Category: Montgomery County

Action Alert: Montgomery County needs transit and connected communities, not more highways

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

Dear friend,

Since the 1950s, traffic engineers have told us new highways would solve traffic. We now know that’s not true. We also know that highways divide neighborhoods and pollute our air. We know that more walkable communities linked to transit provide a better, more sustainable approach.

If built, the outdated Mid-County Highway Extended (M-83) would destroy farmland, forests and wetlands in its path through the Seneca Creek watershed. It is time to remove this destructive and unnecessary proposed highway from the county’s official master plans. 

Contact the Planning Board today to ask them to remove M-83 from the Master Plan of Highways and Transit (MPOHT).

Take action: Don’t build this harmful highway

For years, CSG and partners have put forward a transit-based combination of solutions, including bus rapid transit, better street connectivity, and improved bike and pedestrian connections upcounty as an alternative to building M-83.

Analysis by CSG and the TAME Coalition, and later, by the county’s own Department of Transportation—has found that forthcoming transit investments, including bus rapid transit (BRT) on MD-355, will provide significant transportation improvements without the environmental harms of M-83.

Strong support for removing M-83 from county plans

County leadership and community and environmental organizations alike join CSG in supporting M-83’s removal from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways, including:

  • County Executive Marc Elrich
  • Montgomery County Department of Transportation
  • Transit Alternatives to Mid-County Highway Extended (TAME)
  • Sierra Club of Montgomery County
  • Action Committee for Transit
  • Montgomery Village Foundation
  • Muddy Branch Alliance
  • Seneca Creek Watershed Partners
  • Climate Coalition Montgomery County (including CCAN, Montgomery Countryside Alliance, and MCFACS)

Read our 2015 report and visit TAME’s website to learn more.

What’s next, and how you can help

In addition to using our alert to contact the board, please also consider attending these upcoming community meetings and hearings about M-83 and the Master Plan of Highways and Transit:

October 21, 2024: Virtual Public Meeting, 6PM (RSVP) 
October 23, 2024: In-Person Public Meeting at Neelsville Middle School, 6PM (RSVP)
November 14, 2024: Planning Board Hearing on MPOHT (sign up to testify)

Contact the Planning Board: Remove M-83 from the MPOHT

Let’s take a step forward for better, more sustainable transportation upcounty, and away from an outdated and environmentally harmful project. 

Testimony: Removing M-83 from Master Plan of Highways and Transitways (Montgomery County, Support)

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

We are grateful to Planning staff for their attention to the public feedback they have received concerning M-83. Organizations including CSG and Transit Alternatives to Mid-County Highway Extended (TAME) and other community members have been raising serious concerns about the community and environmental impact of M-83 for years. We have documented how M-83 is unnecessary and that local street connections combined with bus rapid transit and walkable, transit-accessible communities would meet future needs.

Testimony: Silver Spring mixed-use development at Georgia and Cameron (Support, Montgomery County)

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

We wish to express our support for the proposed mixed-use development at 8676 Georgia Avenue and 8601 Cameron Street. This development will provide up to 525 additional transit-accessible homes in downtown Silver Spring; improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure in the surrounding area; and offer additional retail and commercial space to serve this neighborhood and its many residents and visitors just blocks from the Silver Spring Metro.

Fact Sheet: Attainable Housing – living up to our country’s housing values (Montgomery County)

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

On June 13, the Montgomery County Planning Board unanimously approved the Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative report. The report recommends allowing more types of housing—like duplexes, triplexes, and townhouses—in neighborhoods that for decades have only allowed single-family detached homes.

Event Materials: Affordable Housing Financing 101 (May 2024)

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

Hear from experts Patrick McAnaney of Somerset Development Company and Chris Gillis of Montgomery Housing Partnership about how affordable housing providers meet financing needs, and how local, state, and federal government can help—as well as a briefing on the County Councils’ work on affordable housing from Council President Andrew Friedson.

Testimony: FY25 Operating Budget (Montgomery County, Support with Amendments)

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

We are glad to see record levels of funding for affordable housing production and preservation in this year’s capital and operating budgets, and thank the Council and County Executive for consistently increasing funding for affordable housing year over year.

Take Action: Ask the Council to support affordable housing on faith-owned land

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

The Montgomery County Council is considering a zoning text amendment, ZTA 24-01, that would make it easier for faith and private education institutions to build affordable housing on their land. This would open up new opportunities to build much-needed affordable homes, and offer faith institutions greater flexibility to use their land in ways that align with their missions and support thriving congregations and communities.