Burtonsville/Fairland Community Bicycle Ride with Del. Luedtke, Planning Board Chair Anderson, Councilmember Hucker (invited)

Come ride and/or discuss the bicycling conditions around the Burtonsville/East County area.  

The ride starts at the Burtonsville Elementary School Parking lot (15516 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD) at 11:30am sharp.   Please arrive early to get setup.   

The ride will end at Seibel's Restaurant (15540 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD) where you can discuss more about the Montgomery County Bicycle Master Plan with Delegate Eric Luedtke and Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson (Councilmember Tom Hucker is invited) from 1pm - 2pm.

Ride Details ** :

• Sunday, July 24
• Arrive: 11:15 A.M.
• Depart: 11:30 A.M. (Sharp)
• Return: 1:00 P.M.
• Where:

• Starting at the Burtonsville Elementary School Parking Lot
• 15516 Old Columbia Pike Burtonsville, Maryland

• Please RSVP to david.anspacher@montgomeryplanning.org

Burtonsville Community Ride - Official Announcement

Below is a preliminary map of the scheduled ride.
**Please note that this ride is open for everyone, however it will take place on roads that have traffic and may be uncomfortable for some.

New Page Debut

Unfortunately, today, I'm creating a new page entitled "Poor Decisions".   Mainly, I'm listing uncomfortable moments I've experienced on a bike, especially since these items cannot be acted on by police unless they witness it themselves.

Why don't we have an avenue to report people who are aggressive or distracted?   I can't even report them even when I can positively identify the person, vehicle, time, location, etc.   Additional witnesses, I'm told, won't change the way police operate in Montgomery County MD.

I used to love to commute by bicycle, I used to love to ride in the country, but why am experiencing an almost daily failure for people to make good and safe decisions when they drive.   I would like to enjoy bicycling to work or to the store again.   Please help and drive safely and respectfully around bicycles.  Please contact your local and state representatives and let them know you want protected bike lanes in your community and on your state roads to separate traffic and reduce conflicts between bicycles and motor vehicles.  

Until safe bicycle facilities exist, I'll just add to this page and document my experiences with people who've made poor decisions.

http://www.makeitbikeable.com/p/poor-decisions.html

MD-SHA Offers Protected Bike Lanes with updates to Policy & Engineering Guidelines

The SHA has updated their design guide and most notably are new options for protected bike lanes.   WABA has a great write up about SHA's policy update along with good comments about where the new policy still has gaps.   For example, the SHA can still build narrow, unsafe bike lanes along high speed traffic.

A great project currently in design phase that could benefit is the MD28/MD198 Improvement Project (between MD-97 and I-95).  The number of vehicles that travel this section should warrant safe pedestrian and bicycle accommodations being made (even in the no-build phase).   If the project moves forward with anything other than a no-build option, the road is destined to be widened with plans for minimal on-road bicycle facilities.   Switching to one-way protected bike lanes on each side would certainly make this section a great east-west connection for cyclists of all experience levels.   Let's also be clear that a 'protected' bike lane needs to be protected, not just buffered by a 2ft wide white line as shown in figure 10.3 of the guidelines.  This setup creates problems with 'dooring' from parked cars on the right and no physical buffer from vehicles on the left leaving people on bikes vulnerable to major physical injury.  

Feel free to contact me about this project by posting comments or connecting with me on twitter (@makeitbikeable).  

Montgomery County Bill for Safer Streets (Bill 33-13)

The final reading for Bill 33-13 is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/resources/files/bill/2013/packets/20131210_4c.pdf

This bill:

1. defines target speeds for roads,
2. lane widths,
3. safety improvements,
4. and ultimately commands multi-modal road use.

This bill could be improved, nevertheless:

With the option for alternative standards by the Executive with only a notification, the bill remains weakened.  I would have even more support if the Executive would need approval from the Council before an exception was approved. Additionally, this bill provides for some technical implementation for curb radius build-out, but lacks technical enforcement of the speed.   I would recommend speed humps be included along any commercial suburban/urban zones where the target speeds are 30mph or less.   The demand for slower speeds, in this bill, warrants my full support, even if technical specifications are missing.

I urge you to show your support for this bill.   You can do so easily at: http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/2041/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15180

Thank you Councilmember Berliner and Councilmember Riemer for sponsoring this bill.

Update:

http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/Council/PressRelease/PR_detailsnew.asp?PrID=14287

Montgomery County Council Enacts Bill to Redefine Road and Sidewalk Standards Bill Adopts Safe Speed Limits, Makes Communities Safer for Pedestrians and Bicyclists, Particularly in Emerging Urban Areas
 

• Release ID: 14-351
• Release Date: 11/25/2014
• Contact: Neil Greenberger 240-777-7939 or Delphine Harriston240-777-7931
• From: Council Office 

The Montgomery County Council today unanimously enacted Expedited Bill 33-13 that will limit the width of travel lanes, turning lanes and parking lanes, as well as the size of intersection curb radii in urban areas. The bill also will set target speeds at which vehicles should operate in urban business districts to provide mobility for motor vehicles and for a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists. Some of the new guidelines are particularly aimed at the emerging urban areas that are developing around various areas of the County.

The bill, which was sponsored by Councilmembers Roger Berliner and Hans Riemer, requires certain road improvements to include a sufficient pedestrian refuge area, directs developers building road improvements to add curb ramps where appropriate and requires curb ramps to be built in accordance with federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA) best practices.

Councilmembers Berliner and Riemer convened a working group of staff from the Council, the County Planning Department, the County Department of Transportation (DOT), the Montgomery Fire and Rescue Service and the Department of Permitting Services. The group met five times in October and November, and was assisted by Toole Design, a planning firm under contract to DOT that has considerable experience in the development of complete streets standards and guidelines.

Among the key aspects of the legislation was to set “maximum target speeds” to provide mobility for motor vehicles and a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists. This provision focuses on urban areas, but would not set target speeds in suburban and rural areas. The target speed for all County streets in urban areas would be 25 mph, unless otherwise specified in an adopted master plan or Capital Improvements Program.
"I am proud that the Council has passed a ‘complete streets’ measure that will make our urban nodes safer for all users,” said Councilmember Berliner, who chairs the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T and E) Committee. “By narrowing lanes and turns, providing for more pedestrian refuges, and designing roads for lower speeds, we can make sure that our urban areas are places that will attract residents old and young. Our urban rights of way must be made accessible to all users, not just drivers. I look forward to working with the Department of Transportation on regulations that will further this movement toward a complete streets philosophy, a progressive approach to our urban streets."

To help achieve safe speeds, the bill generally limits road lanes to no wider than 10 feet, although the Planning Board or County Executive are given the authority to grant a waiver for improvements by a develop if a 10 foot-wide or 11 foot-wide lane "would significantly impair public safety.” A single traffic lane is generally designed to be 12 feet wide under most current standards.

Although a few County streets have lanes that are narrower, especially for left turns, 10 feet is considered the minimum width that can accommodate general traffic on a through lane. There is less room to maneuver in 10 foot-wide lanes than in the more standard 11-and 12-foot-wide lanes.
"Our residents want and deserve the high quality of life that well designed urban areas can provide, and this legislation will help the County move forward to provide them,” said Councilmember Riemer, who also is a member of the T and E Committee. “We want to create districts where people can walk and bike and feel safe, while cars can still move but the streets are comfortable for all users."

Sections of the law apply to all County roads, including the provision to create separated and buffered bike lanes. Separated bike lanes (also known as cycle tracks) have not been defined in the County Code, although they have been included in at least two recently adopted master plans. The new law defines a bike lane as a bikeway that is separated from motor vehicle travel lanes by a physical barrier, such as a landscape panel or a line of parked cars. It also defines a buffered bike lane as one that is separated from motor vehicle lanes by striped pavement.

The law encourages the building of sidewalks when road projects are developed. The previous law leaves broad discretion to the Council and the Planning Board on whether sidewalks must be installed with a road project. The new law limits that discretion to four situations: in very low density rural zones, along rustic or country roads, where limits on impervious surfaces apply and on tertiary residential streets where the Planning Board finds that a sidewalk is unnecessary. 

                                                                # # # #

Montgomery County Transit Forum

Photo by Greg Billing

Although I was not able to attend the #mocotranspo (Montgomery County Transportation Forum) I was able to get a sense that our communities and representatives understand that the primary mode of transportation via car is outdated.  Let's hope all of our candidates will continue to push for better transportation options as indicated by these live tweets from the forum.

Thanks all for your support, let's make it happen!

Proposed MD 198 Bike Facilities will help citizens living in McKnew Neighborhoods

Using the GIS maps provided by M-NCPPC I found information showing a proposed shared use path along MD 198 from Dino Dr (where the path currently ends) all the way to the MoCo Line.   When this is built, it will ultimately enable multi-modal transportation for the people living within the McKnew Rd and Cedar Tree Rd communities.   Thanks http://cyclemoco.com/ for writing about how to find this information.

Here are the details:

http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/gis/interactive/bikeways.shtm

The MD 198 Segment:

Classification:  Shared Use Path
Street Name:     Sandy Spring Rd
From:            Dino Dr
To:              Mont County Line
MasterPlan:      Patuxent
Bikeway ID:      SP-20

Display of MD 198 and US 29 Region from MoCo Planning Bikeways Interactive mapping (MD 198 Identified above)

Road Design Resources

Excellent post highlighting sources for road design and more specifically road accommodations for bicycles.    See the post by Mr. Cochrane at cyclemoco.com.

 

Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan Update

The Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan  was presented to the East County Citizens Advisory Board on April 11, 2012  (http://goo.gl/c1Dbk) and the draft is available on the website. 

After reading through, I'm not entirely satisfied with the connectivity plan.   I didn't see anything that completed the connection (via walking/biking paths) with the McKnew Rd development.  Currently I have no problems bicycling with a kids trailer heading eastbound on MD-198 for the short stretch to get to the Cedar Tree Rd turn off.  There is a wide shoulder and I'm riding with traffic.  Unfortunately, without a side path completed, I'm forced to take the kids-in-tow down McKnew Rd, wait at the light to make the left turn with traffic (the cross walk here is not useable for a bike and trailer since a lightpost and cement curbs block safe access) and ride about 1/4 mile with trucks and speeding cars before I can attempt to cross back at a non-signaled intersection (Dino Dr) to get on the side path.

The completion of this side path will enable this community to easily connect with the Burtonsville Town Center.
 

Multilane Roundabouts Dangerous for Bicycles

I recently had the opportunity to travel through 5 or so roundabouts on a recent bicycle ride.   Four of those occurred over a small stretch of MD-216 located near US-29 in Howard County.  Although I'm a fairly confident road cyclist, I found these roundabouts difficult to navigate safely.   Due to the multilane nature, it became nearly impossible to control vehicles from passing me in the left lane, and then cutting me off as they went essentially straight through, while I was in the right lane making a 270 degree turn.  Additionally, vehicles entering the roundabout as I was passing their entrance never stopped (nor yielded the right-of-way) and almost took out a fellow cyclist behind me.    There must be a better way to design multilane roundabouts so that vehicles and bicycles can be accommodated safely.    

The Maryland SHA has stated on it's own website that these multi-lane roundabouts are inherently more dangerous than standard single lane roundabouts unless proper facilities have been provided.  
http://www.sha.maryland.gov/Index.aspx?PageId=288

"For multilane roundabouts, bicycle safety at roundabouts has been found to be poorer than at other intersections unless separate bicycle or multi–use paths are provided around the outside of the roundabout."

View Roundabouts on MD-216 in a larger map

This map above shows the location of the four multilane roundabouts discussed.

Worse yet, after exiting Circle 3, I encountered one of the most dangerous exits/merge areas for a bicyclist. 

Google Map - Heading East on MD-216 after exiting Circle 3  

Cars and bikes are forced to share a single curbed lane that narrows.   Cars are traveling at or above the speed limit by this point.  From the right, traffic has exited US-29 and is merging onto MD-216 and these vehicles are traveling at speed when the two lanes meet, leaving bikes stranded between two lanes of fast traffic separated by a dashed white line.   If there is a line of cars exiting from US-29, bikes cannot quickly merge to the right shoulder and must remain in the middle of the left lane.   Again, remember, vehicles in the left lane are traveling at speed and don't understand why bicycles would be out in their lane.

Perhaps a better option would be to create a bike large bike lane that cuts through the medium early giving bicycles a safe place to stop and eventually enter this section of road via the right merge lane.


The Maryland SHA needs to re-examine these particular roundabouts, and it would be prudent to identify a better standard for multilane roundabouts where bicycles can safely navigate.  I believe that roundabouts do make cycling safer, and following the design principles in the following document should allow all users to remain safe.
http://www.apbp.org/resource/resmgr/webinars/roundabout_design_final_slid.pdf