A big concern of those living near I-270 and I-495 is the prospect homes and neighborhoods being paved over to make room for Governor Hogan's huge highway project. The Governor proposes adding as many as four lanes to both highways. This has a lot of local residents anxious about the impacts on their homes, neighborhoods and communities, since widening the highways, which run right up against neighborhoods and property lines, would seem to require taking down homes to make room for more lanes.
And according to the Montgomery County Planning Committee, the State's "Managed Lanes Study Area" will ultimately evaluate properties and resources within approximately 300 feet of the existing I-495 and I-270 highway centerline, which certainly suggests that, in the end, stuff would have to be moved out of the way.
So protestors from neighborhoods next to and near I-495 and I-270 arranged themselves along the Labor Day Parade routes in Kensington and Gaithersburg MD. I had a chance to ask the Governor about the risk to homes along the highways. Here's the video (apologies for the very out-of-frame cinematography here):
While we're glad that the Governor told a protester this in the middle of a parade, we'll all feel a lot more secure in our homes' and neighborhoods future if he would issue a formal statement saying so, and making clear to bidders on the project that they will not be able to use eminent domain to seize property. Because as these maps show, there are a lot of homes in the "Study Area". Then we'll all be able to relax.