Planners will be on hand at five pit stops to discuss the Bicycle Master Plan and efforts to eliminate traffic fatalities through new plans and studies
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is participating in this year’s Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 17, 2019. This regional event is organized by Commuter Connections, a division of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA).
Commuting bicyclists are invited to stop by pit stops near home or work. Stops throughout Montgomery County will offer refreshments, prizes, and information on transportation options. Find your most convenient pit stop here: http://www.biketoworkmetrodc.org/first-time-rider-info/bike-to-work-day-2019-pit-stops
Staff from Montgomery Planning will be at pit stops in Bethesda, Fallsgrove, North Bethesda, Silver Spring and Takoma Park to discuss the 2018 Bicycle Master Plan and Montgomery County’s Vision Zero policy that aims to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries by 2030. The current Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan, Aspen Hill Vision Zero Study, MARC Rail Communities Plan and approved Bicycle Master Plan recommend various ways to achieve safer streets and intersections for all road users and implement Vision Zero policy.
“Bike to Work Day is a great event that reminds us that we should make bicycling safe, easily accessible and comfortable every day in Montgomery County,” says Planning Director Gwen Wright. “With the Council’s approval of the Bicycle Master Plan last November, we have been working with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation to implement the plan’s recommendations for safer, more connected bikeways in the county.”
New bikeway projects
The Bicycle Master Plan is a visionary, long-range planning document, but already, it is beginning to have a tangible effect in locations across Montgomery County. Through the county’s Capital Improvements Program, sidepaths are being designed or constructed along Needwood Road, Bowie Mill Road and other streets. In the county’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Areas, roadways like Second Avenue in Silver Spring, Marinelli Road in White Flint and Bethesda Avenue in Bethesda are being reconfigured and restriped to accommodate separated bike lanes.
Montgomery Planning is coordinating with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation and the development community in places like Grosvenor, Silver Spring and others to make sure Bicycle Master Plan recommendations are constructed as part of private building projects.
About the Bicycle Master Plan
Launched in July 2015, the Bicycle Master Plan was developed to envision a high-quality, low-stress network throughout Montgomery County that reflects the newest biking practices. Separated bike lanes, buffered bike lanes and bicycle boulevards, as well as secure bicycle storage facilities, are proposed for specific locations. This plan consolidates all bicycle recommendations into a single plan for the first time since 1978 and was guided by the 21-member Bicycle Master Plan Community Advisory Group. The Montgomery County Council approved and adopted the Bicycle Master Plan in November 2018.