Recent progress of master plan follows community meetings held in September and October 2015
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is making progress on the Bicycle Master Plan for the County through several initiatives.
On Thursday, November 19, the Planning Board approved the 21-member Bicycle Master Plan Community Advisory Group, which will advise Planning staff as the Master Plan develops. The group consists of 13 members from cycling and other organizations, and eight community members who applied to be part of the effort. These County residents were chosen from 60 applicants. The 21 members of the group are listed on the Bicycle Master Plan website.
On Thursday, December 3, the Planning Board will review a proposal for the White Flint Separated Bike Lane Network. Due to the pace of development in White Flint, the Planning Department is advancing work in this area of the County so that meaningful opportunities to construct segments of an enhanced bicycling network can be pursued before the actual Bicycle Master Plan is approved in 2017. Separated bike lanes (also known as cycle tracks or protected bike lanes) encourage more people to bicycle because they provide separation from motor vehicles and pedestrians.
The public is invited to attend the Planning Board meeting (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) on December 3 and submit comments to the Planning Board about issues related to the White Flint Separated Bike Lane Network.
Bicycle Master Plan Background
The Bicycle Master Plan will develop a low-stress bicycling network that encourages more people to ride a bike in Montgomery County. It will evaluate an array of bikeway types, including separated, buffered bike lanes and bicycle boulevards, as well as how to provide secure bicycle storage facilities at transit stations. The network will be developed using an evaluation of the varying levels of stress imposed by traffic on cyclists along each roadway in the County.
Community meetings held in five locations throughout the County during September and October 2015 allowed participants to record comments on how the bicycle connections in the County could be improved. Those comments were recorded on a digital feedback map and will be taken into account as work continues on the new Bicycle Master Plan. View the feedback map.