Leggett Celebrates New Protected Bike Lanes in Silver Spring; Announces Montgomery County Has Signed Agreement with Mobike to Add Dockless Bike Share in Silver Spring

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett today announced that the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has completed construction of the first protected bike lane in downtown Silver Spring, a Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Area. Leggett also announced that Montgomery County has signed an operating agreement with Mobike, making the County the first suburban jurisdiction in the U.S. to adopt this dockless bike share system. Mobike is the largest bike-sharing platform in the world. This month, these dockless bikes will be available in Silver Spring via a smartphone app.

“Today, we are celebrating two important developments in making bicycle travel in Montgomery County easier, safer and more accessible,” said Leggett. “We are adding a protected bike lane to our existing Silver Spring biking infrastructure and we are initiating a bike sharing agreement for a pilot project with Mobike to enable more people to travel by bicycle. This protected bike lane and enhanced access to shared bikes can help reduce traffic collisions, improve our traffic flow, and protect our environment.”

Silver Spring is an ideal location to expand biking options. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation built the protected bike lanes as part of a plan to create a network of low-stress biking infrastructure throughout the downtown area. The next step in building this network may include protected bike lanes on Wayne Avenue and Cameron Street. The network is intended to connect residents, workers and visitors to jobs, retail, recreation, entertainment and transit. 

“We know that when we make biking safer by adding protected bike lanes, more people of all skill levels, young and old, will choose to bike,” said County Council Vice President Hans Riemer. “The Spring Street Protected Bike Lane will be a tremendous asset to the community, and it is just the beginning of a fully-separated bike lane network—known as the Silver Spring Circle—in downtown Silver Spring. I requested that Planning Staff design a Protected Bike Lane Network in Silver Spring and I’d like to commend the County Executive and his administration, and my Council colleagues, for making the Silver Spring Circle a reality.” 

Montgomery County’s agreement with Mobike is a pilot project to test the concept of dockless bikes in Silver Spring.  MCDOT is committed to working with businesses and residential communities to ensure a successful demonstration project.

To use Mobike, individuals will be able to download the Mobike app to register and locate a nearby bike, then unlock it by scanning the QR code. Once at their destination, the bicyclist can park the bike in an approved area and lock it, making it available for the next user. These bikes are powered by unique high-tech features including smart-lock technology, non-puncture airless tires, bike status sensors and built-in GPS locators.

“Montgomery County is the model for how we wish to work with communities across the U.S.,” said Jillian Irvin, head of U.S. government affairs for Mobike. “I want to thank Ike Leggett and everyone involved with the planning process for accepting us with open arms as we strive to make cycling the most convenient, affordable, and environmentally friendly transportation option for residents and tourists alike.”

The new Spring Street protected bike lanes are five to six feet wide and stretch eight-tenths of a mile along Spring and Cedar Streets, connecting the existing Cedar Street contraflow bike lane at Wayne Avenue to signed bike routes at Second Avenue, Fairview Road and Ellsworth Drive. 

A striped buffer with flexposts separates the new bike lanes from motor vehicle traffic. The buffer varies in width from two feet to eight feet. Along most of the lane, on-street parking forms a barrier between the buffer and the travel lane. Pedestrian improvements include a shortened Spring Street crossing at Woodland Drive. The project includes bike boxes and two-stage queue boxes. These boxes allow bicyclists to make left turns at multi-lane intersections from the right-side separated bike lane.  

The bike lane project includes the first floating bus stops in Montgomery County, designed to reduce conflicts between motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Four floating bus stops provide a bus boarding platform on the opposite side of the bike lane from the sidewalk. This allows bicyclists to travel safely in the protected lane without buses crossing over the bike lane or stopping in the bike lane to pick up or discharge passengers. Transit riders use a crosswalk to get across the bike lane. Floating bus stops have been constructed around the world and across North America.

Construction on the protected bike lanes began in May 2017. Work included a complete resurfacing of Spring Street and Cedar Street, with roadway foundation repair, as needed. The project budget was approximately $1.4 million.

The Mobike company officially launched its service in Shanghai in April 2016 and has since expanded its presence to 180 cities globally, including the District of Columbia. The company now operates more than seven million smart bikes and supports over 25 million rides every day. As of August 2017, Mobike users have collectively cycled over 5.6 billion kilometers, equivalent to reducing CO2 emissions by more than 1.26 million tons, or taking 350,000 cars off the road for a year.

 

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Release ID: 17-439
Media Contact: Lorraine Driscoll 240.777.6507