Countywide Park Trails Plan Amendment
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MCPB Item #______ Date: 9/29/16 MEMORANDUM DATE: September 22, 2016 TO: Montgomery County Planning Board VIA: Michael F. Riley, Director of Parks Mitra Pedoeem, Deputy Director, Administration Dr. John E. Hench, Ph.D., Chief, Park Planning and Stewardship Division (PPSD) FROM: Charles S. Kines, AICP, Planner Coordinator (PPSD) Brooke Farquhar, Supervisor (PPSD) SUBJECT: Worksession #3, Countywide Park Trails Plan Amendment Recommended Planning Board Action Review, approve and adopt the plan amendment to be titled 2016 Countywide Park Trails Plan. (Attachment 1) Changes Made Since Public Hearing Draft Attached is the final draft of the plan amendment, including all Planning Board-requested changes from worksessions #1 and #2, as well as all appendices. Please focus your attention on the following pages and issues: 1. Page 34, added language to clarify the addition of the Northwest Branch Trail to the plan, in order to facilitate mountain biking access between US 29 (Colesville Rd) and Wheaton Regional Park. In addition, an errata sheet will be inserted in the Rachel Carson Trail Corridor Plan to reflect this change in policy. 2. Page 48, incorporating Planning Board-approved text from worksession #2, regarding policy for trail user types 3. Appendices 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 15. In addition, all maps now accurately reflect Planning Board direction. Trail Planning Work Program – Remainder of FY 17 Following the approval and adoption of this plan amendment, trail planning staff will perform the following tasks to implement the Plan and address other trail planning topics requested by the Planning Board: 1. Develop program of requirements for the top implementation priority for both natural and hard surface trails. 2. Develop scopes of work for two limited area trail plans: a. Upper Paint Branch Watershed b. Cabin John Watershed 3. Draft a set of operational guidelines for weather-related, environmental, seasonal and/or safety related closures of natural surface trail segments on M-NCPPC parkland. 4. Propose amendments to existing park plans and policy documents for the purpose of converting limited-use natural surface park trails to sanctioned, sustainable multi-use natural surface park trails. It is our goal to bring #2 to the Board by year’s end, followed by #1 by late winter 2017, #3 in early spring 2017, and #4 in late 2017. List of Attachments Attachment 1 - Draft Countywide Park Trails Plan Amendment - Worksession #3 Edition CC: M-NCPPC, Department of Parks John Nissel, Deputy Director - Operations Bill Tyler, Chief, Southern Parks Division Doug Ludwig, Chief, Northern Parks Division Antonio DeVaul, Chief, Park Police, Montgomery County Division Michael Ma, Acting Chief, Park Development Division David Vismara, Chief, Horticulture, Forestry and Environmental Education Division Kristi Williams Chief, Public Affairs and Community Partnerships Division Christy Turnbull, Chief, Enterprise Division Jim Poore, Chief, Facilities Management Division Shuchi Vera, Chief, Management Services Division M-NCPPC, Planning Department Robert Kronenberg, Chief, Area 1 Glenn Kreger, Chief, Area 2 Kip Reynolds, Chief, Area 3 Pam Dunn, Chief, Functional Planning & Policy Division David Anspacher, Functional Planning & Policy Division Montgomery County Department of Transportation Patricia Shepherd, Transportation Engineering Division Attachment 1 2016 Countywide Park Trails Plan Amendment Worksession #3 Edition September 2016 M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks | montgomeryparks.org Park Planning and Stewardship Division | parkplanningandstewardship.org Park and Trail Planning Section | parkplanning.org OUTSIDE FRONT COVER Attachment 1 Document Description T i t l e 2016 Countywide Park Trails Plan Amendment - Worksession #3 Edition A u t h o r M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks | montgomeryparks.org Park Planning and Stewardship Division | parkplanningandstewardship.org Park and Trail Planning Section | parkplanning.org D a t e : S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 Agency: Maryland - National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M - NCPPC) S o u r c e o f C o p i e s Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC)8787 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3760301-495-4568 Number of pages: 93 pages, including cover pages A b s t r a c t This plan amendment provides a comprehensive update to the 2008 Countywide Park Trails Plan (CWPTP). The plan recommends a new framework called Loops and Links that aims to deliver trails in close proximity to areas of highest population. The plan discusses trail and bikeway policy history, explains why the plan is being updated, incorporates a more inclusive and transparent planning process, utilizes a more effective technology-based methodology to evaluate trail alignments early in the planning process, and recommends implementation priorities. INSIDE FRONT COVER Attachment 1 2016 Countywide Park Trails Pla n Amendment - Worksession # 3 Editio n September 2016 M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks | montgomeryparks.org Park Planning and Stewardship Division | parkplanningandstewardship.org Park and Trail Planning Section | parkplanning.org COVER SHEET -FRONT Attachment 1 COVER SHEET - BACK Attachment 1 2016 COUNTYWIDE PARK TRAILS PLAN AM ENDMENT - WORKSESSION #3 EDITION TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 5 Introduction 7 Purpose 7 Scope of the Amendment 8 Planning Process and Public Outreach 8 Background 9 Trails Types 9 Hard Surface Trails ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Natural Surface Trails ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Natural Resource-Based Recreation 9 Trail Users 10 Hikers, Walkers and Runners ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Cyclists and Mountain Bikers ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Equestrians ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Persons with Disabilities ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 The 2008 Plan Today 11 Existing Hard Surface Park Trails ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Existing Natural Surface Park Trails ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Countywide Trails Managed by Other Agencies ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Existing Non-Park Bikeway Connectors ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Policy History 18 Guiding Documents .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Methodology and Analysis 20 Decision Making Criteria ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Environmental and Cultural Resources Evaluation .................................................................................................................................................................... 23 More Realistic Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Recommendations 25 A New Plan Framework 25 Loops & Links .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Trail Planning Areas .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 1 Attachment 1 2016 COUNTYWIDE PARK TRAILS PLAN AM ENDMENT - WORKSESSION #3 EDITION Level of Service Performance 40 Gaps in Service ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................