The Department of Transportation (DOT) Pedestrian Facilities Program provides safe and convenient new pedestrian walkways for County citizens. Sidewalks reduce the risks associated with walking on the roadway, provide an alternative means of transportation for short trips, and provide access to public transit. Two projects, ADA Compliance: Transportation and the Sidewalk Program - Minor Projects, are a part of the Renew Montgomery effort. Renew Montgomery is a comprehensive program that coordinates DOT services to improve the infrastructure of older neighborhoods assuring effective, safe, and attractive vehicular and pedestrian access.ADA Compliance: Transportation and Sidewalk Program - Minor Program...

read more

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

The Department of Transportation (DOT) Pedestrian Facilities Program provides safe and convenient new pedestrian walkways for County citizens. Sidewalks reduce the risks associated with walking on the roadway, provide an alternative means of transportation for short trips, and provide access to public transit. Two projects, ADA Compliance: Transportation and the Sidewalk Program - Minor Projects, are a part of the Renew Montgomery effort. Renew Montgomery is a comprehensive program that coordinates DOT services to improve the infrastructure of older neighborhoods assuring effective, safe, and attractive vehicular and pedestrian access.

ADA Compliance: Transportation and Sidewalk Program - Minor Program are focused on improving pedestrian walkability by creating a safer walking environment utilizing selected engineering technologies, and on ensuring ADA compliance.

The DOT Bikeways Program provides for the construction of bike paths and implementation of other bikeways to provide residents, employees, commuters, and visitors the opportunity to ride bicycles safely to their destinations as an alternative to driving automobiles. The program contributes to energy conservation and improved air quality, as well as to the health and safety of the users. Bikeways provide an additional option in the County's balanced transportation system and reduce congestion. DOT also works in conjunction with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) to provide connections to recreational hiker/biker trails in parks, which is integrated into an overall Countywide system of recreational trails.

All projects help the County achieve its Vision Zero goals to reduce deaths and serious injuries on County roadways to zero by 2030.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Construct new protected bicycle lanes in Downtown Bethesda to be known as the "Bethesda Circle."
• Construct a new sidewalk along Good Hope Road including a pedestrian bridge at the intersection of Hopefield Road.
• Construct a new sidewalk along Oak Drive from the southern intersection with MD 27 to John T. Baker Middle School.
• Increase funding for the Bikeway Program to provide more substantial construction improvements.
• Contribute to Vision Zero with new sidewalks along Good Hope Road and Oak Drive, new protected bicycle lanes in Downtown Bethesda, and increased funding for the Bikeway Program.
• Maintain increased funding for Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements and Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Veirs Mill/Randolph.
• Add funding to Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Wheaton CBD to construct the Amherst Avenue Bikeway.
• Significantly increase funding to Bicycle-Pedestrian Area Improvements - Purple Line for the design and construction of improvements in areas adjacent to future Purple Line Stations.
• Continue funding of two Purple Line-related projects: Capital Crescent Trail and the Silver Spring Green Trail.
• Continue funding of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, including a grade-separated bridge over Georgia Avenue.
• Continue funding of MD 355 Crossing (BRAC) and MD 355-Clarksburg Shared Use Path.
• Complete the construction of the Frederick Road Bike Path, the Franklin Avenue Sidewalk, and MacArthur Blvd Bikeway Improvements

PROGRAM CONTACTS

Contact Sogand Seirafi of the Department of Transportation at 240.777.7260 or Brady Goldsmith of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.777.2793 for more information regarding this department's capital budget.

CAPITAL PROGRAM REVIEW

The recommended DOT Pedestrian Facilities and Bikeways Program for FY21-26 totals $181.2 million and includes 26 ongoing projects. The recommended six-year expenditure total represents a decrease of $32.8 million, or 15.3 percent, over the Amended FY19-24 six-year program of $214.0 million. The decrease is primarily due to the substantial completion of the MD 355 Crossing (BRAC) project.

VISION ZERO

The initial Two-Year Vision Zero Action Plan primarily focused on identifying projects along County and State roads that reduce serious injury and fatal crashes. The County has maintained focus on County roads while working with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration to identify and implement projects on State roads as well. While the engineering action items in the Two-Year plan are completed or on-schedule and on-going, the County Executive plans to release a One-Year Vision Zero plan in early 2020 that will expand upon those items and introduce new goals. The Pedestrian Facilities/Bikeways Program will continue on with the work in the One-Year plan. The Ten-Year plan for eliminating serious injury and fatal crashes by 2030 is still anticipated after the interim One-Year plan.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES AND BIKEWAYS IN TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

In accordance with the Road Code (also known as Context Sensitive Road Design Standards) last adopted in December 2008, all transportation projects are designed and built in a "context sensitive manner," taking into consideration the balance between the provision of new road capacity, pedestrian and bicycling needs, and minimization of impacts to the environment. For this reason, all road projects provide pedestrian and bicycling facilities, unless there are environmental or community impacts that may outweigh the benefits of providing those facilities or there are Master Planned bikeways in the immediate vicinity of the project being undertaken. Furthermore, in some instances the inclusion of pedestrian and/or bicyclist facilities may go beyond the limits of the road project in order to fill in gaps in the pedestrian or bikeway networks. Also, bridge projects typically include pedestrian and/or bikeway enhancements, such as expanded shoulders, to allow for safe on-road bicycling, sidewalks, or bike paths.

The following list presents all road and bridge projects included in the Recommended FY21-26 CIP for which pedestrian and bicyclist facilities are an integral part of the project.

TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT INCLUDE PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES OR BIKEWAYS

read less