In this Chapter, except where specified otherwise, the following words and phrases have the meanings indicated:
Bikeway means any area expressly intended for bicycle travel, including associated curbs and gutters and any:
(a) Bike lane means a portion of a roadway designated by striping, signing, or pavement markings for the preferential or exclusive use of bicycles, and on which travel by motor vehicles is not allowed.
(b) Off-street trail means paths located outside of the road right-of-way that provide two-way travel for people walking, bicycling and using other non-motorized modes. This facility was formerly referred to as a “shared use trail.”
(c) Separated bike lane, also known as a protected bike lane or cycle track means an exclusive bikeway that is physically separated from motor vehicles and distinct from the sidewalk. A separated bike lane may be in a one-way or two-way configuration.
(d) Shared use roadway means a roadway open to both bicycle and motor vehicle travel and which is designated as a preferred route for bicycle use by warning or informational signs.
(e) Sidepath means a paved path that is located parallel to and within the road right-of-way. Sidepaths provide two-way travel routes designated for walking, bicycling, jogging and skating. Sidepaths are separated from motorized traffic by a curb, barrier, or landscape panel. This facility was formerly referred to as a “shared use path”.
Complete streets means streets that are planned, designed, and constructed to enable safe access for all intended users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities, commercial vehicles, freight haulers, and emergency service vehicles.
Complete streets infrastructure means any design feature that contributes to a safe, convenient, and comfortable travel experience, which may include such features as sidewalks; sidepaths, bike lanes, and separated bike lanes; bike stations and bike storage facilities; narrow motor vehicle lanes and tight curb radii; street trees, planting strips, and other right-of-way landscaping; curbs and accessible curb ramps; curb extensions, crosswalks, and refuge islands; raised medians; pedestrian and traffic signals, including countdown and accessible signals; signage; streetlighting; street furniture; bicycle parking facilities; stormwater management; public transportation stops and shelters; dedicated transit lanes; and traffic calming devices.
Construction and constructed include “reconstruction” and “reconstructed” but not “maintenance,” and include grading, installation of drainage structures, paving, curbs and gutters, curb returns, sidewalks and other areas intended for pedestrian access,, bikeways, driveway entrances, guardrails, retaining walls, sodding, and planting.
Curb extension means an area that extends the line of a curb into a parking lane, reducing the width of a street.
Curbside Width means the area beyond each curb necessary for sidewalks, sidepaths, street trees and other landscaping, streetlights, utilities, and other elements.
Dedication plat means any plat conforming to law, duly recorded in the County land records, which has the legal effect of dedicating one or more rights-of-way to public use. If the plat was recorded after the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission was created, and the property is located in the Commission’s jurisdiction, the Commission must have approved the plat.
Design standard means the standard adopted by regulation under this Article for each type of road, as defined in Section 49-31, except Freeways and Controlled Major Highways, which shows typical cross-sections and other dimensions to which the road must conform.
Director means the Director of Transportation or the Director of Permitting Services, as specified, and each Director’s designee.
Drainage structure means any culvert, bridge, storm drain, storm sewer, catch basin, canal, channel, inlet, ditch, or subsurface drain, and any other structure or watercourse designed to convey surface or other waters.
Dual road means any road in which the travel directions are separated by a median.
Forest conservation plan means a plan for the retention, afforestation, or reforestation of forest and trees approved under Chapter 22A.
Ground cover means low-maintenance, non-invasive, leafy, grassy, or woody vegetation that covers and holds soil.
Maximum target speed means the maximum speed at which vehicles should operate on a thoroughfare in a specific context, consistent with the level of multimodal activity generated by adjacent land uses, to provide mobility for motor vehicles and a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Private Road means any road or any segment of a road, including any sidewalk, sidepath, or other area intended for pedestrian access adjacent to the private road that has not been deeded, dedicated or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use or County maintenance.
Protected Crossing means specific traffic control devices that improve the safety and comfort of pedestrians and bicyclists crossing streets by reducing or eliminating conflicts, as well as increasing stopping and yielding for pedestrians and bicyclists, using measures such as traffic signals (full signals with pedestrian signals), pedestrian hybrid (HAWK) beacons, all-way stop control, or grade-separated crossings.
Reconstruct and reconstruction include any change in the width, alignment, or design of a road or other structural features within or along a roadway but does not include resurfacing a road, bikeway, or sidewalk without any change in its width.
Road means any road, street, highway, avenue, boulevard, lane, alley, bridge, sidepath, sidewalk, viaduct, or any segment of any of them, and any related storm drain and stormwater management facility.
Rural area means an area designated as the Rural East and Rural West policy areas in the Growth and Infrastructure Policy.
Sidewalk means any portion of the right-of-way for a County road that is expressly intended for pedestrians, including pedestrian ramps.
Specimen tree means any tree with a diameter measured at 4.5 feet above the ground of 30 inches or more, or any tree with 75% or more of the diameter of the current champion tree of that species, as designated by the County Forest Conservation District Board.
Speed hump means a parabolic or flat-top device used to create vertical deflection along a roadway for traffic calming purposes. These may include wheel gaps that allow target vehicles to pass through unaffected or flat-top devices may include crosswalks.
Street tree means a tree that is listed in the design standards as acceptable for planting in a public right-of-way. In a private road right-of-way or easement, a tree listed as acceptable for planting in the Planning Board technical manual for forest conservation.
Subdivision means the division or assemblage of a lot, tract or parcel of land into one or more lots, plots, sites, tracts, parcels, or other divisions for immediate or future rental, sale, or building development. Subdivision includes a re-subdivision, but not a division or partition of land for agricultural purposes.
Transitway means a right-of-way for use exclusively by public transit vehicles.
Urban area means areas depicted in the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways as amended, or by any replacement functional, master, or sector plan that defines urban areas or urban road code boundaries. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 103-9; 1973 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 8; 1974 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; 1992 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2000 L.M.C., ch. 23
, § 1; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8
, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 5
, § 1; 2014 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 29
, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 34
, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 31
, §1.)
Editor's note—2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 3, states: Sec. 3. Any regulation in effect when this Act takes effect that implements a function transferred to another Department or Office under Section 1 of this Act continues in effect, but any reference in any regulation to the Department from which the function was transferred must be treated as referring to the Department to which the function is transferred. The transfer of a function under this Act does not affect any right of a party to any legal proceeding begun before this Act took effect.
2014 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 2, states: The County Executive must transmit to the Council, by June 1, 2016, a regulation adopted under Method 2 that contains comprehensive complete streets guidelines. Once adopted, this regulation must replace the standards in Section 49-32(g), (h) and (i). Any revised road design and construction standards in Chapter 49, as amended in Section 1 of this Act, do not apply to any road construction project that is in final design or construction when this Act takes effect.
Section 49-26, formerly Section 49-31, was renumbered, amended, and retitled pursuant to 2007, ch. 8, § 1. Former Section 49-26 was renumbered Section 49-3 pursuant to 2007, ch. 8, § 1.
The above section [formerly § 103-9] is cited in Mayor of Rockville v. Geeraert, 261 Md. 709, 276 A.2d 642 (1971). Sections 49-25, 49-26, 49-27, 49-28, 49-29, 49-31, 49-33, 49-34, 49-35, 49-36, 49-37, 49-41, 49-39, 49-40, 49-41, and certain repealed sections [formerly §§ 93-6 through 93-19] are cited in Perlmutter v. Bacas, 219 Md. 406, 149 A.2d 23 (1959).