Anderson and planners will attend event on May 15 as part of wider planning commitment to safe cycling routes and facilities
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department and Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, are participating in Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 15. The event is sponsored by Montgomery County Commuter Services, Commuter Connections and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association to promote bicycling as a fun and healthy way to commute.
Pit stops throughout the County will offer refreshments, music and bicycle maintenance to cyclists. At the Twinbrook stop in Rockville, Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson will discuss the highlights of the Countywide Bicycle Master Plan, which will be launched by the Planning Department on July 1, 2015.
More than 100 cyclists have registered to participate at the Twinbrook location. Twinbrook is one of the highest demand areas in Montgomery County for non-recreational bike trips.
At the Silver Spring stop at One Discovery Place (Georgia and Wayne Avenues), Planning Department staff also will provide information about the Bicycle Master Plan.
Background on Bicycle Master Plan
While cities across the United States have taken the lead in retrofitting streets for bikes, Montgomery County aims to be at the forefront among suburban jurisdictions with its Bicycle Master Plan. The opportunities to create new bike routes and bike facilities are immense, as older areas such as White Flint and Shady Grove are rebuilt, and newer transit projects such as the Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway and Bus Rapid Transit System are implemented.
“Our goal is to create the best bike plan in the entire nation,” says Anderson, who is an active cyclist. “The number of bike commuters in the County has increased by 62 percent over the past decade and we need to meet that need with up-to-date facilities.”
The County’s new plan for bicycle routes and bike facilities will focus on developing a high-quality, low-stress bicycle network reflecting the latest biking practices and will consolidate all bicycle recommendations into a single plan for the first time in decades.
It will recommend the newest types of bike routes, such as separated bike lanes, buffered bike lanes and bicycle boulevards, as well as secure bicycle storage facilities.
The Bicycle Master Plan will initially focus on developing a high-quality bicycle network along the rapidly developing route of the future Corridor Cities Transitway, a 15-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) line proposed to run from the Shady Grove Metrorail Station, through the Life Sciences Center area and ultimately to Germantown and Clarksburg.
WHAT: Focus on County Bicycle Master Plant at Bike to Work Day
WHEN: Friday, May 15, 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
WHERE: Twinbrook area of Rockville across from 5635 Fishers Lane and One Discovery Place at Georgia and Wayne Avenues
For more information about the Bicycle Master Plan, contact:
David Anspacher
Functional Planning and Policy Division
Montgomery County Planning Department
david.anspacher@montgomeryplanning.org
tel. 301-495-2191
Learn more about Bicycle Planning in Montgomery County.