Moving Forward. Faster.

The project is expected to make public transit a more attractive option for travelers because the bus trips will be more reliable and faster.  We know that on-time performance and reliability are key factors leading to increased ridership and rider satisfaction.

Yes, peak period bus lanes are viable under different circumstances. MCDOT, WMATA, and MDOT/SHA are developing peak period bus lanes along a 1-mile segment of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. The circumstances along University Boulevard are different than on Georgia Avenue with Georgia Avenue permitting on-street metered parking for loading and parking and severe peak period traffic congestion. The University Boulevard section for bus lanes has sufficient roadway capacity to convert the curb traffic lane to a bus lane and bike lane and University Boulevard does not have on-street parking in this segment.

MCPS contact indicates that the Northwood High School construction should begin in mid-June 2024. MCDOT and MDOT/SHA will monitor the high school construction project and will consider the impacts of construction on the performance evaluation.

Such interference will be minimal due to the frequency; however, in such cases, buses and bikes have equal rights to use the lane and will need to yield to emergency vehicles.

Cars are allowed to use the dedicated lanes for right turning movements, and when common sense safety demands. They are not intended to be used to avoid congested areas or for parking and loading.

The dedicated bus lanes can potentially increase average delays in the corridor. This is expected to be minimal and will be measured during the evaluation period.

No, not as part of this project. There are no barriers between lanes.

No, not as part of this project.

Both the WMATA Better Bus study and the Ride On Reimagine study are examining bus routes and service levels.  These studies may lead to increased C2/C4 service levels as well as with the Ride On  Route 9. Ride On and Metrobus regularly update service levels throughout the year to reflect ridership patterns and bus crowding levels.

Transit signal priority (TSP) and queue jumps at intersections are not part of this project.

Queue jump lanes at intersections are a transit treatment strategy that allow transit vehicles to jump in front of the traffic queue when the traffic signal turns green.  Queue jumps typically require the use of right turning lanes for buses to use for straight movements at intersections to jump ahead of the traffic queue. Queue jumps are not part of this project.

Bus stop improvements are an important part of the transit system operations and customer use of bus stops and shelters, however, this project does not have funding to address these components.

No, not as part of this project.

Currently the plan is to dedicate the right lane to bikes and transit services that do not include carpool or vanpool operations. Typically bus lanes in the region do not accommodate HOV use.  Highways such as the Beltway, I-270 and US 50 in Maryland have HOV lanes that accommodate carpooling and buses.

If bus ridership increases during the pilot, Metro and Ride On will assess the capacity in the system to accommodate all bus riders and determine if additional service is necessary.

Yes, school buses will be permitted to use the bus lane.

No change from the current condition. Bicyclists should continue to ride safely in the lane. If a bicyclist is uncomfortable riding along University Boulevard, then they may use alternative routes or ride safely on the sidewalk without interfering with other sidewalk users. Motorized e-bikes and e-scooters are not permitted to ride on sidewalks.

No change from the current condition. Yes, if a bus is moving faster than a bike, the bus must slow down. Follow normal rules of the road.

The University Boulevard, MD 193 Multi-modal Shared Streets pilot project repurposes the outside travel lanes adjacent to the curbs on westbound and eastbound MD 193 for use by buses, bicycles, right turning vehicles and emergency vehicles. The MDOT/SHA pilot bike lane project was consistently communicated as a pilot and intended to be “temporary” in nature. During the final presentation MDOT/SHA staff did indicate that a similar project may be possible in the future depending upon transportation needs, safety concerns and greater public input/consensus. MCDOT with cooperation from MDOT/SHA and WMATA are advancing the dedicated bus lane project for University Boulevard.  This effort is a part of MCDOT’s Bus Priority Project initiatives in partnership with Ride On and WMATA Metrobus to improve transit service in the community and region. Additional bus lanes are planned throughout Montgomery County to support improving public transportation and customer experience. The bus lanes will improve travel reliability and schedule adherence and support customer satisfaction without disadvantaging other roadway users.

The MOT/SHA MD 193 Multi-modal Shared Streets pilot project occurred between April 2021, when “before” data was collected, through December 3, 2021, when all shared lane features were removed from MD 193/University Blvd. Details about this project can be found in the link below, including the final presentation which summarized project results:
https://mdot-sha-md193-amherst-to-arcola-shared-streets-maryland.hub.arcgis.com/

By allowing buses to travel independently of regular traffic, enforced bus lanes have been known to save between 7 and 30 percent of the trip time within the bus lane segment. The C2/C4 is experiencing a 19.2% delay caused by congestion when compared to a no congestion.  A portion of this delay can be mitigated with the 2.1-mile University Boulevard bus lane.

This pilot project is intended to demonstrate that this 2.1-mile-long dedicated bus lane project can improve on bus travel speeds and travel time and improve on time reliability  while maintaining traffic flow and pedestrian and bicycle safety. Montgomery County working with MDOT/SHA and Metrobus will monitor transit and non-transit vehicles performance, and changes/ improvements will be made as necessary during the pilot project to address any issues that arise.

The before and after analysis will focus on WMATA (Metro) transit buses for all times of the day on University Blvd. between Dennis and Amherst since they are the predominant and most frequent user of the transit lane. School buses and charter buses are not transit vehicles and are not intended to use the lane.  MCDOT and MDOT/SHA are open to reexamine this response upon further analysis once the bus lanes are operational.

There are 9300 boardings and alightings (persons getting on and off the bus) on an average weekday on this segment of the C2/C4 corridor.

Traffic counts were collected in 2017 and 2022. Data was collected at the largest intersections of University Boulevard, such as Amherst, Inwood, Arcola and Dennis in 2022. In general, there has been between 10% to 15% decline in the volume from 2017 to 2022. The average hourly volumes on University Boulevard vary between the AM and PM peak rush hours and by location. In general, 3 lanes carry between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles per hour per direction in rush hours.

Access will not change because of this project. Arcola Ave will maintain the existing right turn lane and two left turn lanes at the intersection with University Blvd. Right turners will be able to use the bus lane for a short length to merge into the regular travel lane.

Right turning vehicles to Arcola Ave can enter the right lane as soon as the solid line between Bus/Bike Only Lane and the two general lanes turns to dash line, where at the same time they should see the solid red pavement, if used, has changed to broken pattern. They must yield to oncoming buses and bikes in that lane.

Right turning traffic from Arcola to University Boulevard will need to cross one lane (bus/bike lane) to reach the regular traffic lane on University Boulevard. Right turning vehicles will be able to temporarily use the bus lane until it is safe to merge into the regular traffic lane. The extent of this merge area will be monitored during the pilot.

Montgomery County is not authorized by the Maryland Code to use automated camera bus lane enforcement at the current time.  Enforcement will be the same as any other traffic violations. Drivers improperly using the bus and bike lane can be ticketed.