In an effort to improve its “streetscapes,” Montgomery County in Maryland undertook a year-long project to better handle stormwater and improve the environment for pedestrians and cyclists.
The project, which utilized “environmental site design” or ESD concepts, resulted in the retrofitting of road sections, including the narrowing of streets to slow cars, the planting of vegetation in medians, the introduction of bike lanes, and more.
To get started, the county worked with a Seattle-based civil engineering firm called SvR Design Company to evaluate two street sections in White Flint. To meet water volume-control needs and the desires of the county, changes were recommended such as:
- Lane Widths: Reduction of lane widths from 15 feet to 12 feet. In another community, parking lane widths were narrowed from 8 feet to 7 feet, and the sidewalk width was narrowed from 19 feet to 9 feet
- Paths: Creation of a hiker/biker path
- Filters: Introduction of “microbioretention” road filters to address water volume issues.
- Planters: Microbioretention planter boxes were also recommended
Ultimately, policies will be established to encourage environmental site design practices elsewhere within the County.
Learn More
Extensive details are available for review:
- Recommendations on the sample street sections outlined above
- Presentation of retrofitted streets (before and after pictures)
- Detailed implementation plan with architectural renderings
- Sizing concepts and additional imagery
- Video presentation on the project
- Additional information