Even as Montgomery County Council members acknowledged that most pressing state transportation improvements will not benefit from state funding for years, on Tuesday they approved a project priority list that favors transit over roadway upgrades.
The list now goes to Maryland legislators as a means of pushing for the county to get the most state dollars possible.
An earlier version of the letter had given equal weight to the importance of four so-called mega projects: the Corridor Cities Transitway from Shady Grove to Clarksburg, the I-270 widening for high-occupancy vehicles and high-occupancy toll lanes north of Shady Grove, the I-495 widening for HOV and HOT lanes between the I-270 West Spur and Virginia, and establishing a “Purple Line” from Bethesda to Langley Park.
But based on a suggestion by Council Member Roger Berliner, the council opted to delineate the Purple Line and CCT as more critical than the two interstate enhancements. That way, Berliner explained, if state money becomes available, the county is taking a firm stance on where it should go.
“Last year, we named the four and said, ‘There are no priorities over each other; they’re all needed,’ ” he said. “But we’re trying to push transit out front.”
According to county statistics, 14 percent of Montgomery County residents regularly use mass transit, which is one of the highest proportions nationally.
Even for the 86 percent who don’t rely on Metrorail and Metrobus, Council Member Phil Andrews pointed out, drivers benefit from transit because it frees up roadways.
Beyond the list of projects, though, the discussion leading up to Tuesday’s vote focused on what was described by Council Vice President Michael Knapp as a bigger trend of state governments not paying enough for county transportation projects. The National Association of Counties indicated in a 2006 report that the portion states pay for transportation improvements has dropped 11 percent, Knapp said, which has been almost directly offset by a surge in the amount counties chip in.
Priority enhancements
The Top 10 Montgomery County road projects in design or project-planning stages that county council members say should get considered first for state funding
1. An over/underpass at Georgia Avenue/Randolph Road
2. Extension of an over/underpass at I-270/ Watkins Mill Road
3. Widening of Woodfield Road from Midcounty Highway to Snouffer School Road
4. Building of a two-lane bypass at Georgia Avenue around Brookeville
5. An over/underpass at Georgia/Norbeck Road
6. Intersection improvement on Clopper Road from I-270 to Seneca Creek Park
7. Widening Spencerville Road from Old Columbia Pike to U.S. 29
8. Widening Norbeck from Georgia to Layhill Road
9. Building a bridge over the CSX railroad at Rockville Pike/Montrose Parkway
10. An over/underpass at I-270/Newcut Road
