Learn About Existing and Proposed Bikeways in Montgomery County

 

The Montgomery County Planning Department has created a new webpage about bikeways in Montgomery County featuring all of the existing and proposed bikeways and an interactive map. Also posted online is the Silver Spring Bicycle Parking Station Study that evaluates future demand and possible locations for a bicycle parking station near the Silver Spring Transit Center and the planned connection of the Capital Crescent Trail and Metropolitan Branch Trail.

Online visitors can also review “An Assessmentof Purple Line Corridor Bicycle and Pedestrian Issues” for the proposed Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring and pedestrian issues around the Purple Line.

Ride On Bus Route 83 Now Provides Service to Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown

The Route 83 Ride On bus that provides service between the Germantown Transit Center and the Milestone Park and Ride Lot has been extended to provide daily service to the new Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown.

The route will operate about every 30 minutes from:

• 4:29 a.m. to 11:29 p.m., Monday through Friday;

• 6:29 a.m. to 9:29 p.m. on Saturdays; and

• 6:59 a.m. to 8:59 p.m. on Sundays.

The new timetable is available online.

Extension of Century Boulevard in Germantown Now Open to Traffic

The Montgomery Department of Transportation Division of Transportation Engineering announced that a new, 2,600-foot portion of Century Boulevard in Germantown, extending from underneath Father Hurley Boulevard to Kinster Drive, is now open. The road will provide a connection to the future Dorsey Mill Road. Together with a new interchange planned for I-270, these connections will help link the east and west sides of Germantown.

Motorists should anticipate some lane closures as work continues to complete landscaping, sealing of concrete joints and other items. In addition, Potomac Edison will be finishing installation of a power feed for underpass lighting.

The project included construction of a steel arch culvert, storm water management features, landscaping, pedestrian pathways, street lights and lighting for the Father Hurley Boulevard underpass. Construction began in June 2013.

The road was a joint participation project with Symmetry Developers. Symmetry will contribute $4 million towards design and construction, dedication of their portion of the right-of-way to the County and payment for water and sewer service to allow development adjacent to the road. The total cost of the project was $7.5 million. The contractor was Francis O. Day Co., Rockville.

Project Begun to Install New Entrance Escalators at Bethesda Station

Metro began a major capital project to install three new escalators at the Bethesda Station in October.

The project will replace the current escalators, which are more than 30 years old and have exceeded their useful life, with brand new escalators that are more durable and reliable. Metro's contractor will install the new escalators one at a time, keeping the other two escalators in service.

Metro warns riders that in the event of a service disruption, the station could be temporarily closed to prevent safety hazards related to overcrowding. This may happen with little advance notice. When the station is temporarily closed, Red Line trains will bypass the station in both directions and passengers on the platform will have to exit the station.

More information is available on Metro's website.

Alert Montgomery Emergency Warning System Upgraded in Time for Winter Weather

Subscribers Encouraged to Update Accounts to Take Advantage of New Features 

 

Major improvements to the Alert Montgomery emergency warning system, that has served the County since 2004, provide users with customizable features, more choices and greater flexibility. To use the new features, current subscribers must re-register. All residents are urged to sign up for Alert Montgomery to receive up-to-the-minute messages during weather and other emergencies.

Everbridge is the new system provider for Alert Montgomery. User options allow subscribers to select as many or few alerts as desired for emergencies, weather, traffic, school closings, etc.; choose how to be alerted, whether by cell phone, email, text, land line phone, work phone, or a Mobile Member app; and block incoming notifications during certain times of the day or night.

Montgomery County is one of 18 jurisdictions with alert systems in the National Capital area. Within Montgomery County, the cities of Gaithersburg, Rockville and Takoma Park have separate but compatible alert systems to Alert Montgomery. All the regional systems were developed in partnership with the Council of Governments’ (COG) National Capital Region (NCR) emergency response system and all jurisdictions are being upgraded this year.

More information is available on the County’s website.

Residents and Business Representatives Sought for Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Advisory Committees

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) are looking for volunteers -- residents, businesses and community organizations -- to serve on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor Advisory Committees (CACs). The two agencies are seeking public input as they develop concepts for a Rapid Transit System (RTS), a network of BRT routes that is being studied along various County and State roadways.

Over the next two years, four major corridors that have been divided into seven segments will be evaluated for RTS. The four main corridors include Georgia Avenue, US Route 29 (Colesville Road and Columbia Pike), Maryland Route 355 (Frederick Road, Rockville Pike and Wisconsin Avenue) and Veirs Mill Road. Seven CACs will be established for each corridor segment under consideration.

Bus Rapid Transit is a cost-effective and versatile way for communities to meet their transit needs. BRT uses well-planned bus routes and facilities that provide for high speed travel at a lower cost than other forms of transit – high frequency all-day service, off-board fare collection, attractive stations, dedicated roadways, and real-time passenger information. BRT buses have features similar to light rail, including level floors, multiple wide doors for easy boarding and departures, and comfortable interiors that include space for wheelchairs and bicycle storage.

The CACs are essential to ensuring that community stakeholders have ample opportunity to participate in the RTS planning process. The committees will advise MCDOT and SHA on BRT design concepts, study assumptions, transit access and operations, coordination with other studies, planning for public involvement, and community needs and concerns. MCDOT is recruiting committee members who live or work within or adjacent to the communities in the proposed transit corridors as well as those with a general interest in the system.

A CAC nomination form, due on November 21, is available online and details the structure, selection procedures, specific tasks, formation process, and operating guidelines for the CACs. Residents along the corridors under study are asked to send their nomination forms to the president of the civic/homeowner association that represents them. Each civic group along the corridor will select one representative to serve on the CAC for that corridor.

Businesses along the proposed routes are asked to send their nomination forms to their respective Chamber of Commerce, which will make recommendations on proposed business representatives. The chambers are the Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Montgomery County, Olney Chamber of Commerce, Rockville Chamber of Commerce, Wheaton and Kensington Chamber of Commerce, Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, and Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce. Links to all the chambers are available online.

Each committee also allows for a number of “at large” representatives who may not live or work directly along the corridor but have an interest in the project. Those forms, also due November 21, should be submitted by email to CAC Nomination Form or mailed to MCDOT Director’s Office, 101 Monroe Street, 10th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850. Residents may nominate themselves or be nominated by others.

To be eligible to serve on a CAC, representatives must be willing to regularly attend meetings, which are expected to be held at least four to six times a year.

For more information, call 240-777-7155, email rapid.transit@montgomerycountymd.gov or visit the RTS website.

Leggett Reaffirms County's Commitment to Smart Growth in White Flint

Misinformation about the proposed designs for Old Georgetown Road in White Flint has caused confusion about the County's commitment to Smart Growth in this area. Read County Executive Ike Leggett's reply that lays out the facts.