Nothing but Good News

First of all, back in early May the Montgomery County Council made several tentative decisions to add money to the bikeway improvements capital budget. Compared to the County Executive's recommendations they more than doubled the budget. The changes they (Councilmembers Steve Silverman, Nancy Floreen, Tom Perez and George Leventhal) made

· restored full funding to the Matthew Henson Trail, Shady Grove Access Trail and Rock Creek Trail Bridge.  They had been delayed 3 years in the original budget

· restored some of the funding to the Silver Spring Green Trail. The delay was reduced from 3 years to 1.

· added $200k for the repair and resurfacing of the 0.5 miles of the Capital Crescent Trail that's eroding

· added $160 to fund small-scale bikeway improvements

· added $145k for the repair of the East West Highway Trail 

· added $360k to the annual bikeways program, including signage

· added $50k for bikeway maintenance

   More on the CCT repair

The final budget includes $200K to regrade and resurface the badly eroded section of the Interim CCT east of Rock Creek, and to perform a thorough study of what is needed to correct the storm water drain system in that area. DPWT Director Arthur Holmes promised the Council Transportation and Environment (T&E) Committee that the trail repair work would begin at the start of the next fiscal year, in July 2006.

In addition the MacArthur Boulevard Bikeway is in the preliminary design phase

MacArthur Blvd. would be widened, where possible, to 26 feet to provide for two 10-foot-wide lanes for cars and one three-foot-wide lane for bicyclists on each side of MacArthur. Also where possible, green space of at least five feet would run along the boulevard. Next to it would be an eight-feet-wide shared path for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The new bikeway would, according to the DPWT, "provide spot improvements to address deficiencies and immediate safety concerns on MacArthur Blvd." These would include adding lighting under the Beltway overpass at MacArthur, changing the existing parking area at the Union Arch Bridge and in front of the Captain's Market at Tomlinson Ave. Access to the Clara Barton Parkway at Ericsson Road would be altered.

Finally there were a couple of reports (and here) this week about a study, being compiled by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Transportation Planning Board, that shows there are more than 350 projects directly aimed at pedestrians and bicyclists currently working their way through individual jurisdictions.

“There has been a real change in the way transportation planners are looking at nonmotorized travel in the region,” said TPB’s Michael Farrell, co-author of the study. “Adding bike lanes or sidewalks used to be the exception, now the exception is not to provide these facilities.”

"The more bicyclists there are in a place, the safer it is to bicycle -- the more motorists expect to see cyclists, the more that becomes part of the norm," said Farrell.

Planners for the national capital region have a $500 million plan to make pedestrian and cycling safety a top priority. The plan calls for 680 new miles of paths, including one that would put a bike and jogging path on the new span of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

So it's not all doom and gloom. And if you believe, as Benicio Del Toro said in "Way of the Gun" , that "a plan is just a list of things that will never happen." Take joy in actually completed projects. I noticed that East Capitol Street bike lanes between 1st and 2nd street opened (and the road opened too) and that the bike lanes around Thomas Circle NW are open as well (though one bike lane is only 10 feet long - photo to follow).

Ten for Tuesday - Your obsession with cycling borders on the interesting.

1. I just recently watched this from May 5th because my tivo is a little backed up. Well known bicycle enthusiast Rep. Earl Blumenauer was on the Colbert Report and he placed his bike in the background of the shot. In the photo at the left, Colbert sports a bicycle lapel pin.

2. I can tell from the comments posted here that some of you know your way around Lexus and Westlaw better than me. So when can DC count on a site like this?

3. Mainstream media coverage of the planning board's recommendation on the Met Branch Trail.

‘If it’s only about the money, then you’ve got to fight for the money,” [Commissioner Meredith K. Wellington] said.

4. Bicycling magazine gave out bikes in Baltimore as part of bike town. As a Bike Town alumnus myself (I got a free bike last year in DC) I think it's a great program. I saw two people at BTWD on their bikes from last year.

Courtney Matthews, a Bicycling spokeswoman, said the magazine has kept in touch with past recipients of free two-wheelers and 86 percent respond they are happier three months after they started riding again.

5. The Post had a good run down of Montgomery County bicycling.

Other projects include the Matthew Henson Trail, which would run through Aspen Hill, past Connecticut Avenue and Georgia Avenue, all the way past Layhill Road. The North Bethesda Trolley Trail, which runs along the old trolley tracks between Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike, is to be extended north to the Twinbrook Metro stop and south to the National Institutes of Health campus.

6. Another "Gas gets people out of their cars" story.

"People are starting to look for fundamentally different ways to travel," said Bill Wilkinson, executive director of the National Center for Bicycling and Walking in Bethesda, Md. The soaring price of fuel "prompts people to really think about where they live and how they get around."

7. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors endorsed Transaction 2030.

On the top of the list are transit projects and pedestrian and bike travel. An estimated $16.6 billion would be needed over the next 25 years to fund the projects.

The plan features more Metrorail stations and light rail or rapid bus service in some high-traffic corridors, including Route 7, Route 28 and Columbia Pike. It also includes about 600 miles of new trails and an 8-percent increase in highway capacity.

8. Bike to Work Day was a success in Baltimore and Washington.

Chapman brought along Terri Broemm, a nursing teacher at Harford Tech who was riding to work for the first time and was nervous about the limited space for cyclists on the shoulders of some commuter routes.

Although some noted that the crowd lacked diversity.

9. For those looking for a bike vacation, a new rail trail opens in West Virginia.

It's called the Cranberry Tri-Rivers Rail-Trail, and Richwood city officials believe the 16.5-mile path will cement their town's growing reputation as a recreation destination.

10. Registration is open for the Indian Head 100 on Saturday, September 10, 2006.

Cycle through scenic and historic Southern Maryland. Relax at a rest stop at the Mattawoman Creek Art Center. See bald eagles and blue herons as you pedal through hundreds of acres of gently rolling forested hills and tidal bottomlands to the panoramic vista of the Potomac River at Riverside. Enjoy a rest stop high above the Port Tobacco River with a spectacular view of the Potomac and Port Tobacco rivers.