Montgomery Planning Board Recommends More Bike Funding, Accelerated Schedule

Silver Spring Trails has a link to a staff report that the Montgomery County Planning Board voted to send to the County Council. It was written by their Transportation Planning Division and recommends more money for bike projects and spent sooner. It calls for

• Accelerating the Metropolitan Branch Trail with work to start in FY11 and to include the planned bridge over Georgia Avenue that would replace the 6 foot wide one pictured here.
• Increasing funding for the Bikeways Program. At $550,000 it's $4.5M less than what was called for in the County Bikeways Plan.
• Treating the Glenmont Metro Bikeways program as one of the highest priorities
• Pursuing a targeted approach to complete bikeways around business districts and the new Walter Reed.
• The BRAC Bicycle and Pedestrian project should be updated to recognize the new scope that includes a path on West Cedar Lane between Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike and on Cedar Lane to just east of Rockville Pike; improvements to sidewalks and bike paths on Battery Lane and Glenbrook Parkway; a sidewalk on the east side of Rockville Pike and a shared-use path on Jones Bridge Road between Rockville Pike and Connecticut Avenue  - as opposed to the bike lanes called for in the Bikeways Plan.

In addition, it highlights some other projects

• Narrowing the Cedar Lane bridge over Rock Creek Park from four lanes to three, widening the sidewalk on the east side and adding a multi-use trail on the west side. The trail would connect under the Beltway to the Elmhirst Parkway Trail, which connects to Rockville Pike and future BRAC planned trails. This would start in Fall 2010 and last 6 months.
• The Bethesda Bikeway and Pedestrian Plan is on hold until 2013 when Lot 31 is developed
• An 8 foot wide path along Falls Road from River Road to Dunster Road. Not to be done until 2016.
• The MacArthur Avenue Bikeway, completion pushed back from 2012 to 2014.
• Shady Grove Access Bike Path - completion pushed back from 2009 to 2011 because of delays getting a WMATA permit. 
• Silver Spring Green Trail - project on hold pending an MOU between the County and MTA to include the trail in Purple Line planning
• Capital Crescent Trail - the trail is included in the Purple Line project, but the County has to fund the trail work.
• Shared use paths along Needwood Road, Travilah Road and Snouffer School Road.

Photo from Silver Spring Trails

Comments

[Andrewmatranga]

more bikes in montgomery county. this is something i can support.

[SJE]

My concern is that MoCo will see this as an expense, rather than saving w.r.t less traffic, less wear and tear on the roads, less need for bus services.

[Jack Cochrane]

The staff memo is dated 1/28/2008 but it's a misprint. Either that or they're extremely prescient.