Planners will present an update on the Corridor Cities Transitway, review initial staff recommendations for separated bike lanes in the Life Sciences Center and seek approval for Life Sciences Center Loop Trail design guidelines
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is advancing its bus rapid transit, bicycle and pedestrian plans with progress reports on Thursday, January 28, 2016 to the Planning Board.
The three separate but related presentations will include an update on planning for the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), Life Sciences Center Loop Trail design guidelines and a separate bike lane network in the area as part of the Bicycle Master Plan. Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.
This Planning Board presentation follows a community meeting held on December 15, 2015 to discuss new transportation and recreational networks for people who walk and bike in the Life Sciences Center.
View the video recap from the December 15 community meeting.
Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.
The updated information for the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) will include staff review of various aspects of the Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) preliminary engineering plans for the Phase One segment of the Bus Rapid Transit system between the Shady Grove Red Line Metrorail station and the MARC commuter rail station at Metropolitan Grove. View the MTA’s CCT web site for the latest overview of the project.
The Draft Life Sciences Center Bicycle Network Proposal aims to create separated bike lanes and provide long-term bicycle parking stations in the Life Sciences Center District of the Greater Seneca Science Corridor (GSSC). Separated bike lanes (or cycle tracks) create a low-stress environment for cyclists that can make bicycling a mainstream transportation option because they provide physical separation from both traffic and pedestrians. View the draft of the proposed Life Sciences Center Separated Bike Lane Network.
A complementary project, called the Life Sciences Center Loop Trail, will provide an off-road shared use path for walking and bicycling to connect destinations within the Life Sciences Center area. At the Planning Board meeting on January 28, planners will ask the Board to approve the LSC Loop Trail design guidelines as an amendment to the urban design guidelines for the GSSC.
These guidelines will assist developers who are required to implement the trail along the frontage of their buildings. They also will help in developing engineering plans and cost estimates for construction, allowing funding for the LSC Loop Trail to be included in the six-year County Capital Improvements Program as required for the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan to advance to the next stage. View the draft of the proposed Life Sciences Center Loop Trial Design Guidelines.
Once approved, the Life Sciences Center Bicycle Network and Loop Trail will be incorporated into the new Bicycle Master Plan for the County.
What is the LSC Loop Trail?
The Life Sciences Center (LSC) Loop Trail is recommended in the Greater Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan as one of the steps for achieving the plan goals. This 3.5-mile cycling and walking path will knit together five districts within the Life Sciences Center area near Gaithersburg and will connect to the Corridor Cities Transitway, a proposed bus rapid transit route. The Trail Loop will help to achieve the increased non-auto driver mode share requirements established in the Master Plan.
A $60,000 grant from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments enabled the Montgomery County Planning Department to hire a consultant, Alexandria, Virginia-based Rhodeside and Harwell, to develop design guidelines for the LSC Loop Trail. Inspiration came from the Indianapolis Cultural Trail with its creative mix of landscaping, signage and public art, and private funding of construction.
Next steps in the LSC Loop Trail project include a presentation to the Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board on the evening of January 4, 2016.
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.
Questions or Comments?
Contact: Tom Autrey, Planner and CCT Coordinator
Email: Thomas.Autrey@montgomeryplanning.org
Telephone: 301.495.4533
Contact: David Anspacher, Planner and Bicycle Master Plan Project Manager
Email: David.Anspacher@montgomeryplanning.org
Telephone: 301.495.2191
Contact: Steve Findley, Planner and LSCP Loop Project Manager
Email: Steve.Findley@montgomeryplanning.org
Telephone: 301.495.4727