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If built, the outdated Mid-County Highway Extended (M-83) would destroy farmland, forests and wetlands in its path through the Seneca Creek watershed.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Let’s take a step forward for better, more sustainable transportation upcounty, and away from an outdated and environmentally harmful project.