Read all about our critically important action item right after this shocking, $45M news.
That’s our public money!
MDOT keeps claiming the P3 comes at no net cost to taxpayers. But the Board of Public Works just voted 2-1 (the Governor and Comptroller “for”) to add $45M to a $90M project support contract.
And who did Hogan and Franchot blame? The public!
Brace yourself, and then read the transcript of the shameless pre-vote discussion. Only Treasurer Nancy Kopp defended the public interest.
Action Item: Submit your SDEIS public comment! Deadline is November 15
The public has just a week left to submit comments on the P3 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS).
MDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) carefully track the number of comments received and whether they’re favorable/unfavorable to the toll lanes. By law, MDOT must reply to substantive comments.
Write now! The deadline is 11:59 on November 15.
Be sure to start your comment with: “I support the no-build option and oppose the I-495/I-270 toll-lane project.”
To submit your comment, do any of the following (click here to access all instructions):
Provide verbal public testimony via voicemail (855-432-1483). Three-minute limit.
Submit an electronic comment form.
Send an email to oplanesMLS@mdot.maryland.gov.
Send a written letter about the SDEIS to:
Jeffrey T. Folden, P.E., DBIA
Director, I-495 & I-270 P3 Office Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration
707 North Calvert Street
Mail Stop P-601, Baltimore, MD 21202
Our valued partner Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE) created an excellent summary of SDEIS Points and Deficiencies to guide your writing. Pick your preferred topics -- CABE’s summary has details on all these important subjects:
Toll lanes won’t improve daily commutes
Taxpayer subsidies
Relocating utilities
Pollution and global warming
Harm to parks and other greenspaces
Selected impacts on Rockville
Environmental justice issues
Failure to study alternatives to toll lanes
Will SDEIS public comment period be extended?
It’s a nail biter. Some very smart elected officials sent powerful requests for an extension, but so far MDOT hasn’t budged. Read the persuasive letters to MDOT and FHA from:
Six members of the Montgomery County Council: Gabe Albornoz, Evan Glass, Tom Hucker, Will Jawando, Sidney Katz, and Nancy Navarro
Sometimes all you need is a picture
Look at what MDOT and Transurban have planned for us at Cabin John Parkway and the Beltway, should the toll-lane scheme be implemented. Imagine driving this. Or living nearby. And remember that the SDEIS showed virtually no gains in rush hour drive times after all this is built.
Find this image in the SDEIS, Appendix D, Map 9 (https://oplanesmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SDEIS_AppD_EnvInvResourceMapping_web.pdf#page=9).
Purple = Toll-lanes
Orange = Flying overhead ramps
Yellow = General purpose “free” lanes
Hot Pink = Limits of disturbance, which our experts say are underestimated
Boxed comments = MDOTs own “identifiers”