Maryland Awards Over $16M In Grants To Bicycle & Pedestrian Projects

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Governor Larry Hogan on Monday announced $16.8 million in grants for bicycle, pedestrian and trail projects across Maryland. The grants are going to 42 projects.

Hogan said the funding will help maintain and enhance trails after an increase in Marylanders spending time outside on trails and bikes during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Over the last year and a half, more and more Marylanders have been walking, riding bikes, and using trails for transportation, recreation, and exercise," said Governor Larry Hogan. "These grants, made possible through the federal and state programs, are helping us enhance quality of life and provide additional safe bike and pedestrian opportunities."

The grants were made possible by both state and federal funding. The package has $12.4 million from the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, $1 million from the Recreational Trails Program, and $3.4 million in state funding through the Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program by the Maryland Department of Transportation.

The grants from the Transportation Alternatives Program are for on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, environmental mitigation efforts, and projects that are part of the Safe Routes to School initiative. The awards include:

• $1.8 million to the National Park Service to rehabilitate 18 miles of the C&O Canal towpath in Allegany County;
• $1.8 million to retrofit stormwater outfall and construct a stream valley restoration project along approximately 7,400 feet of Glebe Branch in the Anne Arundel County's South River watershed;
• $1.5 million to construct a multi-use trail at the Greenbelt Metro Station in Prince George's County that will connect neighborhoods and provide safe pedestrian and bicycle connection to commercial properties, regional parks, and the existing trail network, including Indian Creek Trail and Lake Artemisia;
• $597,024 to design 8.9 miles of on-street bikeways and pedestrian crossing improvements on 15 streets in Salisbury; and
• $160,000 to complete design of connectivity upgrades to Beach Elementary School in Calvert County, including sidewalk connections along MD 261 from Old Bayside Road to Chesapeake Village Boulevard and along Old Bayside Road from MD 261 to F Street in Chesapeake Beach.

The Recreational Trails Program funded these projects:

• $120,000 to construct a .75-mile multiuse crushed stone trail at Washington County Regional Park in Washington County;
• $83,491 to construct 2,800 feet of the new Cox Creek Community Trail in the Cox Creek Forested Conservation Easement Area in Anne Arundel County;
• $63,500 to construct a two-mile natural surface trail connecting the Hollofield area of Patapsco Valley State Park to Sylvan Lane in Ellicott City, Howard County, including a trailhead kiosk and trail markers; and
• $55,860 to restore 2,095 feet of trail between the Catoctin Furnace ruins and the Manor Area of Cunningham Falls State Park in Frederick County.

The Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program by the Maryland Department of Transportation awarded funding to these projects:

• $326,000 to construct key connections in the bicycle networks of Baltimore City;
• $224,000 to design an extension and widening of Poplar Trail in the Annapolis area of Anne Arundel County;
• $120,000 to evaluate shared-use paths in Baltimore County between the Torrey C. Brown (Northern Central Railroad) Trail and the Jones Falls Trail;
• $100,000 for bike lanes and traffic calming measures along West Road in Salisbury;
• $80,625 to install bike racks on Prince George's County transit vehicles;
• $54,080 for bicycle and shared scooter parking hubs in College Park;
• $1,472 for bike repair stations along with the Ma & Pa Trail in Harford County; and
• Various amounts to study and design bicycle connections in Anne Arundel County, Montgomery County, the Town of Luke in Allegany County, the City of Frederick in Frederick County, and the Town of LaPlata in Charles County;

"Bicycle and pedestrian facilities are key components of Maryland's broad, multimodal transportation strategy," MDOT Secretary Greg Slater said. "Through these state and federal grant programs, we're delivering projects that preserve and enhance Maryland's cultural, historical, and environmental attributes and make them safe and accessible for everyone."