Last year, the Montgomery County Planning Department started work on the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan Design Guidelines and later this month they'll be looking for public comment on them.
On Wednesday, February 20, the public is invited to learn more about the guidelines through informal discussions with planners during drop-in hours at the Gwendolyn E. Coffield Community Center (2450 Lyttonsville Road, Silver Spring, MD) from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. (RSVP to laura.shipman@montgomeryplanning.org with the time you plan to attend). The public is welcome to attend the design guidelines work session with the Planning Board tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 21. During this session, members of the Planning Board will review and refine the guidelines before the document is finalized. The meeting date will be posted on the project website and the Planning Board agenda website: montgomeryplanningboard.org/agendas/
Improved bikeability is one of the key visions of the design guidelines which highlights the Capital Crescent Trail that runs through the center of the community. To achieve greater bikeability, the Design envisions
- more public through-block connections to break up large blocks
- healthy tree canopies on bicycle priority streets. Plantings will be prioritized along such routes.
- site design that prioritizes the public sidewalk and bikeways over private vehicular crossings
Some specific facilities called for are
- separated bike lanes and a planting buffer on 16th Street (see below)
- streetscape improvements to sidewalks and bike lanes along Brookville Road and Lyttonsville Place
- Improved connections from the CCT to nearby streets and bikeways, particularly Brookville Road
- An Urban Greenway along a daylighted Fenwick Branch
- Pedestrian and bicycle pathways, stairs and ramps to improve connectivity to the future Purple Line station and recommended open spaces
- new green spaces along the CCT
- Create an identity along the CCT with wayfinding and public art reflecting surrounding neighborhoods.
- Provide consistent lighting and other furnishings along CCT.
- Explore opportunities for distinct spaces for pedestrians and cyclists where feasible to increase safety of all users.
- Provide landscape edges to the CCT including native trees and active public open spaces that are connected to the CCT
- Orient building entries, balconies and transparent ground floors to the trail to activate the CCT and adjacent open spaces.
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