SILVER SPRING, MD – On Thursday, July 10, the Montgomery County Planning Board wants to hear from residents and others interested in proposed changes to county plans affecting the Intercounty Connector (ICC), including a proposed shared-use path for hikers and bicyclists, and two interchanges. State transportation officials recently began constructing the 18-mile highway that will connect I-370 near the Shady Grove Metro Station with Route 1 between Beltsville and Laurel.
At the hearing, the board will consider recommendations from transportation, environmental and park planning staff, as well as the testifying public, to add segments of a hiker/biker route that will – for many stretches – parallel the ICC highway along existing roads or through parkland. The bike route planners suggest would combine new bike paths with bike routes along existing roads. The proposed route reflects planners’ concerns about building new hard-surface trails through environmentally sensitive areas and providing a route – or series of routes – that meets the needs of all trail user groups and ability levels.
The hiker/biker route is part of a series of recommended changes to the plans that guide countywide bikeways as well as park trails. Planners also are suggesting minor changes to the ICC roadway alignment and interchanges in the Master Plan of Highways to reflect the highway’s final approved route.
Splitting the ICC study area into five segments, transportation planners specified recommended bikeway routes and “natural” or paved surfaces – or a combination of both. Some of those segments already exist, while others would be constructed after the highway project is completed. For example, planners recommend a new shared-use path along Fairland Road to avoid constructing a new paved trail through the environmentally sensitive Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park.
Planners worked with both the county’s Department of Transportation and the State Highway Administration to develop their recommendations and obtained regular input from bicyclists, pedestrians, park and recreation advocates, and environmentalists.
In making their recommendations, planners considered the environmental implications of constructing a bikeway through conservation parks that buffer stream valleys, like the Paint Branch and Rock Creek’s main branch. They also considered the needs of transportation-oriented cyclists, who prefer hard surfaces and direct connections, versus recreational cyclists, hikers, and equestrians, who often seek an aesthetic, park-like experience.
Those competing goals come into play because the most direct connections between soon-to-be-constructed segments of the ICC bike path and future segments would pass through environmentally sensitive parkland. In the end, planners recommend moving the paved trails to parallel roadways in most of those sensitive areas. Learn more about the proposed plan.
The board has limited public testimony to two hours. People interested in addressing the board can sign up in advance or by call 301-495-4600.
WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Board
WHAT:
Public hearing on Intercounty Connector Limited Functional Master Plan Amendment: Bikeways and Interchanges
WHEN:
Thursday, July 10 – approximately 7:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Montgomery County Planning Board Auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, Md.