Bike Routes, by Comfort Level

This map below shows Laurel's preferred bike routes, color-coded by ease of ride-ability. Blue Routes are residential collector roads - very easy to bike in the street with low traffic volume and low speeds. Novice riders should feel comfortable riding in the street.  Green Routes have slightly more traffic volume but are easy to ride because they have bike lanes and/or wide shoulders and/or low speeds.  Yellow Routes have moderate volume and speeds but should still provide a level of comfort for the average rider.  Red Routes are high-volume with either high speeds or narrow lanes.  These are not for average riders. Click on each colored link to find a brief description of the Route.  Finally, the little bike symbols show where bike parking can be found.


View bicycle level of comfort City of Laurel, MD in a larger map

Year in review; and some new ideas, too!

The following is a quick review of pedestrian & bike capital improvements in Laurel. The City:

• added bike lanes on Cypress Street, including the City’s first bike box.
• added sidewalk on 7^th Street in Old Town.
• added Laurel Lakes Drive near the Safeway.
• added a 8’ wide hiker-biker trail on Van Dusen, south of MD 198.
• added bike sharrows on Laurel Lakes Drive
• widened the sidewalk on a large portion of Cherry Lane to 8’ wide.
• Brooklyn Bridge Road was resurfaced by the County with wider shoulders near the gully. The wider shoulders make it easier on bikers and joggers.
• MD SHa, at the City’s behest, installed sidewalk on Route 1 south of Cypress, completing the sidewalk network for the entire length of Route 1 in the City.
• The bike lanes on 4^th Street were completed
• Bike parking was added to City Hall and to the new 5^th Street Community Center.
• Decorative period-style sign posts and sign backers were installed on parts of Main Street.
• The crosswalks were widened on Cherry Lane at 4^th Street.

Very good year for those not dependent on their cars.  Now, let’s keep up the momentum by:

• Installing bike lanes on the Mulberry and Laurel Place to complete the north-south bike route through the entire city.  Conceptual plans have already been drawn up and can be incorporated into the CIP’s resurfacing project for both roads.
• Updating policy and infrastructure goals/designs of the City’s Bike Masterplan.  This should be a winter-time project. I volunteer to lead the public hearings, draft  any policy changes and create the visuals, if need be.  But given that the masterplan is now attached to the City’s Uniformed Land Development Code, it is imperative to keep this plan updated and fresh.
• Prohibit parking on Laurel Place. 
• Consider policy changes that allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and signals as stop signs.
• Installing cycle-tracks on Van Dusen and buffered bike lanes on Cherry Lane.
• Completing the 8' trail south of the dog park.
• Planting more shade trees along existing trails.
• Finding a way to get more bus shelters in place – too many “sticks in the ground” are posing as bus stops, without shelters or even sidewalk leading to the stop.  This needs to change if we are going to encourage alternative transportation modes.

Have a great 2012, Laurel!

Turning roads into walking paths - literally

A short - but important - hiker/biker path was recently completed by the City in order to connect the intersection of the 4th Street and Cherry Lane with the popular walking paths around Gude Lake. The novel thing about this connecting path is that it was built from other City roads.

A recent repaving job on Sandy Spring Road provided the millings (ground-up asphalt) that comprised the foundation of the path. And the fill dirt that was used to provide a smooth grade on the sides of the path came from a new roadway currently being cut in another portion of the City.

From nothing, to a base-foundation, to a graded and top-coated path

The result is a path that required over 100 CY of base-course asphalt, fill dirt and surface-course asphalt - where over 90% of the materials used were recycled from other City roads.

Another view of the new connecting path

Biking & Pedestrian Infrastrucuture for Laurel included in Senator Cardin's FY2011 Appropriations Request

In his Appropriations Request for funding in FY2011, Senator Benjamin Cardin has included a $400,000 request by the City of Laurel for bike and pedestrian infrastructure improvements. The funding will be used at select locations for:

• 10' wide Asphalt hiker/biker trail to be illuminated with solar-power overhead lighting.
• Sidewalk gap infill.
• Countdown Pedestrian Signals/Audible Pedestrian Signals.
• Remove and replacement of existing ramps for ADA compliance.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Upcoming Improvements to 4th & Cherry

This Spring, the City will make the following improvements to the Intersection of 4th and Cherry. Together, these modification will improve pedestrian and biker access to Gude Lake and its surrounding trails.

1. Construct a hiker/biker path from the pedestrian ramp to existing Gude Lake paths.(completed)
2. Widen the existing sidewalk between curb cuts to allow for both bicyclists and walkers. (under construction week of 11/8/2010)
3. Expand guard-rail openings (completed) and widen pedestrian ramps to 10 feet.
4. Re-stripe and re-sign 4th Street for on-street Bike Lanes (partially complete).

What does your money buy you - the Transportation Edition

A popular question that pops up during public hearings that involves new transportation construction is:

"What is it going to cost?"

The short answer is:  It varies greatly, depending on what you're building.


In the last two years material and labor costs have plummeted.  This is a good thing for fiscally prudent jurisdictions (ahem, like Laurel).  Tomorrow night, the City has a public hearing on installing approximately 2 miles of bike lanes and bike signage along 4th and 5th Streets.  To answer the inevitable question of cost - the proposed bike lanes, as presented, will run about $10,000.

To some, this may be a trivial amount; to others, it may appear exorbitant.  So, in order to provide context for everyone, please see the following chart that looks at how much infrastructure $10,000 buys, for several different modes of transportation.

This is a simplified comparison that doesn't take into account maintenance costs or other construction costs that relate to terrain re-grading.  It also doesn't factor in the time savings of one transportation mode over another - something that is tougher to put a price on, and something that diminishes in value as the distance traveled decreases.