TheWashCycle

Montgomery County Planning Board approves new bicycle parking recommendations

In June, the Montgomery County Planning Board gave approval to transmit a proposed zoning text amendment (ZTA) to the County Council to modify the bicycle parking requirements in the county's zoning code. This ZTA would fulfill a recommendation in the 2018 Bicycle Master Plan to update bicycle parking requirements and "end-of-trip" amenities that must be provided as part of the developments projects within Montgomery County.

Highlights of the ZTA include requiring spaces to accommodate larger bicycles, such as cargo bikes and recumbent bikes, and provide bicycle repair stations and charging capabilities for e-bikes within long-term storage areas of many multi-family residential and commercial buildings.

 

The staff report shows how the new zoning requirements would require more and better bicycle storage, while also changing the requirements for things like churches, assisted living units and day care facilities. It standardizes and defines things like "bicycle locker" and it makes the inverted U rack the default type. It even requires an outlet nearby for charging e-bikes. It also changes the rule requiring facilities for male and female and instead requires two "all-gender" shower facilities for the comfort of all users, regardless of gender identity.

 

Not sure when the Council will take this up (or if they already have) but it seems like a lot of good changes. 

Montgomery County trying e-bikes on trails

The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a plan to allow e-bikes and e-scooters on some hard-surface trails as part of a 6-month pilot. A pilot for e-bikes and e-scooters was first announced in February and this will be related to, but not necessarily a part of, that pilot 

The 2019 MCDOT pilot will involve up to four commercial companies, last six months, and could be extended for an additional six months. While MCDOT’s pilot areas are still being finalized, they are mostly focused at Central Business Districts (CBDs) and in emerging Transit Oriented Development Areas. MCDOT is in the process of finalizing an MOU with these companies that spells out boundaries, hours of operations, safetytrainings, preferred docking and parking areas, data collection, etc. The date of MCDOT’s launch is still being determined but is currently planned for May 2019.

The program will not be county-wide and it appears that Bethesda and some other areas inside the Beltway will not be part of the service areas.

Parks’ pilot will launch on June 1, 2019 and have two phases. Starting June 1, Phase 1 will allow for the use of personally owned e-bikes and e-scooters of certain types on certain hard-surface trails. Phase 2 will commence as soon as Parks has entered into contractual agreements with vendors to allow commercial e-scooters and e-bikes on the same hard-surface trails. It is Parks’ intention to tailor the Phase 2 portion of Parks’ pilot to match that of the County as much as possible, and it is anticipated that Parks will enter into an arrangement with the same vendors as the County. Parks also may request a six-month or similar extension to continue to evaluate the Pilot. As much as possible, Parks’ program will run in tandem with MCDOT’s. As an example, Parks’ extension might match the termination date of MCDOT’s pilot.

The pilot trails will be Rock Creek, Matthew Henson, Sligo Creek and Northwest Branch (within MoCo) and Long Branch. The Capital Crescent Trail will not be included. In the WTOP story they claim that 

The pilot does not include the Capital Crescent Trail, because the National Park Service controls the portion of that trail in the District, so users would be violating the rules if they continued their commutes on the trail in or out of the city

But since 3 of the 5 trails chosen also cross into jurisdictions that don't allow e-bikes I suspect the real reason is the the CCT is not in one of the service areas.

It will only allow Class I e-bicycles and e-scooters that operate by rechargeable battery and scooters will likely be capped at 15mph. 

Capital Bikeshare has had e-bikes since September, in coordination with DDOT, but I'm not sure if they were allowed in Montgomery County or not. Regardless, they're currently out of service. 

The Capital Bikeshare operator is continuing to test the ebikes and we have every intention to bring them back to the fleet. Safety comes first and will let you know as soon we have more information.

I'm generally in favor of allowing e-bikes on trails and so far the trend is that park authorities and other rulemakers are allowing them. NoVa Parks just changed their rules to allow them on  their trails, on Fairfax County quickly followed suit. Virginia law allows the use of e-bikes wherever regular bicycles are allowed and DC is looking into changing their rules as well. 

Montgomery County Planning Board reports on trails

Last week, the Montgomery County Planning Board presented it's semi-annual report to the County Council and it included quite a bit about trail expansion and safety.

In total the county has about 245 miles of trail, much of which is unpaved or natural ground, according to the report.

“Trail usage data and surveys continue to tell us that our trails are among our most highly utilized and desired facilities,” said Michael Riley, who serves as Montgomery County Parks Director. “They serve so many different purposes from community building to physical fitness.”

Riley reported that a major project currently in the works is the Upper Paint Branch Trail plan which will create a sustainable multi-use trail network in an area that has fewer trails available.

“There was a low level of service in East County,” Riley said. “The trail will provide links to parks community destinations and a larger countywide trail network.”

It will also provide access to natural areas for people to enjoy. The project is in the implementation phase, Riley said.

The Upper Paint Branch trail system will be a natural surface trail system in eastern Montgomery County, near Burtonsville, Fairland, Cloverly, and White Oak.  There are four phases and work on phase 1 started in February. Phase 1 consists of a pair of natural surface loop trails near the source of the Good Hope Branch, a tributary of Upper Paint Branch. Phase 2 builds most of the trail north south along Upper Paint Branch, connecting to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System at Fairland Road, and should be built in the 2-5 year range. Phase 3, to be built more than 5 years from now will create some small pieces as well as extend it north to the Patuxent and west to New Hampshire Avenue. Phase 4 will be built sometime later and will consist of an underpass beneath Briggs Chaney Road.

The report also notes that the next section of the Power Line trail is scheduled to be completed by January 2020. It "will double the distance of the trail to connect Quince Orchard Road to Cabin John Regional Park." And that

To expand potential commuting opportunities for residents, Montgomery Parks will launch a year-long pilot program in spring 2019 to allow e-bikes and e-scooters on all hard surface park trails within the county. Throughout the pilot, Montgomery Parks will solicit public input to consider the possibility of making it a permanent program, which will also accommodate the growth in commercial dockless e-bikes and e-scooters in the county and DC region

The planning board is also focused on improving the safety of at-grade trail crossings

“We’ve identified 121 locations where park trails cross roads. We’re able with our current funding to improve about ten intersections per year,” Riley said.

The goal is to improve all of them by 2030. 

According to Riley, the trails have their own Vision Zero project that aims to eliminate deaths and injuries that are preventable by the design and laws of the roadway. Often that means redesigning streets so that pedestrians are more visible or lowering the speed limit for cars.

“I still meet regularly with state highway (officials), DOT and county police about the Henson crossing at a very small road where unfortunately we had experienced fatalities,” Riley said. “It is much improved but there is still more to be done, and I’m not going to quit on that until I believe that we’ve done absolutely everything we can do to make that intersection as safe as possible.”

There was also another fatality on the Little Falls Parkway where the Capital Crescent Trail crosses a major roadway.

In the first quarter of 2019, four projects have been completed and eight additional projects are under construction. Additionally, 15 crossings are scheduled for the design phase this spring.

Montgomery County opens new utility corridor trail in North Potomac

6 mile Trail open now

Last Friday, Montgomery County held a ribbon cutting on a new natural surface trail on a Pepco Right-of-Way in the North Potomac area.

The new six-mile, natural surface, multi-use trail will run along Pepco’s transmission right-of-way and will connect the Muddy Branch Stream Valley to South Germantown Recreational Park. The trail is being created and maintained through a collaboration between Montgomery Parks, Pepco and the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE). Pepco is the landowner of the trail and served as a design and permitting partner; Montgomery Parks will complete construction and patrol the trail, and MORE will maintain it.

The trail, and a 13 mile paved trail in the same corridor to be built later, is a pilot project between PEPCO and the county, and the only one required in the PEPCO/Exelon merger agreement but the county is hoping to build others.  The county promises that "This is the first of several projects slated for Pepco land." So, we'll see. Because utility corridor trails like this one - or better yet paved ones - represent the next big opportunity in city-to-city bike routes.

This trail looks like a nice recreation facility and might even be a way for some to bike around, but I think the paved trail - should that happen, has the better potential for utility - especially since it will connect to Tuckerman Lane, Montgomery Mall and the Soccer Plex.

Despite the unobtrusive nature of it - especially when compared to the power lines - it managed to draw a protester.

Also attending the event was Danija Kreslins who lives along the trail. She was holding a sign that said the trail passed too close to her home — within 30 feet of her house and within 4 feet of the property line.

People on the trail could easily see into her windows, she said.

Ben Armstrong, Pepco’s senior manager of regional communications, said the company would work with Montgomery Parks to move the trail.

Planning Board Chairman Casey Anderson said the board had received any complaints about the trail. Abutting property owners often have concerns about new trails. He noted that Maine senator Edmund Muskie, who ran for president in 1968, testified against the Capital Crescent Trail.

“We’ll work through any concerns people have,” Anderson said.

Still, mostly people are happy about it.

Officials broke ground on the trail in January and residents have been traversing the path for months. But attendees of the Friday ribbon cutting took a “ceremonial first ride” to mark the official completion following a brief ceremony. Many people rode bikes, while others walked and admired what Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett called a “major success.”

The thing is, the 13 mile trail below only scratches the surface. From the Soccer Plex, the line extends west all the way to Dickerson, MD along the Potomac and a not far from the C&O Canal Trail. And there's another corridor that connects to the midpoint of this trail, it goes east all the way to Burtonsville. 

Full 13 mile trail

What's the schedule for my favorite Montgomery County Project?

In February, I mentioned that the budget for trails was being cut in Montgomery County's FY19 Capital Budget and six-year FY19-24 Capital Improvements Program (CIP). And in June that they were going to delay the expansion of the Montrose parkway and to defer adding two lanes to Goshen Road South in Gaithersburg until after 2024 to free up money for transit, pedestrian and bicycle projects. 

The CIP has several other bicycle projects in it that I didn't mention, including a delay for the Met Branch Trail, so there's a list below.

• Build an on-street route for the Capital Crescent Trail through the Bethesda CBD and funding for the Bethesda Loop Trail identified in the recently approved Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan. It will consist of
  • protected bike lanes on Woodmont Avenue between Norfolk Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue ($1,860,000). Completion in FY21
  • protected bike lanes on Montgomery Avenue between Woodmont Avenue and Pearl Street ($1,004,000). Completion in FY21
  • and bike lanes on Norfolk Avenue/Cheltenham Drive between Woodmont Avenue and Pearl Street ($91,000) and on Pearl Street between Cheltenham Drive and Montgomery A venue ($45,000). Completion in FY20.
• Widen the MacArthur Boulevard shared-use path to 8', widen the roadway to 26' to allow sufficient width for on-road biking, and provide a 5' -wide buffer between the road and the shared-use path for the 2.1 mile stretch between Oberlin Avenue and the District of Columbia boundary. Completion in 2022.
• Extend the Metropolitan Branch Trail north along the CSX tracks beneath Burlington Avenue (MD 410) and next to Selim Road to Georgia A venue. The final phase will have the trail cross Georgia A venue on a new bridge and continue along the tracks to the Silver Spring Transit Center. Completion delayed to 2022. 
• Cycle tracks on Fenton Street and Dixon Avenue-by FY22
• Construction of the missing 1.7-mile bikepath link along the south side of Needwood Road between the Shady Grove Metro Station on the west and the ICC Bike Trail on the east. Completion in FY19
• Reconfigure Bradley Boulevard between Goldsboro Road and Wilson Lane to have a 5' -wide bike lane in each direction, an
  8'-wide shared-use path on the northeast side, and a 5'-wide sidewalk on the southwest side. Completion in FY26.
• Widen the 1.1-mile segment of Snouffer School Road from near Woodfield Road to Centerway Road to a 5-lane arterial (two lanes in each direction with a continuous center tum-lane) with 5½'-wide bike lanes, an 8'-wide hiker-biker path on the north side. Completion Fall 2019
• Build a muli-use path along the 3.3-mile stretch of Seven Locks Road between Montrose Road and Bradley Boulevard in Potomac. Completion in 2024.
• Add bikelanes to Clarksburg Road. Two projects. Completion 2020 and 2022.
• BPPA subprojects in Wheaton and Glenmont. Completed by FY24.
• Veirs Mill BPPA projects by FY25.
• Protected bike lanes along Marinelli Road in White Flint by FY19
• Increase funding for the Bikeway Minor Projects Program to provide more substantial construction improvements. Funding is planned to build bikeways along sections of Avery Road, Emory Lane, Muncaster Mill Road, Executive Boulevard, Dr. Bird Road, Riffle Ford Road, Layhill Road, and a Washington Grove Connector Trail. 
• Complete the construction of Frederick Road Bike Path ( a new 2.5-mile-long 10'-wide bike path along the west side of Frederick Road (MD 355) from Stringtown Road in Clarksburg to the existing hiker-biker trail on MD 355 near Milestone Manor Lane). Completion in 2020.
• a 3.5-mile-long 10-12'-wide shared-use path that would loop through the Life Science Center, the to-be-redeveloped Public Safety Training Academy property, the future Johns Hopkins development, and the Crown Farm. Completion in FY26
• A bike/ped passageway between the Forest Glen Metro Station and the east side of Georgia A venue. Completion in FY25
• Protected bike lane on Goldsboro Road in Bethesda between River Road and MacArthur Boulevard.
• A shallow hiker-biker underpass beneath Rockville Pike to connect Walter Reed to the existing west-side Medical Center Metro entrance, the station's bus bays, and the NIH campus. Completion in summer 2020.
• The MD 355-Clarksburg Shared Use Path, along the east side of MD 355 between Stringtown Road and Snowden Farm Parkway. Start in 2024
• Build the new Capital Crescent Trail and the Silver Spring Green Trail. Completion 2022. 
• Vision Zero - improves trail crossings throughout the County as part of the County's Vision Zero action plan to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries.
• Continue funding for Hard Surface Trail Renovations, Enterprise Facility Improvements, Energy Conservation, ADA
  Compliance, Planned Lifecycle Asset Replacement, and Minor New Construction projects.
• Build an 8' - wide hiker-biker trail along the east side of Falls Road (MD 189) from River Road to Dunster Road, about four miles (this project is again being delayed). Completed in 2025, at best.

In addition there is a plan to study extending the rebuilt MacArthur Boulevard Bikeway to Angler's Inn. 

More details can be found here. 

Montgomery County Bicycle Plan costs are overstated

Breezeway Network from the Draft Master Plan

Later today, the Montgomery County Council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee will meet to discuss the proposed Bicycle Master Plan. 

The plan proposes creating a "1,100-mile network of bikeways includes 573 miles of sidepaths, 172 miles of trails, 128 miles of bikeable shoulders, 99 miles of separated bike lanes and 48 miles of neighborhood greenways. More than one-quarter of this network currently exists." 

Today's meeting will focus on the plan's recently completed Fiscal Impact Statement (FIS) which sets the cost of the 25 year plan at $3.1 billion, which doesn't consider "substantial" land acquisition costs. This is admittedly a lot of money, however, it doesn't accurately define the cost of the plan. That is the price if every single mile of planned bikeway is built. The planning staff states up front that they realize it won't be. 

Such a large network is proposed so that opportunities to Implement the preferred bicycling network are not lost when yet unknown circumstances arise, such as future capital projects and development applications.

In other words, some of these are unfunded lines on maps, which is how they'll stay unless something unforeseen happens. If some other entity such as the state or federal government decides to built a project that intersects with the plan, it gives the county the ability to push them to build the facility. And many of these facilities, about half a billion dollars worth, are expected to be built by private developers.

Putting unfunded projects in a plan is not unusual. In DC, the 2005 bike plan included a bike path along the old rail spur to St. Elizabeths. That planned, but completely unfunded path, was considered years later when DHS decided to develop the property and now a path will extend along that route and then all the way across Ward 8. This is how a lot of facilities wind up being built. But many of these lines never become trails or bike lanes.

It's unrealistic to include them all as costs, since the plan is for the county to never pay for them or at least to never pay the full price.  And it feels disingenuous for the County Executive to claim that "implementing the scope and timing of the proposed plan would cause extreme duress to the capital and operating budgets" when the plan is not to implement the full scope. 

In addition, the planning staff notes that many of these facilities are dual-use and so should not count entirely as a bike plan cost. There are 23 bikeable shoulders that are also highway safety projects (and unlikely to be built unless to provide shoulders for drivers) - the cost of these make up $1.8 billion of the costs. The 450 miles of sidepaths will also serve pedestrians and should be discounted accordingly. 

For these reasons, the planning board estimates the fiscal impact of the bicycle plan at less than $1.9 billion. 

The OMB estimate is bad enough, but then it gets worse. The Deputy County Council Administrator that leads on transportation then submitted a memo arguing that $3.1 billion, instead of overstating the costs, understates it and that the real cost is $6.5 billion.

The deputy argues that there are $2.5 billion worth of bikeways identified in the plan that are not priced out. When the planning board noted that they are not all going to be implemented he asks "[then] why are they all master-planned?" As if the answer, that they are placed in there just in case an opportunity arises, isn't pretty clear. He also points out, as stated by OMB, that the land costs are not included. 

He then argues for a major descoping. 

One way to reduce this cost while generally respecting the Planning Board's priorities is to delete from the master plan the projects in Tiers 4 and 5, and many (but not all) of the bike-able shoulders in Tier 3.

Note that this will not actually save the county any money, but it might prevent bike projects from being built anyway. The deleted projects are ones that won't be built if the county has to do it. They are only there as placeholders in case someone else - a developer, Maryland or the federal government to name a few - can be convinced to build them. And having it in the plan makes it easier to get them built under those conditions. 

In a stark contrast, there's no discussion at all of the fiscal impact or budget busting scope of the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways which is also being updated. 

The committee is meeting today at 2:45pm in Rockville, and I'd encourage all County residents to contact the council or their members to make sure the Bicycle Plan keeps its current scope. 

Also:

• A lawyer for our good friends at the Chevy Chase Country Club wrote to "request that the Montgomery County Council include language in the Bicycle Master Plan directing that the Club is not obligated: (1) to dedicate right of way; (2) to install; nor (3) to contribute to the cost of a shared use path along Wisconsin Avenue simply because the Bicycle Master Plan recommends one, if the Club were to initiate a project on its property sometime in the future." No other landowners submitted comments.
• The Deputy criticizes the inclusion of road diets as a means of building bike lanes. "In several locations in the Draft Plan, it is noted that in many cases the means to create a bike lane is to remove a travel lane or on-street parking. This should not be a given. Several have testified the obvious fact that removing a travel lane will increase congestion, and that removing a parking lane might hurt local businesses. 
• The Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance, which promotes itself as pro-bicycle and makes many pro-bicycle statements is maybe MORE pro-car. They recommend that the plan should "Focus more on recreation since that is what people who cycle are primarily interested in." The plan is instead focused on helping people to complete short trips by bike and getting the County's mode share up to 8%. They also recommend that they "Remove the potential of eliminating travel lanes to accommodate new bike lanes since their removal could negatively impact congestion and is contrary to other master plans for transit and road networks"; "Analyze any proposals to remove on-street parking to ensure that the removal will not hurt any
  businesses" and remove the breezeway network shown at the top.
• A law firm wrote that the new plan must comply with the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment and that the plan be revised to state that only projects that generate 50 or more non-motorized peak hour trips must construct bicycle infrastructure

Edgemont II development will add PBLs to Woodmont and Edgemoor in Bethesda

The proposed Edgemont II project will develop the land immediately adjacent to the Edgemont at Bethesda Metro apartments located at the corner of Edgemoor Lane and Woodmont Avenue. 

The Project proposes to redevelop the Property with up to 301,193 total square feet of residential development (including 115,193 existing square feet to remain in the existing 72-foot-tall Edgemont I building) with up to 282 multifamily dwelling units (including 122 existing units to remain in the existing Edgemont I building), in a 150- foot tall new residential building.

Separated bicycle lanes are planned for both Edgemoor and Woodmont and will be constructed as part of this project. You can see them on the image below.

The Project will construct the Bethesda streetscape on its two frontages and will participate in the implementation of new separated bicycle lanes on Woodmont Avenue and Edgemoor Lane. Each of these improvements will improve access, mobility, and pedestrian safety.

In addition,

Bicycle racks or lockers will be provided within the garage and short-term spaces will be provided along the Property's frontage, with final location to be determined at time of Site Plan, to facilitate bicyclist access to the Property.

They expect a groundbreaking in the 2nd quarter of 2019 and two years of construction.

And a rendering of the building for those who like such things.

Public hearing on the Montgomery County Bike Plan set for January

Earlier this month, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the draft version of the county's 370-page long Bicycle Master Plan and they set the date for a public hearing on the plan for January 25th (a week later then planning department recommended).

The plan aims to make Montgomery County a world-class bicycling community. It sets the stage for a cultural shift, encouraging people of all ages and bicycling abilities to meet their daily needs by bicycle – in a safe, comfortable and accessible manner throughout the county.

View the Bicycle Master Plan Public Hearing Draft.

The community is invited to sign up to testify about the Bicycle Master Plan at the public hearing. Sign up to testify online http://montgomeryplanningboard.org/meetings/signup-to-testify/sign-testify-form/ beginning on January 15.

The public is also invited to submit comments about the Bicycle Master Plan via email to [email protected]. These comments will become part of the public testimony and public record for the Plan.

Learn more about the plan’s Proposed Bicycle Network map.

Without combing through it too much it seems to be an excellent bike plan with a lot in it, but that is rarely the issue. The issue is usually mustering the money, political will and dedication to make the plan a reality. So, we'll see.

Montgomery County is enormous and I'm certainly not familiar with enough of it to say whether or not he map is complete - but it appears to be appropriately ambitious. [It doesn't fix a major problem with the county - which is that the line dividing it from PG County is in the wrong place (New Hampshire Ave to the Beltway to I-95 would make more sense)]] There are some lengthy new trails in the west of the county, a bike crossing on the American Legion Bridge, a widened Bethesda Trolley Trail and over 500 miles of planned bike facilities. But looking at how it connects to DC, I'm a little disappointed with the number of connections on the west side of DC. There's not, for example, a trail along the old Cabin John Trolley (though there are 3 parallel facilities, so that's not such a missed opportunity). Nor are there connections to the Pinehurst or Beech parkways, which I think would make natural, future connections to DC, especially if a trail were continued along Fenwick Branch. I assume that where the plan connects to DC they conversed with DDOT and were left off for good reason, so my disappointment might be founded on my ignorance. 

You can watch the December 7th presentation on the bike plan at this link (I think).

If you bike in Montgomery County, review the plan and map and get any comments in before it's too late. Let's make sure they make the best bike plan possible. 

Bethesda Magazine, as per usual, has great coverage of this. 

The 370-page document is an overhaul of several past plans. It is written to improve safety and increase the number of cyclists by making more people feel comfortable traveling by bike. The plan will arm county leaders with tools for getting the most out of the money they spend on bike improvements, county planning board Chairman Casey Anderson said.

“We have a limited amount of resources. We can’t do all the most expensive fixes, but we probably should do a few expensive ones that are really important and valuable,” he said.

The draft will come before the planning board for a public hearing on Jan. 25, after which board members will hold work sessions to refine the proposal.

Montgomery County makes it legal to bike commute via trails (starting next week)

Actually, Montgomery County is extending hours on trails, but doing so makes it easier to bike commute on trails without breaking the law.

Montgomery Parks, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) will issue updated M-NCPPC Park Rules and Regulations effective July 1, 2017. The Rules and Regulations, which were last updated in March 2001, have been revised to better reflect today’s use of the parks, facilities, and amenities.

The comprehensive update to the Rules and Regulations includes numerous changes. Some of the more substantial changes include, but are not limited to:

• Permission to bicycle on paved trails for extended hours (5:00 a.m. – midnight) (but you have to use a light if it is dark)
• Permission to bicycle on all official paved and natural surface trails, unless otherwise posted

Under the previous rules the default hours for trails were sunrise to sunset. Now, as before, "An Administrative Directive may provide alternate hours of operation for a Park Property or Facility, including alternate hours deemed appropriate for any trail or trail segments that facilitate bicycle and pedestrian commuting."

In addition

• It has a separate definition for an electric bicycle
• Removes the specific call-out to obey the helmet law
• Removes the default 20mph speed limit
• Replaces the requirement to yield at all intersections with requirements to obey signs and  yield when required by state law

Needwood Road Path will connect Shady Grove Metro to the ICC Trail

Montgomery County has been working on a bicycle sidepath along Needwood road for several years now, and Phase I is nearing completion, with paving underway for the segment of bike path east of Beach drive. 

When complete, Phase I will build a sidepath on the south side of Needwood Drive from the ICC Trail terminus to the west side of Lake Needwood. Work should complete in March of 2017

Phase II is scheduled to start in the fall of 2017 and take 9 months to complete. It will continue the path west to Deer Lake Road and east to Muncaster Mill Road (MD 115). On the western end at Deer Lake Road it will connect to a section built in 2015-2016. That section is a 1300 foot long path from Deer Lake to Redland Road and it completed in April. There it connects with existing bike facilities west of Redland and south along Redland to the Shady Grove Metro Station, thereby tying the ICC Trail to Metro on its west side.

In addition, Phase II provides a 6-foot wide sidewalk over approximately 800 feet of length along the east side of Muncaster Mill Road from the intersection with Needwood Road to the northern entrance of Colonel Zadok Magruder High School.

Also for those who spend time in Germantown, section 3 of the Clopper Road sidepath should be completed by now. First funded by a 2013 Maryland Bikeways Grant, section 3 closes the gap between section 1 and section 2 to create a continuous path from Steeple Road to Great Senaca Highway.  Section 1, from Steeple Road to Hopkins Road, and Section 2, from Village Fountain Drive to Little Star Lane were both completed in January 2013. Back in 2010, there was a plan to build a similar sidepath from Steeple Road (aka Festival Way) further west to Slidell Road, which would take it past the Boyds MARC station; but I'm not sure what became of that effort. 

Back in early November, MCDOT was saying this should be complete by Thanksgiving, so I'd be surprised if it were not finished by now.