Press Releases - County Council
Montgomery County Council Briefing and Public Hearing on the Planning Board’s Draft Pedestrian Master Plan on July 25
For Immediate Release: Friday, July 21, 2023
The Pedestrian Master Plan is the first comprehensive vision proposed by the Montgomery County Planning Board to create safer, more comfortable experiences for walking or rolling in the County
The Montgomery County Council will receive a briefing and hold a public hearing on the Planning Board Draft of the Pedestrian Master Plan on Tuesday, July 25. The briefing will begin at 11 a.m. and the public hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m.
The plan is Montgomery Planning’s first comprehensive vision to create safer, more comfortable experiences walking or rolling around the county and to make getting around more convenient and accessible for every pedestrian. The Council is seeking public input from all residents on the draft plan and will schedule a committee worksession to review and propose changes to the Planning Board Draft Plan this fall.
"As chair of the Transportation and Environment Committee, pedestrian and bicyclist safety are at the top of my priority list," said Council President Evan Glass. "Montgomery County had 541 motor vehicle crashes leading to bodily injuries and 48 traffic fatalities last year, which is why the comprehensive approach to pedestrian and bicyclist safety provided by the Montgomery County Planning Board is critical. The Pedestrian Safety Master Plan will go hand in hand with the Council's legislative efforts including The Safe Streets Act, which I introduced to make roads near our schools and downtown areas safer. The new plan will also help us reach our Vision Zero goals."
To testify in-person or remotely during a live public hearing at the Council Office Building, residents need to preregister on the Council's web page. Residents may also choose to provide pre-recorded testimony in written, audio or video formats or submit testimony by mail. The Council also offers a step by step set of video instructions to assist residents signing up for public hearings.
More Information on the Pedestrian Master Plan
The Pedestrian Master Plan provides detailed, actionable recommendations in line with national and international best practices to improve the pedestrian experience, from more and better places to cross the street to a data-driven, equity-focused approach for the county’s future pedestrian and bicycle capital investments.
The plan has four key goals:
- Increase walking rates and pedestrian satisfaction.
- Create a comfortable, connected and convenient pedestrian network.
- Enhance pedestrian safety.
- Build an equitable and just pedestrian network.
Community input was a critical component in the formation of the draft plan. Since 2019, Montgomery Planning held numerous in-person and virtual community engagement events and activities, designed and distributed a survey to 60,000 households and collected and analyzed commute and crash data to have a deeper understanding of the issues important to pedestrians of all backgrounds, ages and types of mobility.
To address the issues identified through the community engagement and data collection effort, the Pedestrian Master Plan’s detailed recommendations focus on how the County can systemically improve the pedestrian experience. Examples include longer crosswalk times and more accessible sidewalks, updated lighting standards, assuming county control of certain state highways, and reimagining Safe Routes to School programming.
The plan includes recommendations on design, policy and programming, pedestrian and bicycle project prioritization, country sidepath identification, pedestrian shortcut identification and Complete Streets Design Guide Area Type Classification. For additional details, watch this video update from Eli Glazer, the Planning Department’s Pedestrian Master Plan lead.
The Council meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
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Release ID: 23-251
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884