Prince George's County has diverged from its smart growth goals, says the county Planning Board in a searing assessment. The board says residents have a choice: push for more transit-oriented development and walkable communities, or "be resigned to business as usual." Largo Town Center. Photo by the author.The board released

Nearly five months after opening, the operators of the 495 Express Lanes are struggling to attract motorists to their congestion-free toll road in a region mired in some of the worst traffic congestion in the country. Transurban, the construction conglomerate that put up $1.5 billion to build the 14-mile, EZ Pass-only corridor