About 40 local planners from across the region gathered on December 8 to share innovative bicycle and pedestrian planning ideas and experiences learned through technical assistance projects funded by the TPB’s Transportation/Land Use Connections (TLC) program.
The event, "Fill in the Gaps: Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects Across the Region," featured six guest speakers, all of whom highlighted projects that aimed to fill in gaps in the region's bicycle and pedestrian networks.
Most of the projects had previously received planning or design funding under the TLC program, which the TPB created in 2006 to help local jurisdictions integrate transportation and land-use planning. TLC now also incorporates federal support through the Transportation Alternatives Program and works on special projects with other local and regional partners.
An essential part of the TLC program is the Regional Peer Exchange Network, which aims to promote and facilitate the sharing of key information, best practices, and innovative ideas from completed TLC projects.
Here are a few highlights from the December 8 "Fill in the Gaps" TLC Peer Exchange Network event:
David Goodman from Arlington County discussed the county’s low-stress bike route mapping. The effort is helping planners identify key projects to create seamless, low-stress bike networks in the county.
Adam Lind from Fairfax County talked about lessons learned in bringing Capital Bikeshare to Reston.
Jamie Carrington from WMATA talked about improving bike and pedestrian access to Metro stations. The transit agency looked at these connections as a cost-effective way to connect communities and boost revenue through increased ridership.
Lucy Neher, the Safe Routes to Schools coordinator for Takoma Park, Maryland, talked about how to encourage kids and their parents to bike and walk to school. Thanks to TLC, Takoma Park was able to carry out a study to identify places that need better sidewalks and safer pedestrian crossings.
Steve Findley from Montgomery County shared the county's plan for a loop trail at the Life Sciences Center. With help from TLC, the county was able to develop detailed design guidelines for the new trail that could be incorporated into plans for the area.
Will Handsfield from the Georgetown Business Improvement District talked about the BID's efforts to make Georgetown a bicycle-friendly destination. In particular, he highlighted a project to improve the Capital Crescent-Rock Creek Park trail connection. The BID partnered with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to apply for a TLC grant to study how to make this connection more bicycle-friendly.
MORE: See all the presentations from the "Fill in the Gaps" TLCPeerX event
