Some say Montgomery County is not ready for Bikeshare

Jamie Forzato, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – The Capital Bikeshare is expected to expand to Montgomery County next year but some are calling for changes to be made in the county infrastructure before that can happen.

Even though biking has become more popular, there are only a few dedicated bike lanes in the county, forcing cyclists to ride on busy roads or sidewalks.

This week, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Montgomery Bicycle Advocates presented a list of projects to the county designed to make biking safer. The report recommends adding bike lanes on major roads inside the Beltway like Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring and Arlington Road in Bethesda. It also identifies trails that need to be completed, like the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Silver Spring Green Trail.

The county plans to install the first stations sometime this spring so the advocacy groups say these improvements need to be made before the program kicks off in 2013.

County Spokesperson Esther Bowring told the Silver Spring Patch that safety is a priority and the requests will be put on a waiting list for future consideration.

Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up