In response to requests from trail users and residents in the nearby Timberlawn neighborhood, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is planning to install lighting on a 1,500-foot stretch of the Bethesda Trolley Trail in North Bethesda.
The 20 light posts, spaced about 75 feet apart, are meant to improve visibility and safety on the section of the popular bicyclist and pedestrian trail that starts at Edson Lane and Woodglen Drive.
MCDOT is hoping to complete the project by March, though the department said in a public announcement sent to nearby residents it would wait for public feedback. The department has heard concerns about the lights from some residents who live next to the trail.
MCDOT is conducting a lighting demonstration on the trail from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 24 and will hold a follow-up public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 25 at Tilden Middle School in Rockville to discuss any other issues.
Each 27-watt LED lightbulb would be inside of what MCDOT describes as a 12-foot-tall “colonial post top style luminaire.”
The stretch of 20 lights would extend from Edson Lane to Golf Lane and each light would be controlled by a photocell, a type of outdoor lighting that turns off when sunlight is detected, thus saving energy. MCDOT applied for and received a Maryland Department of Transportation Bikeways Grant for the lighting project.
