The Montgomery County Bicycle Map Project

...An effort by cyclists to identify the bikeable roads, bike lanes, and bike trails that we believe should be planned and built in Montgomery County.

Note: The maps here have not been updated since 2003 and are becoming out of date. This effort has been superceded by the newer Google-based BikeZip mapping project! (project site is here). That project is in development and hasn't yet created working maps.

In any case the maps here are generally not meant to guide bicyclists in their travels. Instead they are meant to guide advocacy efforts. Many of the routes are merely planned or desired (marked as dotted lines). With care however, you might learn something about existing bikeable routes (solid lines) and some of the links are useful too.

Please look over our latest map! The map here shows the facilities we've already identified as desired (the map is about 70% complete). But it needs comments from the cycling community at large. Please send your input or comments about the map to Jack Cochrane at or join the MontgomeryBike Yahoo! group and post your comments there for discussion. Read on to learn exactly what the Bicycle Map Project is trying to accomplish.

See our interactive map (updated July 27). It now shows draft master planned routes.

Also, the Montgomery County Park and Planning Department needs you to make your comments known on the Countywide Master Plan of Bikeways. Provide master plan input to Chuck Kines, the bike planner at Park and Planning, by August 15. He'll be finalizing the staff draft late in the summer, so don't delay!

Sponsored by...

...WABA, MCBAG, and MOBIKE. You are at www.montgomerybikemap.org.

What is this Project?

WABA, MCBAG, and MOBIKE are organizing this bicycle map effort to identify the bicycle community’s own desired network of bikeable roads, bike lanes, and hiker/biker trails throughout Montgomery County. The output of this process will be a complete route map with desired roads and paths marked and identified by type, and a document explaining why each route was placed on the map.

Our bicycle map isn't meant to be a handy pocket map of current routes. Instead it's our vision for the future, mixed with just a bit of pragmatism!

There's nothing set in stone about this map. It's a living document intended as a rough reference, not as a rigid list of exactly what we want. In many cases alternative routes could just as easily be chosen. Ultimately the project will attach words to each route explaining the rationale behind it and listing possible alternatives.

The main goal of the network itself is to provide cyclists with a fast, convenient and safe way to reach all major destinations within the county. Special attention is given to transit destinations and to routes used by cyclists already. All cycling skill levels are considered. The network will recognize cycling as both transportation and "quality of life" recreation (with some extra weight given to transportation). Much of the value of providing very safe and aesthetic routes for recreational cyclists is that these routes encourage biking and lead novices to start using their bikes as transportation.

In the short term, the project's bicycle map will be used to collect and provide input to the Montgomery Park & Planning Commission (P&P) as it updates its Master Plan of Bikeways this summer. In the future, the map will be a basis for public input to Park and Planning as it makes amendments to its Park Trails Plan or changes its community-level plans (each community plan is updated every 20 years on a rotating schedule). The bike map will also help us provide input to city planners and various transportation departments.

Above all, the bike map we create will give us a lasting way to document our own ideas regardless of what the county or its cities may come up with. It will help guide our future advocacy efforts, serve to generate discussion, and provide a handy slate for the exchange of ideas with each other and with officials.

The Map In Progress

See our current set of maps for our work in progress. We plan to complete a rough draft for review sometime during the summer of 2003. But this will be a working document, with fresh new ideas always welcome!

Classification/Color Scheme

See the map key for the route classification/color scheme.

Constraints on Route Types

See the constraints to be applied to each route type.

Master Plan of Countywide Bikeways

The Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission is in the process of updating its 1978 Master Plan of Countywide Bikeways. In this plan, existing and proposed bike routes and trails are identified and classified according to Park & Planning’s own classification scheme. Generally the colors mean the same thing as our scheme, except for the distinction between “green” and “purple” trails (see map key).

Please check out the Master Plan of Countywide Bikeways. Actual draft maps may be downloaded for your convenience:

All the routes in this plan are shown on our map pages for your reference, but see the links above for the official latest draft.

Keep in mind that the P&P plan addresses "countywide" routes, meaining that many neighborhood-level routes are not covered by the plan, though they may still be addressed in community-level plans. Our map describes bike facilities at all levels.

City Plans

Rockville has its own ground-breaking Bikeways Master Plan. It was created in 1998 and is being updated this summer. Many of Rockville's routes are incorporated into our map.

Gaithersburg has a Bikeways and Pedestrian Plan. See the Gaithersburg Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee page for information.

Quick Links

Contacts

Jack Cochrane, MOBIKE Chair:

Phone: 301-767-5998
7121 Thomas Branch Dr.
Bethesda, Md. 20817