The Montgomery County Planning Board voted unanimously on Thursday, June 13, 2024, to make permanent modifications to the Montgomery Parks Open Parkways program. The permanent open parkway will be reduced by .7 miles, now spanning from Knowles Avenue to Cedar Lane.
Modifications include adding Fridays to thescheduled weekend closures of parts of Beach Drive to motor vehicle traffic and removing a short segment of roadway from the program.
The permanent changes take effect on Friday, June 21, when the part of Beach Drive open only to walkers, bicyclists, and other non-motorized uses will extend 2.2 miles from Knowles Avenue to Cedar Lane, eliminating the .7-mile stretch from Cedar Lane to Connecticut Avenue.
The parkway will close to motor vehicle traffic every Friday starting at 9 a.m. through Sunday at 6 p.m. (4 p.m. during the fall and winter months). Previously, a segment of Beach Drive wasclosed to motor vehicles only on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We thank the Planning Board commissioners for their support of the Open Parkways program on Beach Drive,” said Miti Figueredo, Montgomery Parks director. “We started this program during the pandemic as a pilot project to create more outdoor recreational space for residents and based on our analysis of usage data and traffic counts, as well as the evaluation of the significant public input we received, we believe these modifications will make more space available for recreation while minimizing disruption to neighboring residents.”
The Open Parkways program was launched at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide additional opportunities for recreation and exercise by closing portions of Sligo Creek Parkway and Beach Drive on weekends. Since its inception, more than one million pedestrians and cyclists have taken advantage of the Beach Drive Open Parkway. The new operating hours for Beach Drive will now mirror those for the Sligo Creek Open Parkway.
For more information about the open parkways please visit Roads and Parkways.