County Officials and Bicyclist Community Dedicate ‘Protected Intersection’ in Silver Spring, Strengthening the County’s Commitment to Vision Zero

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 8, 2019

On Tuesday, October 7, Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT’s) Director Al Roshdieh led a press event dedicating the Mid-Atlantic’s first “protected intersection,” connecting cycletracks in downtown Silver Spring to provide 1.5 miles of continuous protected pathways for cyclists to the Paul Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center.

Community supporters, bicycle advocates, staff, and the press gathered to listen to the following speakers as they honored this achievement: County Executive Marc Elrich; County Councilmember Tom Hucker; County Councilmember Hans Riemer, Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board Casey Anderson, Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s Peter Gray, and Silver Spring Regional Services Center Director Reemberto Rodriguez.

Roshdieh opened the event by emphasizing that providing high-quality transportation options to enhance biking, walking and transit benefits everyone. Roshdieh explained, “Giving people more ways to get around means that there is less reliance on single occupancy vehicles, which benefits all travelers, including drivers. When MCDOT adapts our rights-of-way to accommodate all users, we are doing so with an eye towards our Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths. And when it comes to biking, we know that separated bike lanes improve safety and make biking better for people of all skill levels and all ages.” 

A main feature of the intersection at Spring Street and Second Avenue is the corner islands that force drivers to slow when turning, providing improved visibility. The islands also reduce crossing distances from one side of the street to the other.  The project includes Maryland’s first dedicated bicycle traffic signal at the intersection of Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue to provide indication of an uninterrupted crossing for cyclists. Further reducing cycletrack interruptions, three floating bus stops allow buses to pick up and discharge riders in areas physically separated from the main cycletrack. A nearby digital “bikeometer” displays a live count of cyclists and scooters passing the location each day and a cumulative count of bicycle traffic during the year. Stantec acted as the design engineering consultant supporting this project for MCDOT.

In addition to an event marking important safety improvements and expanding accessibility for all on our streets, Monday was particularly poignant for MCDOT, as it is likely Director Roshdieh’s last public event before his planned retirement from the County at the end of October. As such, Roshdieh took the opportunity to acknowledge his staff and the years of dedication to innovation and creativity to make projects like this one come to fruition.  

“I am so proud of the creativity shown by MCDOT staff. I especially want to recognize Matt Johnson, who oversaw this project, and the entire team from our Division of Transportation Engineering,” said Roshdieh. “[they] are already busy working on creating future protected intersections at Bethesda and Woodmont avenues in Bethesda and Cameron and Fenton streets in Silver Spring. I want to recognize everyone in MCDOT for their outstanding commitment to our vision – a vision we created during my first year as Director to create a seamless transportation system for people of all ages, incomes and abilities that supports a vibrant and sustainable community. We have the best team in the County – a group of truly dedicated professionals who do their utmost to serve the public every day. They have risen to every challenge I have made to them to change the culture and thinking of our department – and truly bring us into the 21st century. I could not be prouder of them and their accomplishments – and I could not be prouder of having been a part of this organization for more than 30 years.” 

Read the press release and learn more about the project.

Additional photos of the event are available on the County’s flickr stream.

Release ID: 19-168
Media Contact: Neil Greenberger 240-777-6532