MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

TRANSPORTATION

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS


DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

The Department of Transportation oversees five divisions: Highway Services, Parking Management, Traffic Engineering and Operations, Transit Services, and Transportation Engineering.

DIVISION OF HIGHWAY SERVICES
The Division of Highway Services started as the Division of Operations within the Department of Transportation. The Division maintains the County roadway infrastructure. It resurfaces roads; maintains, repairs and replaces road shoulders, curbs, gutters and sidewalks; carries on roadway tree maintenance; and cares for right-of-ways. The Division also is responsible for snow and ice removal, vacuum leaf collection, and street cleaning.

DIVISION OF PARKING MANAGEMENT
Functions of the Division of Parking Management formerly were overseen by the Division of Operations within the Department of Transportation. The Division oversees County public parking lot districts in Bethesda, Montgomery Hills, Silver Spring, and Wheaton. The Division also operates on-street parking meters in certain transportation management districts, such as North Bethesda.

DIVISION OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS
The Division of Traffic Engineering and Operations originated as the Division of Operations within the Department of Transportation. The Division is responsible for traffic safety, pedestrian safety, investigations, and planning, and runs the signing and marking programs. It conducts traffic studies and manages neighborhood traffic controls and residential parking programs.

To maximize the real-time operating efficiency of the County road network, the Division plans, designs, constructs, operates, and maintains the County Advance Transportation Management System (ATMS) and related infrastructure. The Division also designs, installs, maintains, and operates the transportation control monitoring and information devices and subsystems (traffic video surveillance cameras, detention systems, travelers' advisory radio, electronic transit signs) that make up the System.

For transportation management, the Division operates the County Transportation Management Center, and maintains the County aerial surveillance program. The County's fiber optic cable plant that supports FiberNet, ATMS, and the 800 MHz radio system is designed, constructed, and maintained by the Division.

For public rights-of-way, the Division designs and implements work-zone traffic controls; oversees street lighting; and reviews access, sight distances, storm drainage, and improvements.

DIVISION OF TRANSIT SERVICES
The Division of Transit Services coordinates transit services in the County. Six days a week, the Division operates a Transit Information Center, providing route and schedule information, system maps, fare information, information on how and where to buy transit passes, tickets, and tokens.

The County's RIDE ON bus system is planned, scheduled, and managed by the Division, which also maintains the transit infrastructure supportive of the RIDE ON system, including park and ride lots, County transit centers, bus shelters, bus stops, and trash receptacles. The RIDE ON service is integrated with the services of other providers, including the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrobus and Metrorail, and the Maryland Transit Administration's MARC commuter rail and MTA commuter bus systems.

Taxicabs in the County are regulated by the Division. Through the regulatory function, the Division enforces County law pertaining to taxicabs to ensure the safety of the traveling public and the viability of the taxicab industry in the County. The Division tests the knowledge of taxicab operators, conducts fingerprint-supported background checks, and issues renewable taxicab operator identification cards. In addition, the Division ensures that taxicabs are inspected on a regular basis by the State, and that vehicles are clean, cosmetically appropriate, and adequately insuranced.

DIVISION OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
The Division of Transportation Engineering provides project planning, engineering design, and construction management services for the County's roads, bridges, sidewalks, and bikeways.

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