At February 23 event, Jennifer Toole of the Silver Spring-based Toole Design Group debunked the myth that bicycling can only be successful in cities
SILVER SPRING, MD –The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, hosted the second event in its 2016 Winter Speaker Series with a presentation by Jennifer Toole, president of the Silver Spring-based Toole Design Group. This firm is currently assisting the Montgomery County Planning Department as it updates its Bicycle Master Plan.
View the video presentation featuring Jennifer Toole on February 23.
View the short video news recap about the February 23 event.
Toole discussed the need to provide high-quality bikeways, now evident in cities, for suburban areas where the demand for safe bicycle conditions is growing. “Due to higher speeds on suburban roads, there is a greater need for separation between bicyclists and adjacent motor vehicle traffic,” said Toole. “There is also a greater need to address issues at intersections, driveways and property entrances in the suburbs.”
Drawing on her own experience, Toole discussed projects in the Netherlands and other locations to demonstrate the potential of bike travel in the suburbs. “Some designers throw up their hands when it comes to making suburban roads more bike-friendly, but it can be done successfully as shown in other countries,” she notes.
Toole debunked the myth that conditions in the Netherlands had always been primed for good bicycling. She compared cycling in the Greater Washington, DC region to Rotterdam, where bicycling has proven to be compatible with a lower density environment. As noted in her presentation, it took a concerted effort to transform a country with wide roads like the Netherlands into a bicycle-friendly society.
Attend the Third and Final Session of the 2016 Winter Speakers Series
The three-part Winter Speaker Series focuses on new approaches to transportation. Smart Moves: New Ideas about Bikes, Cars and Transit addresses cycling, transit, trails and other alternatives to cars. The ideas generated from the series will help inform the Department’s current plans and policies, including the Bicycle Master Plan and Subdivision Staging Policy update.
The Winter Speakers Series is free and open to the public. The presentations, which include question-and-answer discussions, will be held at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Attend the third and final session on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 when speaker Jeffrey Tumlin, Principal and Director of Strategy for Nelson/Nygaard in San Francisco, will discuss new ways of measuring transportation performance to reduce traffic congestion and make it easier to walk, bike or take transit. He will present alternatives to using level of service (LOS), a measurement for determining speed, travel times and other conditions, when planning transportation systems.
Tumlin is currently working in Oakland, San Jose and Mountain View, California, to adopt new metrics for evaluating the impact of transportation on these communities. These new tools can help to ensure the environmental effects of traffic, such as noise, air pollution and safety concerns, are addressed so jurisdictions can reach their goals for economic development, social equity, public health and ecological balance.
Next Bicycle Master Plan Advisory Group Meeting Scheduled For March 2
The next meeting for the Bicycle Master Plan Community Advisory Group is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2, 2016, from 7 to 9 pm at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD). The meeting will focus on defining a low-stress bicycling network and discussing the major bicycling issues in Montgomery County. The meeting is open to the public.