Montgomery County Planners to Begin Process to Complete Bike Route along the Intercounty Connector

SILVER SPRING, MD – On Thursday, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the kickoff of a planning study to craft a cross-county bicycle/pedestrian route that runs along the length of the Intercounty Connector (ICC). The board also confirmed the planners’ strategy to engage the community and key stakeholders in discussions about the location and other details of the route.

The proposed bike route plan will connect pieces of bike path approved with the ICC highway project in one continuous route from east to west. The study will determine ways to connect existing and planned county bikeways and sidewalks to bicycle transportation hubs, such as the Shady Grove metro station and popular county parks like Olney Manor and Northwest Branch. Constructing a trail through the Northwest Branch brings opportunities to connect the ICC bike path with the Matthew Henson Trail and the Rachel Carson Greenway.

Among their priorities, planners want to develop a route that accommodates pedestrians and novice bicyclists as well as expert cyclists and avoid constructing paved trails in environmentally sensitive areas such as Rock Creek Park and Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park.

On Thursday, transportation planners also brought details of how they will reach out to bicycle and hiking advocates, park and trail users, and environmentalists by forming an informal advisory group. They also plan to convene experts from the State Highway Administration (SHA) and county agencies in a technical working group, as well as to engage interested residents in public meetings.

Planners will research the issues associated with the route and provide recommendations – developed in concert with the advisory groups and public input – to the board next summer.

The SHA is designing the ICC as an 18-mile controlled access toll road connecting I-370 near the Shady Grove Metro Station to U.S. 1 between Beltsville and Laurel. SHA has committed to implementing seven miles of the ICC bike path as part of the ICC construction.