Potomac-area cyclists who commute on River Road and Bradley Boulevard won't find relief in Montgomery County's 23 active bike-lane projects. None of the segments under construction or in design touch those corridors, according to a report by Montgomery Community Media published Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The county is building bike lanes and trails in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton, with 20 additional projects that would add nearly 18 miles of pathways. But advocates say the piecemeal approach leaves Potomac's most dangerous stretches unaddressed.

"You might have a 5-mile commute, maybe 4 miles of it has safe bike lanes, 1 mile doesn't," said Max Silverstone, a Washington Area Bicyclist Association member who bikes five or six days a week from Rockville to Potomac. "Because of that 1 mile, you're just going to leave your bike at home and drive."

Silverstone's route illustrates the problem. Rockville, an incorporated city rated bronze by the League of American Bicyclists, built its own sidepath along Falls Road. Once Silverstone crosses into county territory heading toward Potomac, the path ends. His choices: ride Falls Road, which he called "very unpleasant," or detour two miles through neighborhood streets to gain one mile of progress.

A $25.7 million project, indefinitely delayed

Bradley Boulevard does have a capital project on the books. Project P501733, a $25.7 million bikeway improvement, traces back to a 2005 county bikeways plan. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2026 and finish in fiscal year 2027.

That timeline is gone.

A February 2024 Planning Board review of the county executive's recommended FY25 capital budget found that $17.3 million for the project was proposed for delay beyond the six-year Capital Improvements Program. The county's current capital budget page, last modified May 7, shows $24.73 million pushed beyond the FY27–FY32 window. Construction won't begin before fiscal year 2033 at the earliest.

The county's own 2018 Bicycle Master Plan designates Bradley Boulevard a "Bikeway Priority" street, defined as connecting major destinations where no low-stress alternative exists within three blocks.

River Road's status is less clear. It is not among the 23 active projects, and no dedicated capital project for a River Road bikeway appeared in county budget documents reviewed for this story.

County cites funding, jurisdiction

MCDOT spokesperson Matt Johnson said the county's bike projects come from multiple sources: the 2018 Bicycle Master Plan, regional trail agreements, resident requests and gap-filling projects. All move through the annual capital budget process. Asked why individual segments don't connect into full routes, Johnson pointed to jurisdiction and funding constraints rather than design choices, according to the Montgomery Community Media report.

Peter Gray, a WABA staff organizer who has spent a decade helping shape the county's bike infrastructure policy, said the 23 projects are each a separate stretch on a separate road, ranging from a quarter mile in Bethesda to just over a mile in Wheaton. They don't form a network. Gray told Montgomery Community Media that without complete routes, riders will decide the infrastructure is too dangerous and keep driving.

Bruce Sawtelle, owner of Takoma Bicycle, said customers ask him most often about East-West Highway, River Road and Bradley Boulevard as corridors lacking safe infrastructure.

What's next

As we reported Aug. 12, the county's broader expansion includes a MacArthur Boulevard bikeway among its planned projects. MCDOT's FY27 Vision Zero Work Plan lists 13 bikeways under construction and 11 in design countywide.

The Montgomery County Planning Board is on recess in August. The County Council has public hearings scheduled for Sept. 15 and Sept. 22, though the specific agenda topics have not been confirmed as transportation-related. Residents can track capital project updates at the county's online budget portal.