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Consultants present Uptown–Downtown shared-pathway feasibility study funded by MDOT bikeways grant
Summary
Consultants presented a schematic feasibility study proposing a shared-use pathway linking MD 155/Lehi Road through Chapel Road, Lewis Lane, across US 40 to Revolution Street; study includes proposed alignments, corridor-level bicycle stress mapping, segment cost estimates and a separate rail-spur evaluation.
The Planning Commission received a presentation on a feasibility study for an Uptown–Downtown shared pathway during a workshop session on April 16.
Diane Clare summarized the work prepared by Mead & Hunt and Wood Valley Community Strategies under an MDOT bikeways grant. The study proposes an alignment beginning near MD 155/Lehi Road, traveling along Chapel Road through the Bayview neighborhood, connecting to Lewis Lane and crossing US 40 to Revolution Street downtown. Clare described corridor-level analyses, bicycle level-of-stress mapping, conceptual plan sheets and cost estimates by segment and said the report includes a separate evaluation of the Norfolk Southern rail spur as a potential long-term connection.
Clare emphasized the work is conceptual and not at 30% design: "It is not even at 30% design; it's schematic," she said. Commissioners asked about the ownership and status of the rail spur and potential abandonment; Clare said she did not know the railroad’s plans but that the spur evaluation helped secure the grant. The study is expected to be posted online within a week and staff said the cost estimates can be used internally to evaluate priority segments and near-term projects.
