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 will host a Community Workshop in May to present a full list of projects and concepts currently being considered by the program.
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 |