sites have been closed for long periods of time.

Berliner sent the request for data in August after getting a number of complaints about closed off sidewalks around development in downtown Bethesda, including Fairmont Avenue.

Earlier this year, construction of two apartment towers on each side of the street led to sidewalk closures that made the road difficult to use for pedestrians and vehicles.

Work on 7770 Norfolk Ave., the 17-story, 250-unit apartment building coming to the corner of Norfolk and Fairmont Avenues, has led to what appear to be permanent sidewalk closures since construction started.

Councilmember Hans Riemer pointed out the Norfolk Avenue sidewalk closure and claimed the sidewalk area was being used to store equipment. He also suggested it might be preferable to use a lane of the road for construction staging rather than a sidewalk in some sections of downtown areas.

“The implication of shutting down a lane are actually less severe than shutting down the sidewalk there,” Riemer told MCDOT officials. “I’m concerned that you may not consider shutting down a lane really as an option when we are granting these permits.”

Berliner said he’d like to see public signs required for whenever a sidewalk is closed off during a construction project. Those signs would detail the amount of time construction crews are permitted to keep the sidewalk closed.

“After that date, any of us can say, ‘I’m sorry, you’re not authorized to be here. This is a public sidewalk,’” Berliner said.

Wolanin said MCDOT staff was paging through about 2,000 development projects over the past three years to find examples of sidewalk closure waivers. So far, the department has found four sidewalk waivers.

MCDOT has one staff person to review traffic safety plans that must be submitted by construction crews. It’s the county’s Department of Permitting Services that’s ultimately responsible for enforcement of any sidewalk closures.

Wolanin said sometimes a contractor that has approval to close the sidewalk for 8-10 days, perhaps for a demolition, has weather delays or other issues pop up and no one is in the field for enforcement.

DPS Director Diane Schwartz Jones has suggested holding pre-construction meetings with contractors before the sidewalk closure is set to begin.

“If they’re still out there we would then issue a stop work order on that project,” Wolanin said.

Berliner, who referenced a law dealing with sidewalk closures he helped pass last Council term, said he’d like to see a solution soon.

“Why is it that we have not been able to hold fast to the notion that, yes, for emergency kinds of situations, two weeks is OK? Beyond that, it’s really not OK” Berliner said. “Somewhere, this fundamental responsibility has not been met.”