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The county could be saying no to speed cameras on Wisconsin Avenue south of Bethesda, but nearby residents may not accept that answer.

A recent study conducted by the county indicates that speed cameras are not a good fit for Wisconsin Avenue between Bradley Boulevard and Dorset Avenue, about .7 miles, because children do not often cross Wisconsin Avenue going to and from the nearest public school, Somerset Elementary School.

"My sense is that this is not going to be a good place for speed cameras," said Ken Hartman, the director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center who has been working with the Chevy Chase West neighborhood on its requested traffic calming improvements.

Chevy Chase West submitted its own traffic study, including its request for speed cameras, in early May. The neighborhood is located west of Wisconsin Avenue and east of Hillandale Road between Nottingham Street to the north and Hunt Avenue to the south.

The neighborhood said it wants cars to slow down in and around the neighborhood for the safety of drivers trying to enter and exit the neighborhood, as well as pedestrians like the children who walk to and from Somerset Elementary School to the south.

The county's response to 33 requests from Chevy Chase West was issued on Sept. 24 after gathering input from county and state agencies.

Hartman said police have committed to putting speed trailers on Wisconsin Avenue that display a vehicle's speed to the driver.

But the community is determined to take its fight to elected officials if the county declines to act on speed cameras, said Michael Replogle, co-chairman of the Chevy Chase West Neighborhood Association's Traffic Committee. Speed cameras would make it easier and safer for Chevy Chase West residents to enter and exit the neighborhood safely, said Replogle. He also pointed out that there is a private school, the Concord Hill School, in Chevy Chase West on Wisconsin Avenue.

"This is the number one issue among the residents of our neighborhood," said Replogle, who used to work in the Planning Department's transportation section.

Beginning Oct. 1, new speed cameras are allowed only within school and construction zones.

A north-south crosswalk across Bradley Boulevard west of Wisconsin Avenue at Strathmore Street is also unlikely, Hartman said, because westbound motorists would have too little time to slow down or stop for pedestrians.

Replogle countered that narrower traffic lanes and a raised crosswalk were two viable options for Chevy Chase West residents looking to walk or bike from their homes to downtown Bethesda.

"It's imperative that the county take some timely action now to make it safe for the neighborhoods most impacted by that growth to be able to walk and bike to Bethesda rather than drive our cars," Replogle said.

Prospects for a new sidewalk on the east of side of Wisconsin Avenue between Bradley Boulevard and Dorset Avenue appear brighter. The sidewalk could be finished by 2013 but must first be included in the county's Capital Improvement Plan.

The community is eagerly awaiting this new path, said Replogle, although he noted that it would only bolster the case for speed cameras.

"If the sidewalk and bike path is built…more children and adults will want to use it, and will want to have safe access to it," he said.

Traffic volumes may be too low to accommodate neighborhood requests for four-way stop signs on Stratford Street to protect Somerset Elementary students, the report also states. But a new pedestrian refuge on Hillandale Road to the west of the neighborhood near the Bethesda Outdoor Pool will be built by next July.