...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.
Please look over our
latest map!
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!
...WABA,
MCBAG,
and MOBIKE. You are at www.montgomerybikemap.org.
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.
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!
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.
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.
See our interactive map (updated July 27).
It now shows draft master planned routes.
Sponsored by...
What is this Project?
The Map In Progress
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
City Plans
Quick Links
Contacts
Jack Cochrane, MOBIKE Chair:
Phone: 301-767-5998
7121 Thomas Branch Dr.
Bethesda, Md. 20817