by Geoff Fox
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced last Tuesday, September 8, that it has approved $11.3 million in grants for 24 bicycle, pedestrian, and trail projects across the state.
Those investments would help state and local partners advance the Moore-Miller Administration’s goals to improve safety for people of all ages and abilities, boost economic development and create a more connected and accessible transportation system across Maryland, state officials said.
“With these newly funded bicycle, pedestrian and trail projects, Marylanders will have more options to commute, exercise and get to school safely and efficiently,” MDOT Secretary Katie Thompson said.
Creating new paths and linking others together are key components of the state’s transportation future and the investment shows the dedication to expanding the state-wide trail network, enhancing sustainability and providing those who walk, bike and roll with greater choices, she added.
Fiscal Year 2027 grants include $9.3 million in federal funding for 12 projects through the Transportation Alternatives Program and Recreational Trails Program and $2 million in state funding for 12 projects through MDOT’s Lamphier Bikeways Network Program.
The Transportation Alternatives Program and Recreational Trails Program are federally funded grant programs for community projects designed to support bike and pedestrian infrastructure,
The State Highway administration worked with partner organizations to review and select projects.
This year’s awards include $2.8 million through the Recreational Trails Program to six projects:
–trail bridge replacements in State forests in Allegany and Garrett counties
–boardwalk and trail rehabilitation in the city of Loch Lynn Heights in Garrett County and Kent and Montgomery counties
–new singletrack trails in Rocky Gap State Park.
There’s also $6.5 million headed to six projects through the Transportation Alternatives program:
–Safe Routes to School infrastructure improvements in the Williamsport and Smithsburg
— repair and rehabilitation of a 20-mile stretch of the C&O Canal towpath in Montgomery and Washington counties
–new active transportation facilities in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel and Montgomery counites.
The canal towpath work would include 11.62 miles in Montgomery County and 8.34 miles here in Washington County.
The work in Washington County is part of National Park Service’s 10-part resurfacing project, which is right now in the Hancock to Paw Paw Tunnel stage and still has the Lock 42 to McCoy’s Ferry to complete.
According to Media Relations Manager for the MDOT SHA David Broughton, the Montgomery and Washington counties part of the money is for the final two sections of the towpath that have not yet been rehabilitated in previous phases of the ongoing project.
In Washington County, that runs from the 116-mile marker near Big Pool to the 125-mile marker in Hancock.
The MDOT Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program was founded in 2011 and provides state funding for planning, design and construction of bicycle transportation infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and shared-use paths.
The $2 million Bikeways grants this year are for seven design projects in the cities of Brunswick, Catonsville, Chestertown, Laurel, North East, Port Deposit, and Snow Hill. These projects support active transportation access to a variety of destinations including parks, schools, trails, senior living communities, historic main streets, and commercial districts; three minor retrofit projects in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties where the projects will establish wayfinding from bike paths to major destinations, improve safety with low-cost enhancements, and expand shared micromobility. Two construction projects in the cities of Edmonston and La Plata will fill missing trail connections and extend a new shared-use path.
Trails and shared-use path projects also support the implantation of the Department’s Maryland State Transportation Trails Strategic Plan by expanding the network for all ages and abilities to walk, bike, and roll safely and comfortably.
