RESIDENTS ALONG THE US 29 CORRIDOR NEED THE RTS AS A TRANSIT OPTION
• Almost 9,500 (17.2%) of commuters in the US 29 corridor have commutes longer than 60 minutes.
• Since 1990, the number of residents in this corridor with these mega-commutes has nearly doubled.
• 17.5% of corridor residents take transit to work: nearly twice as many as in 1990. Almost half of these transit riders
take the bus to work
The Coalition for Smarter Growth, an organization dedicated to promoting walkable and transit-oriented communities, has a new advocacy manager in its Montgomery County office.
Pete Tomao is taking over the position held by Kelly Blynn and said as the new advocacy manager he hopes to work on increasing transportation choices for the county.
“Whether that is through more bicycle lanes, more 8-car trains on Metro, expanded RideOn service, or a bus rapid transit system,” Tomao wrote in an email to MyMCMedia.
Tomao added there are a lot of “great plans and ideas circulating” in the county. Plans that, according to him, will be necessary to meet the population needs.
“By 2040, forecasts project that Montgomery County will have 70 [percent] more road congestion, 21 [percent] more residents, and 40 [percent] more jobs than today, so our need for a robust variety of transportation choices has never been greater. … from the bus rapid transit network to the Purple Line, to more Metro investment, to making it easier for people to bike or walk,” Tomao wrote.
Tomao is originally from Long Island, New York, and moved to the region to attend American University. He is also a former union and political organizer.
“I’m excited to be working for CSG and look forward to meeting many new friends and smart growth supporters in Montgomery,” Tomao wrote.
The new manager took the job during a busy time for transportation advocates. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced on June 24 the Purple Line– a proposed $2.44 billion light rail extending from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County- is scheduled to move forward. Tomao wrote he was glad the governor approved the project but “want to make sure that Montgomery and Prince George’s get the support and funding they need to successfully build the project.”
“We were disappointed by some of the announced service changes — decreased frequency and fewer train cars. That could have a negative effect on reliability and level of service, and will only be more expensive to fix in coming years. We still feel positive that the project is moving, but will be watching developments very closely in the coming months and will be prepared to help out where we can,” he wrote.
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Join us on a visit to historic downtown Gaithersburg where we’ll learn about its past, examine its progress towards a walkable downtown, and explore the community’s and town’s visions for a bright, transit-oriented future.
“Even more telling is that in the draft EER (Environmental Effects Report), you can see that with alternative 9, the same intersections in the southern (already built) portion of Midcounty Highway continue to fail. If you open up a new stretch of road that will attract more commuters heading north to south to the same failing intersections, what do you think is going to happen?” Blynn said.
As with any major transportation project, the Midcounty Highway extension is controversial. Some residents and smart-growth advocates say the road-building money would be better spent on a bus rapid transit system to reduce traffic by allowing people to forego driving. Other critics said it would cause too much environmental damage and run too close to neighborhoods.
Parents with children at Wilson Wims Elementary School in Clarksburg finally got what they wanted after years of campaigning for a traffic light and crosswalk across Snowden Farm Parkway. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation announced in a March 13 letter that it will install a traffic signal at Snowden Farm Road and Grand Elm Street by the fall of 2015.
It might sound counterintuitive, but the health of the Potomac River might be improving thanks to large-scale development in places like Tysons Corner and Rockville.
While Bicycle Pedestrian Priority Areas were first created 20 years ago by state legislation, the program has been slow to start. Now, as driving has begun to decline in the county over the last decade and rates of walking, cycling, and transit use in the county have been on the rise, it’s more important than ever to ensure it is safe and comfortable to walk, cycle, and take transit. Last year, people driving struck 483 people who were walking in the county – 60 more people than in 2013. We have much more work to do.
Montgomery’s planned 81-mile Rapid Transit System offers incredible potential to transform the county’s aging commercial corridors into vibrant, sustainable, walkable, transit-oriented communities. With dedicated lanes, service every 5-10 minutes, weather-protected stations, Wi-Fi, and many other amenities, Rapid Transit will provide high quality transit service at a far lower cost than building new highways.
State law governing the priority letter process “requires MDOT and the local jurisdictions seeking project funding to demonstrate the relationship between prioritized projects and the long-term goals of the Maryland Transportation Plan and local land use plans.” The goals of the Maryland Transportation Plan focus on safety for all users, system preservation, and environmental conservation.