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Prince George's County planners are seeking public input for redeveloping a stretch of Branch Avenue marred by heavy traffic, rundown storefronts and a lack of office space to take advantage of nearby Metrorail stations and proximity to Washington, D.C.

The proposed eight-mile section of Branch Avenue to be included in a new planning document spans Marlow Heights, Temple Hills, Camp Springs and Clinton, with the likely boundaries being St. Barnabas Road to the north and Southern Maryland Hospital Center to the south.

Planners met Thursday with about 15 representatives of community associations around Clinton to learn about the problems facing the southern section of the Branch Avenue; a similar meeting for Camp Springs-area residents on the northern end of Branch Avenue took place Oct. 26.

A larger public meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11.

The purpose of these meetings, according to county planner and project leader Angela Ruppe, is for planners to learn about issues they may not see during site visits as they draft the planning guide, known as the Central Branch Avenue Corridor Revitalization Sector Plan. Ruppe said the department plans to hold public hearings through next fall and present recommendations for final approval by the Planning Board and County Council by spring 2012.

During Thursday's meeting, held at Surrattsville High School, attendees cited rush-hour traffic snarls, unattractive buildings and the failure of officials and planners to develop a comprehensive plan for the corridor as reasons Branch Avenue has deteriorated and failed to attract employers.

Suggestions ranged from big-picture calls to find incentives for employers to build or relocate around Metrorail stations to block-by-block analysis of dangerous intersections and vacant commercial space.

For instance, Mary Forsht-Tucker, a Clinton resident and active member of several area citizens groups, told planners there are too few sidewalks and too many tricky intersections, which prevent residents from easily navigating around retail near the intersection of Branch Avenue and Coventry Way.

Another Clinton resident and active community member, Les Greenberg, told planners he is worried about commuters who try to avoid traffic on Branch Avenue by using nearby Woodyard Road as "a freeway."

The meeting marked one of the first attended post-election by Mel Franklin, the Prince George's County Councilman-elect for District 9, which includes much of south county. Franklin made redevelopment of south county communities around Metrorail stations a priority during his campaign.

"[Residents] have a county council person who will not move forward with anything that does not have the community interest first," he said after the meeting, pledging to oppose "scattered development."

One of Franklin's opponents in the primary, Clinton resident Tamara Davis Brown, also attended. Brown said she was pleased officials were coming up with a plan that covers a large chunk of Branch Avenue — previous master plans split Branch Avenue into different districts — but said she and other residents who participated in meetings for previous planning guides have grown both wary and weary of the process.

"I'm hoping with the new administration, they'll give some direction and vision to take the communities seriously," she said. "We do a lot of planning, but I don't see a lot of doing."

ztillman@gazette.net