SILVER SPRING, MD – On Thursday, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the kickoff of a
planning study to craft a cross-county bicycle/pedestrian route that runs along
the length of the Intercounty Connector (ICC). The board also confirmed the
planners’ strategy to engage the community and key stakeholders in discussions
about the location and other details of the route.
The proposed bike route
plan will connect pieces of bike path approved with the ICC highway project in
one continuous route from east to west. The study will determine ways to
connect existing and planned county bikeways and sidewalks to bicycle transportation
hubs, such as the Shady Grove metro station and popular county parks like Olney
Manor and Northwest Branch. Constructing a trail through the Northwest Branch
brings opportunities to connect the ICC bike path with the Matthew Henson Trail
and the Rachel Carson Greenway.
Among their
priorities, planners want to develop a route that accommodates pedestrians and
novice bicyclists as well as expert cyclists and avoid constructing paved trails
in environmentally sensitive areas such as Rock Creek Park and Upper Paint Branch
Stream Valley Park.
On Thursday, transportation
planners also brought details of how they will reach out to bicycle and hiking
advocates, park and trail users, and environmentalists by forming an informal
advisory group. They also plan to convene experts from the State Highway
Administration (SHA) and county agencies in a technical working group, as well
as to engage interested residents in public meetings.
Planners will
research the issues associated with the route and provide recommendations – developed
in concert with the advisory groups and public input – to the board next
summer.
The SHA is designing
the ICC as an 18-mile controlled access toll road connecting I-370 near
the Shady Grove Metro Station to U.S. 1 between Beltsville and Laurel. SHA
has committed to implementing seven miles of the ICC bike path as part of the ICC
construction.