(a) In this Article and the regulations adopted under it, County area types are as follows until subsequently designated by functional plans, master plans, or sector plans:
(1) A downtown area consists of areas with the highest intensity of development. These areas are:
(A) Bethesda CBD;
(B) Friendship Heights CBD;
(C) Silver Spring CBD;
(D) Wheaton CBD;
(E) White Flint Sector Plan area;
(F) White Flint 2 Sector Plan area west of the CSX Metropolitan Branch;
(G) Life Science/FDA Village area of the 2014 White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan;
(H) Life Science Center Districts in the 2010 Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan: LSC Belward, LSC North, LSC Central and LSC West districts; and
(I) Rock Spring Sector Plan.
(2) A town center area consists of areas with moderate to high development intensity. These areas are:
(A) Burtonsville urban area;
(B) Cabin Branch urban area;
(C) Chevy Chase Lake urban area;
(D) Clarksburg Town Center urban area;
(E) Damascus urban area;
(F) Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan urban area;
(G) Germantown Town Center urban area;;
(H) Glenmont urban area;;
(I) Grosvenor urban area;;
(J) Kensington urban area;;
(K) Langley Crossroads urban area;;
(L) Life Science Center South in Great Seneca Science Corridor urban area;
(M) Lyttonsville Station urban area;
(N) Olney Town Center urban area;
(O) Piney Branch urban area;
(P) Shady Grove urban area
(Q) Twinbrook urban area
(R) Veirs Mill-Randolph urban area in Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan;
(S) Washingtonian Town Center in Great Seneca Science Corridor urban area;
(T) Westbard Sector Plan urban area;
(U) White Flint 2 Sector Plan area east of the CSX Metropolitan Branch;
(V) White Oak Science Gateway urban area excluding Life Sciences/FDA Village Center; and
(W) Woodside Station urban area.
(3) A country area is located within the designated Rural area.
(4) An industrial area is an area with predominantly industrial zoning.
(5) A suburban area is an area with predominantly residential zoning that is not already a downtown, town center, industrial, or country area.
(6) These areas may be created, eliminated or modified by functional plans, master plans, or sector plans.
(7) Roads are included in the area within which they are located. Roads bordering on two areas will be assigned to the area with the greater development intensity.
(b) Each road must be assigned a County classification and a federal classification. Federal classifications are assigned in accordance with the most recent edition of the Federal Highway Administration Highway Functional Classification typologies.
(c) County classifications are:
(1) A Freeway is a road meant exclusively for through movement of vehicles at a high speed. Access must be limited to grade-separated interchanges.
(2) A Controlled Major Highway is a road meant exclusively for through movement of vehicles at a lower speed than a Freeway. Access must be limited to grade-separated interchanges or at-grade intersections with public roads.
(3) A Parkway is a road meant exclusively for through movement of vehicles at a moderate speed. Access must be limited to grade-separated interchanges and at-grade intersections. Any truck with more than four wheels must not use a Parkway, except in an emergency or if the truck is engaged in Parkway maintenance.
(4) A Downtown Boulevard is a road in a downtown area that serves a high volume of vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, or transit users. Access to abutting properties is allowed but not preferable. These roads were previously classified as major highways and arterials.
(5) A Downtown Street is a road in a downtown area that serves a large share of pedestrians, bicyclists, or transit users. This road type is meant for circulation in commercial and mixed-use zones. Access to abutting properties is expected. These roads were previously classified as business streets.
(6) A Boulevard is a road that typically connects employment and entertainment centers, civic, commercial, and institutional land uses, and may also provide cross-county and regional connections. Pedestrian, bicycle, and transit users are to be accommodated. Some access to abutting properties is expected. These roads were previously classified as major highways and arterials.
(7) A Town Center Boulevard is a road in a town center area that serves a moderate to high volume of vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, or transit users. Access to abutting properties is allowed but generally not preferable. These roads were previously classified as major highways and arterials.
(8) A Town Center Street is a road in a town center area that serves a larger share of pedestrians, bicyclists, or transit users. This road type is meant for circulation in commercial and mixed-use zones. Access to abutting properties is expected. These roads were previously classified as business streets.
(9) An Area Connector is a two-lane street in a suburban area that typically connects employment and entertainment centers, civic, commercial, and institutional land uses, and may also provide limited regional connectivity and serve primary circulation in residential zones. These roads were previously classified as minor arterials.
(10) A Neighborhood Connector is a street in a suburban area providing primary circulation in residential zones and may also enable traffic to pass through a neighborhood. These streets were previously classified as primary residential streets.
(11) A Neighborhood Street is a street that provides internal circulation within suburban areas. Access to abutting properties is expected. These streets were previously classified as secondary and tertiary residential streets.
(12) A Neighborhood Yield Street is a Neighborhood Street that is designed as a bi-directional one-lane street.
(13) An Industrial Street is a road meant for circulation in areas consisting predominantly of industrial zones.
(14) A Country Connector is a road in a country area that was previously classified as major highways, arterials, or country arterials.
(15) A Country Road is a low intensity road in a country area.
(16) An Alley is a right-of-way intended to provide secondary access to the rear or side of lots or buildings and not intended for transporting through traffic. An alley may be used to provide primary vehicular access if the Planning Board and the Director of Transportation concur that the dimensions and specifications proposed in a project, preliminary subdivision, or site plan would provide adequate primary vehicular access. An Alley is a Residential Alley if serving only residential zones, or a Commercial Alley if serving any non-residential zones.
(17) A Rustic Road or an Exceptional Rustic Road means a road classified as such under Article 8.
(18) A Residential Shared Street or Commercial Shared Street is a street designed to create a shared traffic environment where pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized traffic may comfortably occupy the same space as motor vehicle traffic. These streets prioritize pedestrian and bicycle movement by slowing vehicular speeds and communicating clearly through design features that motorists must yield to all other users. A Shared Street is a Residential Shared Street if serving only residential zones, or a Commercial Shared Street is serving any non-residential zones.
(d) County classifications are assigned as follows until the roads are re-designated by functional plans, master plans, or sector plans. The number of lanes is defined as the number of through lanes for motor vehicles and is tallied based on the number of planned lanes for that road, or the number of existing lanes if not specified by any functional plan, master plan, or sector plan.
(1) Freeways retain their classifications as Freeways.
(2) Controlled Major Highways retain their classifications as Controlled Major Highways.
(3) Parkways retain their classifications as Parkways.
(4) Major highways:
(A) Major highways located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Boulevards.
(B) Major Highways located in a town center area are classified as Town Center Boulevards.
(C) Two-lane Major Highways located in a country area are classified as Country Connectors.
(D) Two-lane Major Highways located in a suburban area are classified as Area Connectors.
(E) All Major Highways not addressed by (A) through (D) are classified as Boulevards.
(5) Arterials:
(A) Arterials with four or more lanes located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Boulevards.
(B) Arterials with fewer than four lanes located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Streets.
(C) Arterials with more than two lanes located in a town center area are classified as Town Center Boulevards.
(D) Arterials with two lanes located in a town center area are classified as Town Center Streets.
(E) Arterials located within a country area are classified as Country Connectors.
(F) Two-lane Arterials located in a suburban area are classified as Area Connectors.
(G) All Arterials not addressed by (A) through (F) are classified as Boulevards.
(6) Minor Arterials:
(A) Minor Arterials with four or more lanes located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Boulevards.
(B) Minor Arterials with fewer than four lanes located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Streets.
(C) Minor Arterials with more than two lanes located in a town center area are classified as Town Center Boulevards.
(D) Minor Arterials with two lanes located in a town center area are classified as Town Center Streets.
(E) Minor Arterials located within a country area are classified as Country Connectors.
(F) All Minor Arterials not addressed by (A) through (E) are classified as Area Connectors.
(7) Business District Streets:
(A) Business District Streets with four or more lanes located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Boulevards.
(B) Business District Streets with fewer than four lanes located in a downtown area are classified as Downtown Streets.
(C) Business District Streets with more than two lanes that are not located in a downtown area are classified as Town Center Boulevards.
(D) Business District Streets with two lanes that are not located in a downtown area are classified as Town Center Streets.
(8) Industrial Streets retain their classification as Industrial Streets.
(9) Primary Residential Streets:
(A) Primary Residential Streets located in a country area are classified as Country Roads.
(B) Primary Residential Streets not located in a country area are classified as Neighborhood Connectors.
(10) Secondary Residential Streets are classified as Neighborhood Streets.
(11) Tertiary Residential Streets are classified as Neighborhood Streets.
(12) Country Arterials are classified as Country Connectors.
(13) Country Roads retain their classifications as Country Roads.
(14) Shared Streets with entirely residential zoning along its frontage are classified as a Residential Shared Street.
(15) Shared Streets with any non-residential zoning along its frontage are classified as a Commercial Shared Street.
(16) Alleys retain their classifications as Alleys.
(17) Rustic Roads retain their classifications as Rustic Roads.
(18) Exceptional Rustic Roads retain their classifications as Exceptional Rustic Roads.
(19) If, after consultation with the staff of the Planning Board, the Department of Transportation determines that the criteria under (d)(1) through (d)(18) are not suitable for a particular road, the Department may determine that a more context-sensitive classification or transition length applies in lieu of the default classifications. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 103-12; 1971 L.M.C., ch. 24, §§ 2, 3; 1987 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 2; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 41, § 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.