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. Additional information on the Parks SS4A program is available here.
This project, WRP-5, is planned for Fiscal Year 2025 and includes 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.
The majority of work for WRP-5 will impact County public right of way, not Parkland. Montgomery County Department of Transportation has partnered with Montgomery County Parks in developing the project.
Project Information
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.