Cyclists and trail users...

Come to our January 8th RALLY to protest Maryland's decision to cancel the bike trail along the proposed ICC highway. IF the state builds the highway it must build the bikeway.

MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!
ICC doesn't mean IGNORE COUNTY CYCLISTS.

RALLY DETAILS:
300 Norwood Road (near Norbeck Road)


ICC BIKEWAY INFO:
In a surprise move, the Maryland State Highway Administration has dropped plans to include a bike path along the proposed Intercounty Connector (ICC) citing environmental and cost concerns. But this bikeway would be a superb 18-mile long transportation facility across the Maryland suburbs. New roads must serve cyclists and pedestrians as well as drivers! If the ICC is built it MUST include a strong bicycle and pedestrian component.

It is extremely important that the voices of cyclists be heard. Visit www.waba.org or contact WABA at 202-628-2500 for sample letters, rally info, and more.


HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Whether you can make the rally or not, please urge that the trail not be dropped...

1. Submit comments via the ICC Study website at www.iccstudy.org/contact.php or testify in person at the ICC public hearings. Maryland SHA and federal agencies have to take these comments very seriously as part of the Environmental Impact Study process.

2. Forward your comments to MDOT Secretary Flanagan, Governor Ehrlich, and your state or county representatives. See www.waba.org for contact info.

3. And of course, attend the rally Saturday


ICC BIKEWAY/TRAIL BENEFITS:
suburbs driveway crossings, comparable to the Custis/W&OD trails along I-66 communities together several transportation trails into a unified network with the Capital Crescent Trail Council and Planning Board, and many other officials

From the Washington Post...
"IF THERE WAS any aspect of the proposed intercounty connector project in Maryland that its fiercest opponents liked, it was a provision for a bike trail..." (Editorial, January 1, 2005)

From Federal Highway Administration policy***...
"In the planning, design, and operation of transportation facilities, bicyclists and pedestrians should be included as a matter of routine, and the decision to not accommodate them should be the exception rather than the rule."

THE ICC.
(Source: "FHWA Guidance, Bicycle and Pedestrian Provisions of Federal Transportation Legislation", February 24, 1999)


The ICC has been a very contentious issue, but regardless of your position on the roadway, it is critical that if the ICC is built it include a strong bicycle and pedestrian component from end to end. Contact www.waba.org for more info!