MDOT AWARDS

FUNDING FOR

BETHESDA

BIKE ROUTE

BETWEEN

MONTGOMERY MALL

AND

BETHESDA METRO

STATIONS

"BRAC" Bike Path's Route is

Not Specified

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announced a grant today of $21,000 for a 5.2 mile, signed bicycle route, connecting Westfield Montgomery Mall with the Bethesda and Medical Center Metro stations.

The FY2012 Maryland Department of Transportation award is one of the first such grants given under the state's new Maryland Bikeways program.

No route map or details have been provided. A large, statewide map showing all bikeways is available, but not a zoomed-in map for the Bethesda route. While it makes perfect sense for the Bethesda Trolley Trail to be part of the route, that path was not mentioned in the announcement.

The announcement did differenciate street routes from bike paths; the Bethesda route did not say "on-road route" as similar projects in Howard and Prince Georges County did. So that means the Bethesda route will not be entirely on the street.

Considering the size of the award, that would only cover the cost of metal signs, paint, labor and - maybe - a bit of paving here or there. So we are certainly not talking about a new bike trail here.

Much like a Fort Meade area award, this bike route has partly been planned as another small-scale BRAC traffic solution. But put major emphasis on "small," as this will have a negligible impact on Bethesda traffic.

What this would do is allow NIH or Walter Reed employees to live in housing around Montgomery Mall, and bike to work.

More significantly, it further enhances Westfield's major efforts - in partnership with Montgomery County - to make the mall even more accessible via alternate forms of transportation. (As reported here, a new mall Transit Center is in the works).

That fits with Gov. O'Malley's stated goal of making "bicycling a true transportation alternative and to encourage more Marylanders to get out and ride."