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Camps Springs residents are looking to a comprehensive study of communities surrounding Andrews Air Force Base to help make a busy road safer.

Auth Road, the throughway that leads commuters to the Branch Avenue Metro Station, has been a sore spot in the Camps Springs community for many years, said resident Tanya Hall.

The road, which many residents walk along each day, is unsafe for pedestrians and in need of sidewalks, she said. "It's been a concern to us for 20 years."

Tina Green of Camp Springs agreed that the road is unsafe for pedestrians and drivers and said she has seen many near-accidents as commuters make their way to work.

Residents and planning members of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission agreed that Auth Road, along with Allentown Road and Suitland Parkway, are priorities for the area, as the M-NCPPC prepares its Joint Land Use Study.

The study aims to address safety, noise, community development, transportation, environmental and historic concerns between Andrews Air Force Base and surrounding communities, such as Camp Springs, Suitland and Westphalia.

The study has been submitted to a policy review committee made up of elected officials and their representatives, military personnel, state government staff, and business community members.

A public draft will be available at www.pgplanning.org in August.

"The community doesn't just encroach on the base. The base encroaches on the community," said Chris Izzo, M-NCPPC project planner.

While improvements to Auth Road, such as sidewalks linked to the Metro station, are included in the study's recommendations, roadways near the base's main gate such as Allentown Road and the intersection of Suitland Parkway and Pennsylvania Avenue have been stamped as priorities.

Izzo said that although planners assumed noise and safety issues would be residents' primary concerns, roadways seem to be the main issue.

"Transportation has turned out to be a major issue, and at every meeting we've heard similar complaints," he said. "It's a very frustrating situation for everyone."

While this study isn't directly connected to Base Realignment and Closure — a federal process that will relocate 3,000 additional government employees to Andrews Air Force Base in 2010 — Izzo said planners are accounting for the predicted growth of the area into their plans.

Nell Johnson, legislative aide to Prince George's County Councilman Samuel Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville, said it is critical that the area's infrastructure is ready for BRAC, but there currently aren't enough county or state funds to address all the deteriorated roads.

Johnson encouraged residents to contact their elected officials to raise awareness about local roadways in need of attention.

Keeping BRAC in mind, the Joint Land Use study also hopes to address depressed economic development in the area. Outside the base's gates there are few stores or restaurants, and many strip mall venues remain boarded and abandoned.

As the base has grown, businesses outside of the gates have diminished, which is something M-NCPPC plans to address, by developing incentives, such as tax credits, Izzo said.