Politics & Government
Montco Receives $30K Grant for County Bicycle Mobility Plan
"Bike Montco" will aim to create more bikeable connections to trails, parks, downtowns, retail centers, and schools,
Montgomery County has received a $30,000 grant Delaware Valley Regional PlanningCommission (DVRPC) to help develop a new "bicycle mobility plan" across the county, they announced Thursday.
The plan aims to improve bicycle and pedestrian access and to empower those forms of transportation between and within towns around the county.
"Bike Montco" will be implemented alongside smart growth initiatives for the greater Philadelphia area and the Montco 2040 plan.
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The county said that they have been supporting improved bicycling opportunities through trail development, new development site planning, and assistance to municipalities in preparing bicycle and trail plans.
“We want to make biking safer and easier for more people around the county. This plan will propose
more bikeable connections to trails, parks, downtowns, retail centers, and schools,” Jody L.
Holton, AICP, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, said in a press release.
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Officials say the new plan will look at existing conditions, including the location of bicycle lanes and trails, bicycle accident history, and bicycle traffic counts, and will include the creation Regional Bicycle Planning Level of Transportation Stress map.
The focus will be on four specific types of biking:
- Safe bicycle routes to parks and trails
- Bicycle mobility in towns
- Biking to public transit
- Biking near colleges and high schools
2040: A Shared Vision," Val Arkoosh, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and Chair of the DVRPC, said. "That goal involves improving bicycle access to provide more transportation choices, improve health, and create better community connections to make the county more appealing for young workers and to improve the environment by reducing vehicle miles traveled."
Bicycle mobility design recommendations will address bicycle lanes, trail standards, bike friendly roadway design, bicycle storage facilities/destination amenities, bicycle signage, and street crossing design. The plan will also focus on county bicycle policy and will highlight implementation opportunities and funding, officials said.
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