MOCO Wins Grant To Pay For Designing A Fix To Germantown MARC Station Commuting Issues

GERMANTOWN, MD — An $85,000 grant for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation will fund the designing of a mixed-use trail on Walter Johnson Road that leads to the Germantown MARC station.

Most commuter train riders typically drive to the station, but there's limited parking. MCDOT hopes that making a trail for walkers and bikers could give people a safe and comfortable way to get from their homes to the station without needing to drive.

“Planning for infrastructure today will help travel choices and accessibility tomorrow,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich in a news release. “Our County is growing in population and jobs. Providing the infrastructure that will provide access to public transportation hubs is key to advancing our climate action goals and will help ensure that our communities can support future growth.”

The funding comes from the Transportation Planning Board's "Transit In Reach" project, which awards money for projects that will focus on walkers and bikers and increases access to public transit. The county was one of six that applied, and was one of three awarded funding.

“The department is consistently seeking out and applying for award programs to help with infrastructure buildout,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin in a statement. “We know that access to transportation is critical to the County’s economic growth and will allow for increased accessibility, which is one of our top priorities.”

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