WABA submitted comments on the MD 198/Sandy Spring Rd Sidewalk Improvements Project.

You can view this document in PDF form here.

Khursheed Bilgrami

MCDOT Division of Transportation Engineering

100 Edison Park Drive, 4th Floor

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878

Khursheed.Bilgrami@montgomerycountymd.gov

Re: MD 198 (Sandy Spring Road) Sidewalk Improvements

August 27, 2024

Mr. Bilgrami,

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) offers the following comment on the MD 198 (Sandy Spring Road) Sidewalk Improvements project.

Montgomery County’s Bicycle Master Plan calls for a sidepath where the current 30% design shows a narrower sidewalk to fill the missing link between Dino Drive and McKnew Road in Burtonsville, Maryland. WABA asks MCDOT to redo the 30% design to create the master-planned sidepath, which  would continue an existing sidepath between US 29-Columbia Pike and Dino Drive, the western end of the current project. 

Montgomery County’s Bicycle Master Plan was approved by the Montgomery County Council and adopted by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in 2018. The plan “sets forth a vision for Montgomery County as a world-class bicycling community, where people in all areas of the County have access to a comfortable, safe and connected bicycle network, and where bicycling is a viable transportation option that improves our quality of life. The plan is a key element in Montgomery County’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries.”

In accordance with the vision and plan approved by the County Council and adopted by M-NCPPC and with the county’s Vision Zero commitment, please redesign the project to create the master-planned sidepath.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,

Seth Grimes, Maryland Organizer

seth.grimes@waba.org

Copy: Councilmember Kristin Mink

Eli Glazier, Montgomery Planning