Silver Spring's Protected intersection opened in the fall

So blogging has been light which means I'm totally behind, but last October, Montgomery County completed the first protected intersection on the East Coast. It's located at the intersection of Second and Wayne in Silver Spring. (Video coverage here)

The intersection was one of the final steps of a roughly 1.5-mile bike loop started in late 2016. The pathway of protected lanes along Wayne and Second avenues connects with a previously constructed section along Spring and Cedar Streets and links directly with the Silver Spring Transit Center on Colesville Road.

Planning for the intersection dates back at least as far as 2016, but work didn't start until last June. The design...

is a little different from what NACTO shows in their booklet on them because it redirects cyclists as they go through the intersection. The ones in the NACTO guide allow cyclists to go straight through. But I'm not sure why MoCo chose to do it this way. 

MoCo plans another one in Silver Spring and one in Bethesda too. 

There’s also dedicated funding for another stretch of protected bike lanes on Fenton Street, said Council Member Hans Riemer — the next phase of the bike network in Silver Spring.

Over the next several years, Bethesda and Wheaton are scheduled to receive their own pathways

But construction on the Fenton facility won't be completed until 2024, so it's odd that he chose to highlight that one. Is there nothing more immediate in the plans?

 

Comments

[Riley]

Actually Second Ave at Spring St. It needs work. The traffic slowing of the bulb outs is effective but the otherwise useless quarter section on the SW corner impedes bus access to the bus stop and apparently inadequate bus driver training took place based on how poorly most drivers negotiate the right turn from Spring to 2nd Ave south bound.

All in all the in your face 'this is bike turf' element presented to motorists is excellent. Just the right amount of "whoa, WTH is this? I gotta slow down!".