Electric Bikes, Scooters May Soon Be Allowed On Some Park Trails

SILVER SPRING, MD — Electric scooters and bicycles may soon be allowed on certain Montgomery County trails.

Montgomery Parks is pushing for the change and will be presenting a park directive to the county's planning board on May 9, the agency said Wednesday.

"E-bikes and e-scooters are here, so we need to learn more about how they can be used on park trails in a way that is safe for all trail users," said Michael Riley, director of Montgomery Parks. "This pilot program will enable us to observe their use, collect data and public input, and determine our next steps."

In an April 29 memo to the county's planning board, Montgomery Parks said it wanted to launch a six-month pilot program that would allow electric bicycle and electric scooter users on certain hard-surface trails.

If approved, the pilot program will launch on June 1, 2019 and have two phases.

"Starting June 1, Phase 1 will allow for the use of personally owned e-bikes and e-scooters of certain types on certain hard-surface trails," Montgomery Parks officials wrote in the memo. "Phase 2 will commence as soon as Parks has entered into contractual agreements with vendors to allow commercial e-scooters and e-bikes on the same hard-surface trails."

Montgomery Parks isn't the only agency in the county looking to launch a dockless e-bike/e-scooter program. For the past year, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation has been working to launch its own pilot program that would expand dockless e-bikes and e-scooters in the region.

In the memo, Montgomery Parks said it wants to tailor it's pilot program to run in tandem with that of the county.

"It is Parks' intention to tailor the Phase 2 portion of Parks' pilot to match that of the County as much as possible, and it is anticipated that Parks will enter into an arrangement with the same vendors as the County," Montgomery Parks said. "Parks also may request a six-month or similar extension to continue to evaluate the Pilot. As much as possible, Parks' program will run in tandem with MCDOT's. As an example, Parks' extension might match the termination date of MCDOT's pilot."

The date of MCDOT's launch is still being finalized. However, the plan is to unveil the program this month.

The following hiker-biker trails are proposed for Montgomery Parks' pilot program:

• Rock Creek Trail – hard surface
• Sligo Creek Trail (within Montgomery County, not into Prince Georges) – hard surface
• Matthew Henson Trail – hard surface
• Long Branch Trail – hard surface
• Northwest Branch Trail Paved Sections (within Montgomery County, not into Prince George's) – hard surface

If Montgomery Parks' directive is approved, riders will be notified of the rule change. Officials said signs will be posted throughout the park system no later than two weeks prior to the program's effective date.

Residents may submit questions and comments about the proposed pilot program to the Planning Board via email, fax, or mail. Emails should be sent to MCP-Chair@mncppc-mc.org; and faxes should be sent to Chair Casey Anderson at 301-495-1320. Letters should be sent here:

Casey Anderson, Chair, Montgomery County Planning Board
8787 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20910