Project Description
This project will help to improve safe and equitable access to parks and trails throughout the Montgomery Parks system. The individual projects have an emphasis on improving access to trails through new or updated accessible trail connectors, providing safe crossings of roadways for people walking or biking, and improving multimodal access to parks and trails along adjacent roadways through the construction of shared-use paths and neighborhood greenways. This project will focus primarily on the areas surrounding Sligo Creek Trail, Matthew Henson Trail, and Wheaton Regional Park.
Background
Montgomery Parks received $7.5 million from the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program to facilitate access to parks, trails, and other recreational facilities through the Safe & Equitable Access to Parks project. Between 2015 – 2019, 14 out of the 65 of pedestrian or bicyclist fatalities in Montgomery County were within one-third of a mile from just three parks and trails: Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park and trail, Matthew Henson State Park and trail, and Wheaton Regional Park.
This project builds on the Vision Zero 2040 Action Plan to help implement the following Vision Zero strategies from the plan: Safe Trail Crossings (S-8), Frequent, Protected Crossings (S-3), Separated, Low-Stress Facilities (S-7), and Shared Streets (S-15). The projects submitted in the original grant application are targeted around areas with a history of crashes, along the High Injury Road Network, or areas identified in the Planning Department’s predictive safety analysis.
Montgomery Parks is working with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation and the State Highway Administration on these projects.
Status/Project Update
Montgomery Parks hosted a Community Workshop in May 2024 to present a full list of projects and concepts currently being considered by the program.
Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) projects are currently in design. Typical scope of improvements for all projects include trail crossing improvements, traffic calming to reduce vehicle speeds, and miscellaneous traffic, utility, and environmental improvements. The FY25 projects are:
– MHT-1 Matthew Henson Trail at MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue): Enhance safety and improve segment of trail under and around MD 185 overpass.
– MHT-2 Matthew Henson Trail at MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) and Hewitt Avenue: Implement “Vision Zero” safety improvements at intersection of MD 97 and Hewitt Avenue to improve accessibility and trail crossing safety.
– WRP-5 Wheaton Regional Park Arcola Avenue, Nairn Road, and Orebaugh Avenue: Traffic calming and road crossing safety improvements along Arcola Avenue, between Nairn Road and Kemp Mill Road. Included is a new sidewalk connection from Arcola Avenue to Wheaton Regional Park along Nairn Road, and a new sidewalk connection from Arcola Avenue to Wheaton Regional Park along Orebaugh Avenue. Additional community input and coordination for this project will begin in early 2025.
– SFG-1 MD 97 (Georgia Avenue) at Evans Parkway: New “HAWK” signalized pedestrian crossing from Evans Parkway to Evans Drive, across MD 97. Closure of the existing MD 97 median is proposed which will preclude vehicle left turns from Evans Parkway and Evans Drive onto MD 97 as well as left turns from vehicles traveling north and south on MD 97 onto Evans Parkway and Evans Drive.
– SFG-4 Sligo Creek Parkway at MD 193 (University Boulevard): Implement “Vision Zero” safety improvements at intersection to improve accessibility and trail crossing safety.
– SFG-5 Godwin Drive Trail Connector: Improved pave trail connector from the end of Godwin Drive to Sligo Creek Trail, across Sligo Creek Parkway.
Calendar and Meeting Notes
Dates and times subject to change. Please contact the project manager for updates.
| Project Dates | Events |
|---|---|
| February 1, 2023 | 2022 SS4A Implementation Grant Awards Announced |
| Winter 2024 | Project Concept Development Stage |
| May 7, 2024 7 – 8:30 pm | SS4A Project Community Workshop to present design concepts at Wheaton Recreation Center |
| Spring 2024 | Execute Project Grant Agreement with the Federal Highway Administration |
| 2024 – 2025 | Project Design |
| 2025 – 2026 | Project Construction |