MCDOT Wins Grant from Transportation Planning Board to Make Safety Improvements for Blind and Low-Vision Pedestrians and Transit Riders

For Immediate Release: Friday, April 17, 2020

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has been awarded $80,000 in technical assistance by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board (TPB) as a part of its Transportation Land-Use Connections Program for Fiscal Year 2021. The grant will go to MCDOT’s “Visually Impaired Urban Navigation Study and Pilot Design” project to examine technology and design tools to support visually impaired people who are navigating urban environments.

The project will make recommendations on how to support safe navigation by blind and low-vision pedestrians to and from transit in dense urban areas. Consultants will design a pilot program focused on Downtown Silver Spring.

“As the local transportation landscape changes to accommodate separated bike lanes, floating bus stops, scooters and more, it is critical that our transportation planners and engineers understand and incorporate the best tools available to help people who are navigating these new features,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “MCDOT recently led efforts to support the blind and low-vision community during construction around the Silver Spring Transit Center. A key takeaway from that effort is that more must be done to support people with visual impairments to safely and independently navigate our streets and sidewalks.”

The project aims to strengthen the County’s Vision Zero program, which seeks to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities by 2030.

“The blind and low-vision population in Montgomery County is sizable, and the number of people with visual impairments is projected to increase as our senior population grows in line with national trends,” said County Vision Zero Coordinator Wade Holland. “These efforts directly support Montgomery County’s commitment to Vision Zero and the importance of protecting all pedestrians.” 

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, there are more than 15,000 adult residents in Montgomery County who have vision difficulty. The survey estimates that 42 percent of those people are living at poverty level and an additional 24 percent are living below poverty level. People living with disabilities in the County often rely upon transit to access jobs, so it is essential that they have a safe way to get to and from transit. 

County Executive Marc Elrich, County Council President Sidney Katz, the County Planning Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the County Commission on People with Disabilities and the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind all provided support encouraging TPB to select MCDOT’s project.

TPB will work with MCDOT to develop a request for proposals for the project, with the goal of beginning the study and subsequent design in Fall 2020.

While the pilot design will focus on Downtown Silver Spring, outcomes of the study should be applicable across Montgomery County and the Metropolitan Washington Region.

Release ID: 20-080
Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389