Countywide Park Trails Plan Update 2008
The 2008 Countywide Park Trails Plan (pdf, 3MB) provides background materials, describes the planning
processes and outlines a plan for the development of Countywide Park
Trails in Montgomery County, Maryland. It contains materials on natural
and hard surface trail corridors and planning, needs assessments and
implementation strategies.
Park trail planning in Montgomery County has a long tradition beginning in the 1930's with the planning and development of Rock Creek and Sligo Creek stream valley parks. Over the years, trail planning has continued as master plans for different parts of the county and different parks have been completed.
A "Planning Guide to Trails" was done in 1991 but focused primarily on trails within county parks and left the issue of connecting to trails and bikeways outside the park system largely un-addressed. A Staff Draft Update to this Guide was distributed in 1995 but the Update was never finalized.
The absence of an updated countywide concept for Trails has made it difficult to understand how a particular trail proposal relates to an overall county system and has made prioritizing funding for trails difficult. In the summer of 1996, the Montgomery County Planning Board recognized the need to comprehensively examine all these planning efforts and establish from them an integrated, countywide vision for park trails. The Planning Board directed staff to prepare a plan of trails of countywide significance. This Plan is the result of that directive from the Planning Board.
The first edition of the Countywide Park Trails Plan (CWPTP) was adopted in 1998. The Plan proposed a 250-mile inter-connected system of hard surface and natural surface trails of countywide significance. Since 1998, many amendments to the Plan have been adopted as part of more detailed Park and Community Master Plans. The latest edition of the Countywide Park Trails Plan reflects these amendments as of September 2008.
Although the Plan focuses on trails within the more than 25,000 acres of parkland owned by The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), some trails in parkland owned by Federal, State, and Municipal agencies have also been included. The Plan also addresses the importance of facilities such as bike paths that are located outside of parkland but provide safe, attractive access to park trails.
The Plan
2008 Countywide Park Trails Plan (pdf, 3MB)
Table of Contents
Part 1
Introduction 3
Plan Concepts 11
Natural Surface Trail Plan 13
Hard Surface Trail Plan 14
Non-park Trail Connectors 17
Trail Recommendations by Corridor 19
Bikeways and Other Non-Park Trail Connectors 45
Part 2
Trail Planning and Implementation Process 49
Trail Planning and Implementation Priorities 55
Appendices
Appendix A -
Balancing Recreational, Transportation, and Environmental Concerns 63
Appendix B -
Hard Surface Trail Planning Guidelines, Facility Planning 67-68
Appendix C -
Sensitivity to Significant Environmental Features 69 - 74
Appendix D -
Natural Surface Trail Planning Guidelines,
Park Accessibility Goals and Objectives for Disabled Individuals 75 -78
Figures and Tables
Part 1
Figure 01: Plan Process 5
Figure 02: Regional Trails MapFigure 03: Regional /Recreation Park Destinations 8
Figure 03: Regional /Recreation Park Destinations 9
Figure 04: Countywide Trail Corridors 10
Figure 05: Natural Surface Trail Plan Connectivity to Potomac & Patuxent Rivers 15
Figure 06: Hard Surface Trail Plan: Interconnected Upcounty & Downcounty Trails 16
Figure 07: Corridor 1: Patuxent River 21
Figure 08 - Corridor 2: Seneca Greenway Corridor 23
Figure 09 - Corridor 3: Rachel Carson Greenway 26
Figure10 -Corridor 4: C&O Canal Corridor 29
Figure 11 -Corridor 5: Rock Creek Corridor. 32
Figure 12 - Corridor 6: Capital Crescent Corridor 34
Figure 13 - Corridor 7: Eastern County 36
Figure 14: Rock Creek –Sligo Creek Hard Surface Trail Connections 40
Figure 15.- Corridor : Upcounty 42
Part 2
Figure 16 - I-270 Corridor Bikeway Concept 44
Figure 17 - Hard Surface & Bikeways and Non-Park Connectors 48
Figure 18 - Trail Planning & Implementation Process 50
Figure 19 - Trails Work Program 58
Appendices
Figure A.1: Park Trail User Survey 65
Figure B.1: Hard Surface Trails Planning Process 66
Figure B.2: Expansion of Park Boundaries to Include Less Sensitive Areas for Trail Location 68
Figure C.1: Example of New Trail Corridor to Avoid Sensitive Features 70
Figure C.2: How a Bike path Along a Road Can Be Located in a Park Setting 70
Figure C.3: Using Disturbed Area in a Stream Valley for a Hard Surface Trail 71
Figure D.1: Natural Surface Trail Planning Process 74
Tables
Table 1.1: General Plan Refinement of the Goals, Objectives & Strategies Related to Trails 7
Table 1.2: Park Acreage 11
Table 1.3: Trail Corridors and Related Plan Objectives 12
Table 2.1: Trail Corridor Planning Process 52
Table 2.2: Miles of Trails Needed to Implement the Countywide Park Trails Plan 56
Table 2.3: Trail Priority Criteria 59
Table 2.4: Priorities for Safety Improvements at High Traffic Volume Trail-Road Intersections 60
Table 2.5: Plan Implementation Recommendation 61
The Plan Process
TIMING |
STEP |
|---|---|
| September 2008 |
Planning Board Approval - 2008 Countywide Park Trails Plan (pdf, 3MB) |
| March 2004 |
Planning Board Approval - Ammendment Update Approved by the Planning Board |
January
2003 |
Public Hearing Draft Amendment to the Countywide Park Trails Plan: The Trail Corridor Planning Process |
July 1998 |
Planning Board Approval - 1998 Countywide Park Trails Plan (pdf) |
Feb-July
1998 |
Planning Board Worksessions |
|
January 1998 |
Planning Board Public Hearing |
December 1997 |
Public Hearing Draft Plan |
September 1997 |
Staff Draft Plan |
Contact
Charles S. Kines
301-495-2184
Charles.Kines@montgomeryparks.org
Date of last update: August 19, 2011
Montgomery County Department of Parks