BRAC and Bicycle Transportation Part 3: Andrews AFB

In May of 2009, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $9.2 million (to be split evenly) for road improvements near the four Maryland bases that will see increases in personnel. This includes NNMC as well as Andrews AFB, Fort Meade and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Around Andrews...

The $2.3 million would be used for design, right-of-way or construction of intersection improvements on major base access routes, including Suitland Parkway. The money would also help pay for bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements.

One would hope that means a continuation of the Suitland Parkway Trail into Maryland, but probably not since the PG County BRAC Action Plan doesn't mention bicycles once and includes only one pedestrian project which is to install 8 LED pedestrian signal lights on base. This is too bad since the goal is to target low cost projects.

For upgraded and additional transportation, the Maryland Department of Transportation will target low-cost projects with a short time frame—such as intersection improvements and additional lines of direct transit bus and train service—allowing projects to be completed when employee relocations have finished by September 2011.

Around NNMC, some of the bike facilities to be developed are tied to the county's share of the $9.7 million intersection improvement grant, while others are paid for with the county's share of the $300 million transportation grant. Where SHA is rebuilding an intersection, they're committed to adding the bike facilities identified in Montgomery County's Countywide Bikeways Functional Master Plan for that intersection. In fact, on Jones Bridge Road they're adding in a sidepath that isn't in the Master Plan.

Prince George's County only has its share of the $9.7 million to work with. It's unclear which of ten identified intersections will be rebuilt, but it doesn't appear that any of them will include bicycle improvements. The BRAC action plan cites two other plans of importance to cyclists - the Twenty Year Bicycle Master Access Plan for Maryland (a non-specific guideline plan) and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan for the National Capital Region which lays out several specific goals in the area around Andrews Air Force Base including:

• Tinkers Creek Trail (which could connect to Andrews at Branch Ave on the SW side)
• Suitland Parkway Trail (along the north edge)
• Cabin Branch Trail (which could be a continuation of the Suitland trail going east)
• Auth Road side path (which connects on the west side, and also is the most direct connection between Andrews and the Branch Ave Metro Station)

All of these connect to Andrews, still none of them are specifically called out in the action plan. Unlike NNMC, Andrews has gotten little attention and it lacks an active set of neighbors pushing for a plan that includes all kinds of transportation modes.  As a result, it appears unlikely that anything will be done to encourage cycling to Andrews Air Force Base when the workforce there expands.

Comments

[IMGoph]

forget andrews—i'd just be excited if the bike trail could be completed along the parkway to the suitland federal center. biking to a census bureau from DC would be 100 times easier if this was done!

[Froggie]

Except that you'd still have to get ONTO the Fed Center from Suitland Pkwy. Which either means horse-trading with WMATA to run a connection through the Suitland Metro station (might be necessary anyway given that the station abuts the Parkway ROW, or a very dangerous run up Silver Hill Rd that is problematic just in a car, let alone on bike.

[IMGoph]

true. i would hope that wmata would be amenable to a trail connection through their ROW

[Froggie]

Also, while we're talking about Andrews, I've found it both strange and a bit short-sighted that the northern stretch of the Perimeter Rd (that goes around the north end of the runway) has a bike lane going eastbound, but no bike lane westbound.