Thanks to the more than 75 people who came out to our ribbon cutting celebration at the new University Bike Lanes in Wheaton, MD on Saturday, June 19! The crowd included the entire District 18 MD State House contingent: Delegates Jared Solomon, Al Carr, Emily Shetty and Senator Jeff Waldstreicher. Also special thanks to councilmembers Tom Hucker and Hans Riemer for their supportive speeches, and also planning board Vice Chair Natali Fani-González and Chair Casey Anderson who talked about the importance of creating a whole network of bike lanes and also walkability.
We capped off the morning by all riding together to get some lunch at the restaurants in the Wheaton Streetery, where Montgomery County Department of Transportation has provided an outdoor seating area for many months now in closed off Fern Street. The crowd was able to get some delicious lunch from both Maria’s Cafe and the Limerick Pub. We think that the bike lanes will be a real boon to business for all of the Wheaton restaurants.
In addition to an article published before the event in Bethesda Magazine, local news radio station WTOP did a story afterwards.
It is our great hope that the new bike lanes will provide safety for walkers, bikers, bus riders and even drivers in the coming months and that these lanes will become a permanent and GREATLY expanded feature of University Blvd. We will continue to work with MD State Highway Administration to make these lanes permanent and increase safety for bike riders, walkers, bus riders and even drivers on this road.
Also amazing: there were so many people whom we’ve only met through social media during COVID, who have communicated their strong support for open streets and open parkways and bike lanes, and suddenly, almost magically, they were all there right in front of us cheering on the bike lanes in real life! We are building a movement here. We have momentum! Let’s keep it going!
Open Streets Montgomery 