The COG's Transportation Planning Board recently approved 15 projects to share in the $857,266 of funding from the federal Transportation Land Use Connections (TLC) Program.
TLC provides short-term consultant services to local jurisdictions for small planning projects that promote mixed-use, walkable communities and support a variety of transportation alternatives. The program provides consultant assistance of $30,000 to $60,000 for planning projects, and up to $80,000 for design or preliminary engineering projects.
Of those 15 projects, at least 9 have a bicycle component. They are
District of Columbia -- Independence Avenue SW Transportation Assessment
Local and federal agencies are collaborating to improve connectivity, multi-modal use (walking, biking, transit, and curbside uses), safety, and the quality of the pedestrian experience traversing north-south between the National Mall and the SW waterfront and neighborhoods, and east-west along Independence Avenue SW.
Arlington County -- Micro-Mobility Transit Hub Prototype
This design project will develop plans for a prototype installation of a micro-mobility hub that can be added to high ridership transit stops and stations. Micro-mobility refers to transportation options that are often shared like bikes or scooters used for short trips. The prototype should include parking/docking and battery charging facilities for bikeshare, e-scooters and other shared micro-mobility devices, components for parklets, public art, informational displays, accommodations for people with disabilities, and seating/waiting areas for transit passengers.
Prince George’s County -- Cool Spring and Adelphi Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Improvement Project
There is a lack of infrastructure to facilitate bicycle and pedestrian connection between the Cool Spring Neighborhood and the Purple Line station at the University of Maryland Campus. The project will develop preliminary engineering designs for a separated pedestrian/bicycle facility along Cool Springs Road and a crossing at Adelphi Road.
Prince George’s County -- Riggs Road Neighborhood Bicycle Boulevards Project
This project will develop design plans for bicycle lanes and shared use roads on several local streets in the Langley Park area. The project will greatly improve pedestrian and bicycle access to the future Purple Line station.
City of Takoma Park -- Maple Avenue Complete Street Design
Maple Avenue is a well-traveled neighborhood street connecting residents and visitors to schools, jobs, housing and recreation, while also providing linkages to the Takoma Metro station and the Sligo Creek Trail. This TLC project will redesign Maple Avenue as a complete street which prioritizes pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users in order to provide safer, more convenient, and more comfortable travel for all users.
City of Bowie -- Feasibility Study for Pedestrian Overpass over Maryland Route 214
The proposed crossing would be a crucial segment of The Bowie Byway recommended in the city's Trails Master Plan and the Countywide Master Plan trail shown the 2006 Bowie and Vicinity Master Plan (Collington Branch Stream Valley Trail). It will link the neighborhoods of Ternberry and Collington Ridge and South Lake to the Pointer Ridge neighborhood and the Hall Road transit hub and public library.
City of Frederick -- Rails with Trails Phase 3 Bypass Design
The Bypass will connect an existing shared-use path through the Clemson Corner neighborhood with the northern end of the shared-use path now undergoing final design and construction ("Phase 2").
East Street Rails with Trails will create a north-south bicycling spine for the City of Frederick connecting its downtown MARC station with neighborhoods and regional shopping destinations to its north before continuing beyond to the town of Walkersville.
Fairfax County -- Fairfax County Parkway Trail and Cross County Trail Connection
The Fairfax County Parkway Trail runs for 28 miles through communities from Reston to Lorton, while the Cross County Trail runs for over 40 miles through Regional Activity Centers including Annandale and Fairfax. The county seeks assistance to design a shared use path connection between these two trails, to improve a gap where pedestrians currently travel in a narrow roadway.
Town of Herndon (Fairfax County) -- Shared Micromobility Feasibility Study
The study will analyze current trends and future needs in shared micromobility like Capital Bikeshare, e-bikes, scooters, and others, specific to the Town of Herndon, and provide implementation recommendations for a shared micromobility system that best connects those working, living, and visiting Herndon to transit, trails, and activity centers.
In addition, the North Capitol Cloverleaf Urbanization Study: Replacing Highways with Human Scale Infrastructure could create some bike facility within the area currently used by the cloverleaf. The 2010 feasibility study did.
Oh that's nice to hear about Independence Ave.
Hopefully they seriously consider whether the road needs to be 6 and then 8 lanes wide for cars instead of deciding to just put sharrows down or decide that it's street trees that need to go for a wider mixed-use path.
Posted by: drumz | May 13, 2020 at 09:19 AM
Glad to hear about the Cool Springs project. That's a fun road to ride or run (shaded by big trees) but it's narrow and there is no safe way to cross Adelphi on the east end.
Posted by: Purple Eagle | May 13, 2020 at 04:16 PM
I'm eager to see more details! I looked through the MWCOG website but couldn't find any. Thanks for posting this article!
Posted by: John Stith | May 18, 2020 at 05:04 PM
Amen this is phenomenal to hear. Where can we find more details? I'm particularly interested in the 4th SW PBL and their plans for independence Southwest
Posted by: Karthik Balasubramanian | May 20, 2020 at 08:37 AM
Lets hope these projects go according to plan. Looking forward to it.
Posted by: Fair Cases | August 12, 2020 at 09:08 PM