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 Projects...
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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 Projects 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
- DOT was awarded federal funding to construct secure bike parking facilities in Silver Spring and Bethesda. As the County builds out its low-stress bike network, providing convenient and secure bike parking facilities is critical. This project will add secure bike parking facilities at the Silver Spring Transit Center and the Bethesda Metro Station, both of which are served by the Metro Red Line and will soon be served by the Purple Line light rail.
- Funding for Level-of-Effort projects was escalated for inflation and funding was added for FY29 and FY30. This increase in funding will allow DOT to maintain their efforts to improve pedestrian and bikeway accessibility throughout the County given the contractual and material cost increases.
- Increases in funding for multiple projects due to inflationary factors, or updated design are included in the FY25 Recommended Budget, including Fenton Street CycleTrack, Good Hope Road Shared Use Path, Bowie Mill Road Bikeway, Falls Road Bikeway and Pedestrian Facility, Forest Glen Passageway, Bicycle Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Purple Line, MD355-Clarksburg Shared Use Path, Tuckerman Lane Sidewalk, and Dale Drive Shared Use Path and Safety Improvements. These projects will help improve the County's overall accessibility for pedestrians and bikeways as well as contribute to the Vision Zero goal of reducing deaths and serious injuries on County roads.
- Add funding to Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area Improvements - Wheaton CBD to construct additional sub projects.
- Continue funding for two Purple Line-related projects: Capital Crescent Trail and the Silver Spring Green Trail.
- Continue funding for the Metropolitan Branch Trail.
PROGRAM CONTACTS
Contact Brady Goldsmith of the Department of Transportation at 240.777.2793 or Gregory Bruno of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.777.2773 for more information regarding this department's capital budget.
CAPITAL PROGRAM REVIEW
The recommended DOT Pedestrian Facilities and Bikeways Program for FY25-30 totals $274.1 million and includes 30 ongoing projects. The recommended six-year expenditure total represents a decrease of $59.6 million, or 17.9 percent, over the Amended FY23-28 six-year program of $333.7 million. While there was a decrease in the six year period from FY25-FY30, overall, there was nearly a $96 million increase in the total budget due to updated design estimates and inflationary increases for construction materials and labor costs. Cost increases in some Pedestrian/Bikeways projects, and other CIP cost pressures, particularly for schools, led to deferral of a number of projects to beyond six years.
VISION ZERO
Vision Zero is the County's comprehensive plan to eliminate serious and fatal injuries for our roadways. The Vision Zero 2030 Action Plan has 45 action items to move from plan to action. The majority of action items are implemented through Capital Improvement Projects to remake our roads into complete streets with sidewalks, bikeways, new signals, and safe driving speeds. 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. Learn more about Vision Zero and see the latest action plan at montgomerycountymd.gov/visionzero. Pedestrian Facilities and Bikeways projects comprise $274.1 million of the total estimated Vision Zero CIP budget of $493.8 million for Vision Zero projects in the FY25-30 period.
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
DOT continues to evaluate existing infrastructure, build necessary enhancements, and add to the County's existing infrastructure to increase the safety and comfort level of pedestrians and ensure ADA compliance. DOT conducts regular meetings with the Montgomery County Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (PTBSAC) to obtain input and recommendations on pedestrian safety issues. In addition to the projects in the Pedestrian Facilities and Bikeways sub-category, pedestrian safety initiatives will continue to be supported through efforts in the Public Services Program and will continue drawing support from the following ongoing projects: Guardrails, Bus Stop Improvements, Intersection and Spot Improvements, Neighborhood Traffic Calming, Pedestrian Safety Program, Streetlight Enhancements - CBD, Transportation Improvements for Schools, ADA Compliance: Transportation, Resurfacing: Residential/Rural, Sidewalk and Curb Replacement, Streetlighting, Traffic Signals, Advanced Transportation Management System, MCPS - Improved Safe Access to Schools and MNCPPC - Vision Zero.
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 FY25-30 CIP for which pedestrian and bicyclist facilities are an integral part of the project.
TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT INCLUDE PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES OR BIKEWAYS
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