WABA has released an alert calling upon all of us who support better bicycling facilities in Montgomery County to act now. The alert follows – I’ve highlighted the comments on the MetBranch Trail in bold. Go to the WABA action center to act.
Bike Programs Cut in Montgomery County…Again!
Montgomery County’s proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget for FY 2011-2016 again cuts key bikeway projects and programs. While reductions can certainly be expected during tough economic times, on a percentage basis the cuts to bicycle and pedestrian projects have far exceeded cuts to the general transportation budget. We need cyclists to speak up and tell the Council to make bicycling and walking a priority.
Bikeway spending has already been cut by 35% this year. Now the FY 2011-2016 Capital Improvement Plan proposed by County Executive Leggett would continue those cuts and slow expansion of the bikeway network from an already anemic pace to a literal standstill. According to the Montgomery County Planning Board, which has recommended restoring funding for bike projects, it will take 40 years at the current rate of funding to complete the Countywide Bikeways Functional Master Plan.
Budget Lowlights
• Dedicated bikeway maintenance funds have been largely eliminated.
• Funding remains at risk for the county’s Annual Bikeway Program, a modest but very cost-effective program that funds many small projects and design studies each year. The program was cut back 20% this year but must be increased.
• Construction of the first phase of MacArthur Boulevard bikeway, scheduled to begin this year, has been delayed by two years.
• The Metropolitan Branch Trail, the most critical bikeway project in the County if not the region, has been delayed yet again. In the proposed budget, design work that was started in 2006 and suspended in 2008 would not resume until 2013! In the meantime, we expect that the section of the trail in the Silver Spring Transit Center will be completed, leaving a large gap in the trail between Montgomery College and Silver Spring.
For WABA’s full comments on the budget click here.
It’s long past time for Montgomery County to put its money where its mouth is. It is no longer acceptable to just talk about how important bicycling is for the citizens of the County, while approving disproportionate cuts in the budget for bike projects. If the County is truly serious about making bicycling a viable transportation mode, and in expanding recreation access, it’s time to fund the projects and programs that will actually make it easier and safer for people to bike.
What You Can Do?
WABA urges you to contact the Montgomery County Council TODAY and express your outrage that bike projects continue to bear the brunt of transportation cuts. Please visit WABA’s action center and send an email to the County Council to express the importance of funding bike projects.