MoCo's FY11 Bike Projects

Thanks to Silver Spring Trails for the link to the Montgomery County Executive's Recommended FY11 Capital Budget and FY11-16 Capital Improvements Program. In addition to the County's portion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail (discussed here) it also includes some information on other projects.

Here is a description (pdf) of the bikeways program. In addition to design and land acquisition for the Met Branch the other main project for the year is design and construction for the BRAC bicycle and pedestrian project in Bethesda.

There are are probably more projects, like road resurfacing and sidewalk construction, that are good for cyclists too, but the list below only includes bike specific projects (with one exception).

Annual Bikeways Program - This is the general bicycle program that pursues the goals of the County Bikeways Functional Master Plan, and (as I read it) works on smaller projects without bothering the council for permission.

This project plans, designs and constructs bikeways, trails, and directional route signs throughout the County. The purpose of this project is to develop the bikeway network specified by master plans and those requested by the community to provide access to commuter rail, mass transit, major employment centers, recreational and educational facilities and other major attractions. Types of bikeways include shared paths, designated lanes, and signed shared routes along existing roads. This program will construct bikeway facilities that will cost less than $300,000 each.

It's scheduled to receive $550,000 a year through 2016, most of which goes towards planning, design and supervision.

Bethesda Bikeway and Pedestrian Facilities -  This project builds the bikeway network specified in the Bethesda Central Business District Sector Plan - namely bike facilities on Bethesda Avenue, 47th Street and Willow Lane. The project is on hold until the Bethesda Lot 31 parking garage is constructed. Funding is scheduled for FY 2013.

BRAC Bicycle Facilities - This project will build a bike network around the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda to accommodate the BRAC. It will tentatively include the following components.

1. An off road bike path on the north side of East Cedar Lane from Rockville Pike to Beach Drive and another off road bike path on the south side of West Cedar Lane from Rockville Pike to Old Georgetown Road.
2. Bicycle improvements in Battery Park and on Glenbrook Parkway from Wisconsin Avenue to Jones Bridge Road.
3. An off road bike path on the east side of Rockville Pike from East Cedar Lane to Jones Bridge Road (as either a relocation or expansion of the existing sidewalk).
4. A pair of 5-foot wide bike lanes along Jones Bridge Road from Rockville Pike to the entrance at 4301 Jones Bridge Road. May be an off road bike path. 

Work will begin this summer and end in September 2011.

Falls Road East Side Hiker/Biker Path - Builds 4 miles of an 8 foot wide hiker/biker path along the east side of Falls Road from River Road, where it will connect with the existing bike path, to Dunster Road. Construction is expected to start in summer 2015 and take 2 years to complete.

MacArthur Blvd Bikeway Improvements - Adds 2 to 3 foot shoulders along MacArthur Blvd from I-495 to Oberlin Avenue. Also upgrades the existing trail to current standards and includes spot improvements. Design to be completed this fall with construction to start in summer 2012 and end in late 2013/early 2014.

2 to 3 feet doesn't seem like much of an improvement. If that's all the space they have, then it'd be better to put a 5 foot bike lane on the west bound side and let east bound cyclists choose between the road and the trail (IMO).

Shady Grove Access Bike Path - Builds a 4700 foot long, 10 foot wide bike path from Shady Grove Road to Redland Road along the east ride of the Metro Access Road and connects to the bikeway along Crabbs Branch Way with a bikeway ramp. It builds another 200 feet of trail from the new path to the Shady Grove Metro Station. Construction starts this spring and will take a year. 

Silver Spring Green Trail - Builds an 8 to 10 foot wide urban trail with lighting along the Purple Line alignment along Wayne Avenue in Silver Spring. This will be built as part of the Purple Line. The trail will run along the north side of Wayne from Fenton to the Sligo Creek Trail. Purple Line construction is scheduled to start summer of 2014.

And this last project is a transit project with bike implications

Bethesda Metro Station South Entrance - Builds a new entrance, via elevators, to the Bethesda Metrorail Station. The entrance is build to create a quick connection to the Purple Line's Bethesda station, but as the Capital Crescent Trail runs parallel to it, that should make for a quick trail-to-transit connection as well. Most of the funding is scheduled for FY2015 and 2016.

Comments

[Wayne Phyillaier]

Thank you for sorting through the MoCo Bikeways projects and giving this summary. There are some bright spots, and I sometimes overlook them because I get caught up with the dismal treatment the Met Branch Trail is receiving. I am especially encouraged that the BRAC projects can make cycling easier north of Bethesda.
But the Met Branch project has made little progress at MC DOT since 2005, even though it has strong support with the County Council. In 2005 the DOT project designers had completed facility planning to the point where they had a concept plan that had the strong support from the community group meetings and that followed the Master Plan alignment approved in 2001. It was ready to go to the Council for approval and transition to detailed design.
But then the Met Branch project engineers were told by their DOT management that the project was too expensive, and that no one would want to bike on a trail through the Ripley and Fenton Village areas. Project engineers were directed to go back and develop low cost options that did not have a new trail bridge over Georgia Avenue.
The project has made very little progress since then. In 2006 the Planning Board and Council T&E Committee rejected the low cost options as not being responsive to the need, and directed MC DOT to build the trail on the Master Plan alignment with the new bridge over Georgia Avenue. MC DOT did very little until 2008, then recommended the project not be funded until project coordination could be completed with CSX and WMATA. But then in 2009 the Council T&E Committee learned that no project coordination with CSX and WMATA could be completed because MC DOT had not done enough design work to be able to present substantive plans to CSX and WMATA for discussion. Now we have this - MC DOT recommending that the needed design work not resume until 2013.
I don't fault MC DOT design engineers. They started out by doing a good job, and then were cut off at their knees by MC DOT managers in 2005. The project has been in disarray since. I doubt this project will get back on track until the County Council and Executive show some leadership over MC DOT.

[SJE]

Sorry to be a curmudgeon, but wouldn't it be a good idea to ensure that current bikeways are maintained year round? e.g. not piling snow on bike paths, clearing the CCT, etc.

[Washcycle]

Agreed - maintain what you have is the first rule. But sometimes that money comes out of different pots - especially if there is a federal component.

[mike]

maintain what you have is the first rule? I would hope so. but the fact is that even on NEW bicycle trails (the examples are too numerous to mention) the pavement is never at the same level of smoothness as that of a road-- and there's no reason this should be the case. and, as was echoed in another comment somewhere on this site, does a trail have to be reduced to pulverized asphalt, cracking, with roots shooting through and highlighted in orange paint, before it is repaved!!! and PLEASE, get someone to repave it who ACTUALLY KNOWS what it is like to bicycle, and MAYBE the trail will resemble something smooth.

as for montgomery county: Silver Spring could not be more hostile, and more ugly, and more dangerous for bikes due to incredibly bad surface pavement than it is now. whether Georgia Ave, Coleville, 2nd Street, Fenton (yeah right!!!!)-- truly unbelievable in a so-called first world country -- and embarassing. will ANYONE EVER address this issue?...

[Richard Layman]

If Fenton is 3rd World, then those of us who live in DC must be in the worst of the favelas in Sao Paolo...

[Jack Cochrane]

Some more comments:
- The annual bikeway program is being cut to $450K for the remainder of FY10 (ends June 30, 2010). Don't bet on it staying at $550K in the new budget for very long.
- The Falls Road, MacArthur Blvd. and Silver Spring Green Trail projects have been slipping and would slip further in the new budget, something like 2-3 years compared to the last budget. So bike projects are basically getting screwed left and right, while general transportation spending is not.
- The BRAC improvements seem to be displacing other projects in the budget (like MacArthur, etc.). Should we be thankful?
- See also Wayne's comments about the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

[washcycle]

Jack, who do people contact if they'd like to reverse this trend? The county council?