Bicycle Master Plan Monitoring Report by Montgomery Planning

The Bicycle Master Plan Biennial Monitoring Report evaluates progress made in advancing the goals and objectives of the plan in 2019 and 2020

Montgomery Planning briefed the Montgomery County Planning Board on the 2019-2020 Bicycle Master Plan Biennial Monitoring Report at its November 18 meeting. The report is released every two years and evaluates progress in advancing the goals and objectives of the Bicycle Master Plan, as well as implementing recommendations for bikeways, bicycle parking, and bicycle-supportive programs and policies. It also includes recommendations for furthering implementation of the plan in the coming years. The Bicycle Master Plan was approved by the Montgomery County Council and adopted by M-NCPPC in 2018.

Read the 2019-2020 Bicycle Master Plan Biennial Monitoring Report.

In addition to briefing the Board on the Monitoring Report, Planning staff demonstrated a new data dashboard that tracks metrics measuring progress toward the goals of the Bicycle Master Plan. View the monitoring report dashboard.

View the Bicycle Master Plan bikeway map.

Key Findings from the Report

A few of the highlights in 2019 and 2020 are:

Master-Planned Bikeways:

• Constructed: 6.4 miles
• Under Construction as of 12/2020: 10.9 miles
• Funded for Construction: 8.4 miles
• Required as a Condition of Development Approval: 4.2 miles

Bicycle Parking:

Three secure bicycle parking stations are advancing, including:

• Bethesda Purple Line Station: a 460-space station was constructed by a development project
• Downtown Silver Spring: a 74-space station on Dixon Lane was in design
• Grosvenor Metrorail Station: a 100+ space station was a condition of a development project’s approval

Programs and Policies:

• In Spring 2019, the Department of Recreation initiated the Excel Beyond the Bell Program pilot to train elementary school students how to ride a bicycle. The pilot program trained 50 third graders at Oak View Elementary School.
• The County Council approved updated bicycle parking requirements and standards for new development projects.

Recommendations

The report also includes nine recommendations for advancing implementation of the plan, including:

1. Prioritizing construction of bikeways with a focus on projects to improve connectivity to downtowns, upgrade the county’s temporary neighborhood greenways to permanent neighborhood greenways, and improve access to low-stress bicycling in Equity Focus Areas.
2. Upgrading deficient bike racks at all public libraries and recreation centers over the next two years and expand and upgrade bicycle parking availability at all public schools over a ten-year period.
3. Developing comprehensive design standards for bicycle facilities.
4. Developing a Neighborhood Greenway Toolkit.

The next Bicycle Master Plan Monitoring report will be released in 2023.