WABA

waba@waba.org
Phone: 202.518.0524
Fax: 202.518.0936

Washington Area
Bicyclist Association
2599 Ontario Rd. NW
Washington, DC 20009

Protect What's Left of the ICC Bike Trail

Ask the Montgomery County Council to reject the Planning Board's request to amend the master plan to remove the Paint Branch section of the ICC trail or make any other changes that would damage the trail. Let the Council know that rerouting the trail as detours using sidepaths along busy streets is unacceptable and would ruin the trail for its users. We have provided a sample letter for you to send below.

By rejecting the planning board's arugments the County Council would take a firm position in support of trails.

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May 21, 2013

Subject:

Dear Councilmember:

I am writing today to urge you to reject the Planning Board's request to remove segments of the proposed ICC from the County's master plan.  Montgomery County needs more uninterrupted off-road routes along major transportation and recreation corridors -- not more short paths that lead nowhere.  The staff proposal would essentially abandon the vision of building a trail that runs the length of the 18+ miles of the ICC in favor of three stand-alone trails totaling less than seven-and-a-half miles, with none longer than three miles.

In particular, please keep the trail segment in Upper Paint Branch Park in the master plan.  The Planning Board has cited environmental grounds for detouring the trail around this park, even though the ICC highway will run through the park.  The Board made the same recommendation in 2005 and you overruled it then.  Please do so again.  The Board is willing put this segment into its internal plans for future study, but that is not enough.  
 
Also, by proposing to remove segments of the ICC hiker-biker trail from park land on environmental grounds without conducting any environmental analysis, the staff amendments call into question the entire trails master plan.  By voting against the Planning Board amendments, the Council would make a firm statement in support of bike and pedestrian paths.

Please make a firm statement in support of bike and pedestrian paths by voting against the master plan amendments that would carve up this trail.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

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