- White Flint Metro: We helped to improve and promote a great plan for a walkable, transit-oriented neighborhood.
- I-270: Our transit alternatives to widening I-270 gained traction with elected officials.
- Gaithersburg West: we raised questions about the scale, location, jobs/housing imbalance and transportation problems created by the Gaithersburg West/"Science City" plan.
2009 Year in Review: Montgomery County
Montgomery County planners and elected officials have been wrestling with big planning issues. The county supports smart growth and fighting climate change, so we have fought for White Flint Metro development. Transit-oriented development at existing Metro stations should be the first priority, followed by addressing the jobs/housing imbalance between east and west Montgomery. Combined with transit, these measures will reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions. So, we stood up in favor of the major mixed-use plan for redevelopment of the White Flint Metro station area, worked with neighborhood groups and developers to improve the plan, and championed the importance of transit-oriented development to County officials. The plan will transform suburban super-blocks into a grid of connected streets and turn Rockville Pike into a boulevard.
At the same time, we joined with the community to question the scale, location, jobs/housing imbalance and transportation problems created by the Gaithersburg West/”Science City” plan. Concurrently, we challenged MDOT’s $4 billion I-270 widening proposal, bringing together our smart growth, environmental and transit partners to make the case for consideration of more robust transit and land use alternatives. The effort prompted reconsideration of the MDOT widening proposal by elected officials and a new, robust transit alternative from our team.
Read on to learn what else we've been doing in the region in 2009:
