Montgomery County, Maryland Rolling Out a Bike Master Plan Update

Sean Emerson makes a persuasive and passionate argument on the Around the Corners blog about the importance of the ongoing Bicycle Master Plan update process in Montgomery County. The process officially launches on July 1, and, according to Emerson, "will focus on evaluating new facilities such as buffered bike lanes, bike boulevards, and secure bicycle storage facilities."

Emerson explains that Montgomery County last updated its bicycle master plan in 2005 and notes that the county already has some ambitious projects on the planning books that have yet to come to fruition. Yet, says Emerson, "[t]he Bicycle Master Plan update is our chance to demand adequate bike facilities." He goes on to list a wish-list of desired projects like buffered bike paths and bike and pedestrian bridges at specific locations.

In other recent coverage of the bike planning process, Aaron Kraut reports that "[Montgomery County planners] will create a bicycle 'stress map' on which every street in Montgomery County will be assessed in terms of how stressful it is to bicyclists." The stress map methodology is the result of a 2012 study by San Jose State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute.

Kate S. Alexander covered the announcement of the bike planning process in April 2015. According to Alexander's coverage, the planning process will focus "on developing a bicycle network aimed at providing access to future Corridor Cities Transitway stations and coordinating with the Life Science Center Loop, an off-road trail being designed by the planning department."