It's a very good question, but unfortunately we know the answer.

An observer might reasonably assume that the current routing is designed to maximize dangerous interactions with vehicles.

Routing through the B&O station parking lot, along Burlington (multiple curb cuts) and through a busy intersection, then across the entrance to the public storage building...

If we were going to do this without the tunnel, it would have made much more sense to put in dedicated lanes on Philadelphia/Richmond, potentially connecting with the future Fenton St bikeway.

The current plan without a tunnel adds an elevation gain of about 20 feet on both Burlington and Selim.

The original plan was for the MBT to continue along Selim (still happening) to a tunnel under Burlington connecting with the existing shared-use path on King St.

Bids for the tunnel came in higher than expected (unclear to me how much), so MCDOT now says the tunnel is permanently cancelled.

@mcdotnow.bsky.social told me that the connection will be along five-foot sidewalks on Burlington and Fenton. It will also require navigating the awful intersection of those two streets.

That intersection will be redone at some point but I don't think they've incorporated MBT facilities into plans.

I ask MoCo CE candidates (@andrewfriedson.bsky.social, @evanmglass.bsky.social, @willjawando.bsky.social), at-large CMs (@cmalbornoz.bsky.social and Sayles), and @cmkatestewart.bsky.social:

What will you do to get MCDOT to provide safe pedestrian and bike facilities to DTSS and the rest of MoCo?

MCDOT won't install stop signs at dangerous intersections. MCDOT won't complete badly needed pedestrian improvements in ESS for many years. MCDOT simply will not complete the MBT connection in Downtown Silver Spring.

@mcdotnow.bsky.social needs real reform. Who will bring us the needed changes?

Today I verified that after well over a decade of waiting for this stretch of bike path to be completed, MCDOT has decided not to complete the path. Instead, MBT users will be directed down a 5'-wide sidewalk along Burlington, across a busy intersection, and onto the sidewalk along Fenton.

Not far from me, there is a 0.6-mile gap in the MBT between a shared-use path (extending from Takoma Park paths near Montgomery College) and an existing path by the Silver Spring Metro.

MCDOT planned to fill this in 15 years ago. Every few years, they delayed the anticipated completion date.

I have written at length about the need for sidewalks on Grove St. After discussions extended over a decade, MCDOT finally put in walking lanes in 2021. These have been incredibly helpful for the many students who walk to school here.

More than 5 years later, MCDOT still hasn't made them permanent.

Yes, there's a daycare on this block, and children routinely cross here and elsewhere on Sligo to walk to and from East Silver Spring ES and Takoma Park MS. Many students also use Grove St to walk to SCES and SSIMS.

But MCDOT's position is that streets designed for speeding aren't a design problem.

MCDOT lowered the speed limit on Sligo from 30 to 20 mph, then raised it back to 25 mph. There has been a lack of enforcement across all speed limits.

At one point MCDOT put up an electronic sign asking drivers not to hit pedestrians in crosswalks, but again: no enforcement.

@evanmglass.bsky.social @willjawando.bsky.social and @andrewfriedson.bsky.social want to lead Montgomery County but I have heard nothing from them about how they will reform MCDOT to start installing real safety improvements for pedestrians and bikers.

Do nothing, and we'll keep seeing more deaths.

Under the leadership of @mcgexec.bsky.social, MCDOT has continued the ossified approach of prioritizing traffic speeds, making all road users less safe.

I need Montgomery County CMs (including @cmkatestewart.bsky.social and
@evanmglass.bsky.social) to push for real reforms to stop killing kids.

We know that it's killing pedestrians and bikers because kids have been killed at Montgomery County intersections only to have MCDOT refuse to put in basic safety infrastructure.

At this intersection, it took two child fatalities to get MCDOT to install a stop sign (gift link): wapo.st/4qubQmi