The Transportation Engineering Division of the county’s Department of Transportation is installing a protected intersection, the third in Montgomery County, at the corner of Fenton St. & Cameron St. in downtown Silver Spring.
The project is part of the county’s Cameron Street to Planning Place Bikeway project, which originally began in May. Work was delayed due to some unrelated utility work but has now resumed, according to a thread posted on the department’s Twitter account.
The Cameron Street to Planning Place Bikeway project “will connect the north end of Fenton Street (at Cameron Street) to the existing “Purple Pathway” located outside the Planning Department office and will link through that site to Spring Street and Woodland Drive,” according to the project’s website. “The facility will be a two-way bikeway (also known as a cycletrack) which will run along one side of the Garage 2 exit roadway and through an unused alley behind the [DoubleTree] Hotel.”
The county’s first protected intersection was installed at Second Ave. & Spring St. in 2019. “Realizing movement of people through all various modes of transportation is important in an intersection, and this one here is pretty cool,” County Executive Marc Elrich said at the intersection’s dedication.
According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, protected intersections “have been implemented across North America as cities have expanded their protected bikeway networks. Also known as setback or offset intersections, this design keeps bicycles physically separate from motor vehicles up until the intersection, providing a high degree of comfort and safety for people of all ages and abilities. This design can reduce the likelihood of highspeed vehicle turns, improve sightlines, and dramatically reduce the distance and time during which people on bikes are exposed to conflicts.”
In addition to the protected intersection, two High-Intensity Activated Crosswalks, also known as HAWK beacons, were recently installed along Fenton St.
Photo: MCDOT Division of Transportation Engineering/Twitter
Work has resumed on the County’s 3rd protected intersection, located at Fenton and Cameron in downtown Silver Spring. pic.twitter.com/sZPZspaRM1
— MCDOT Division of Transportation Engineering (@MoCo_DTE) November 4, 2021