County talks ICC hiking, biking trails. Residents invited to offer suggestions at next meeting on April 2.

As construction begins on the Intercounty Connector, county planners are seeking suggestions from the community on how to construct an 18-mile hiking and biking trail that would run parallel to the highway.

Chuck Kines, bikeways coordinator for county Park and Planning, said the trail has long been identified in county plans as part of the ICC, the 18-mile toll road that will eventually connect Interstate 270 in Gaithersburg to Interstate 95 in Laurel at a cost of $2.4 billion.

The first of two meetings, held in Burtonsville on March 19, drew a small group of residents who wanted to know how the proposed hiker-biker path would accommodate equestrians and mountain bike enthusiasts.

The second meeting is scheduled for April 2 at Park and Planning's Shady Grove Maintenance Facility in Derwood.

Kines said when the State Highway Administration published its final Intercounty Connector plan in May 2006, it recommended 7 miles of the trail be built as part of the highway. That decision also included a bicycle and pedestrian plan, identifying a route for the trail's remaining 11 miles along parallel roads.

In January 2007, Park and Planning staff briefed the county Planning Board on a proposed implementation strategy, which provided a rough analysis of bikeway and trail issues, he said.

The Planning Board then approved a Purpose and Outreach Strategy for the trail in October, kicking off a study meant to determine ways to connect existing and planned county bikeways and sidewalks to bicycle transportation hubs, such as the Shady Grove Metro station, Kines said.

Seven miles of the route will be a hard-surface trail built by the state in the highway's right-of-way. The remaining 11 miles will either follow existing roads or run parallel to the highway within parkland, while avoiding environmentally sensitive areas, Kines said.

The challenge, he said, is trying to fill in the gaps while accommodating all types of users.

Kines said planners and representatives from several county agencies are working to develop a comprehensive bikeway plan amendment to address those issues. The study will result in an amendment to two county plans, the 2005 Countywide Bikeways Functional Master Plan and the 1998 Countywide Park Trails Plan.

He said Park and Planning hopes to present its preliminary recommendations to the Planning Board in May. From there, the board will hold a public hearing on the draft in June and then transmit its comments to the County Council in July.

Kines said eight county residents attended the Burtonsville meeting and brought up some unique points, such as whether the state would allow for a natural-surface trail to be built within the right- of-way after the ICC is built.

He said they also wanted to know if the construction access roads could be converted into trails for mountain bikers and equestrians to use after the ICC is built. Those routes are made of gravel.

But Kines said doing so would be difficult because the state's plans call for restoring those roads after the highway is completed.

If you go

Park and Planning will hold a public information meeting on the Intercounty Connector Bicycle Route 7-9:00 p.m. on April 2 at:
Park and Planning's Shady Grove Maintenance Facility
16641 Crabbs Branch Way
Derwood, MD.