Riverdale Park is expanding bike lanes in the areas around the future Purple Line stops.

Although the light-rail line isn’t slated to open until 2026, the town has begun preparing to make it easier for residents to get to and from stops.

The city recently added on-street bike lanes on Rivertech Court in the Discovery District, a 150-acre private-public research hub run by the University of Maryland.

Other plans from a working group of local governments include a dramatic “road diet” on River Road, which runs through the middle of the Discovery District and will have Purple Line stops at Haig Road to the east and at the College Park Metro station to the west.

That’s a relatively recent innovation to reconfigure roads by reducing accident-prone five-lane roads to two lanes with the extra space used for wider sidewalks, a protected bike lane and a grassy, tree-lined median.

Planners say that would work on River Road, which gets fewer than 10,000 cars on an average day, according to data from the Maryland Department of Transportation. By comparison, a typical suburban street can handle up to 20,000 cars a day without getting congested.

These and other improvements, such as new lights and connections to the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail, will start to add up, making it easier for residents to commute by bike along the Route 1 corridor.

Support the Wire and Community Journalism
Make a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.