Bottom line first: The toll-lane project still has many big hurdles to clear. The Governor and MDOT are rolling out a PR campaign to convince us that all is good and everything has been decided.
Don’t believe any of it.
The opposition to the toll-lane project is more determined than ever. Read on for an important action item, a thank you, and a look at what happened at the Board of Public Works (BPW) on 8/11/21.
Action Item
In every way you can, counter MDOT’s narrative that the toll-lanes are inevitable. They aren’t. The project is highly vulnerable because of its unsupportable assertions about what it will achieve, its house-of-cards legal and financial foundations, its flawed documentation of environmental impacts, and its flouting of the federal government’s climate change and environmental justice priorities. The project is also facing fierce criticism from Peter Franchot's rivals in the primary for governor.
Our immediate goal is to show – and reassure – our friends, neighbors, associates, local businesses and organizations that there are many ways this project can be stopped, and that the fight is not over. To that end, please:
Share this newsletter widely.
Encourage people you know to sign up for news from reliable sources of toll-lane information, such as DontWiden270.org, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion, and the Sierra Club of Maryland.
Post your continuing opposition to the toll-lane project on social media. (Please note, DontWiden270.org is working to boost its own online presence.)
Thank You + What Franchot Did on 8/11
You -- and thousands of other activists who know a bad deal when you see one -- sent Comptroller Franchot a loud, clear message ahead of the BPW vote on the toll-lane predevelopment agreement. You told Mr. Franchot to do his due diligence and reject the agreement, or at least delay his vote until the financial and environmental reviews were complete.
Franchot, the BPW’s swing vote on the issue, said he’d heard from “literally tens of thousands of people with emails to our office …” And you didn’t just send emails. You called him. You posted on social media. You were joined by local, state, and federal elected officials, environmental/transportation/smart growth advocacy organizations, civic associations, and grassroots groups like DontWiden270.org, all calling on the Comptroller to do the right and responsible thing. Thank you!
So what did he do? He ignored his fiscal duties as our state’s CFO. He cast the deciding vote to approve a contract that guaranteed an Australian conglomerate $50M whether the toll-lanes are built or not, and gave the same conglomerate exclusive rights to bid on the whole $7B, 50-year project. And Mr. Franchot did that without even asking for -- or getting -- an independent legal and financial analysis of the deal.
Franchot was the final decider, but of course the toll-lane contract only came to a BPW vote because others of our elected officials inexplicably failed to do their due diligence and act in the public interest. More on that in coming newsletters.
Choice Words From Our Allies
Here’s what some of our fellow opponents of the toll-lane project said after the BPW vote:
From the statement of the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club of Maryland:
“This project has been fundamentally flawed from its inception, and it remains fundamentally flawed. It reflects an outdated way of thinking, will not solve congestion, and prioritizes the interests of the privatized multibillion highway industry over the well-being of our communities, environment, and climate...Maryland deserves better than a private toll lane highway expansion. It deserves a 21st century sustainable transportation system. We will continue to fight for that future.”
From the statement of Frederick County Councilmember Kai Hagen, withdrawing his endorsement of Peter Franchot’s candidacy for governor:
“…this vote ignored the well-reasoned and compelling pleas of many elected officials and community leaders who made a strong case for a delay, including the Montgomery County executive and every council member, almost eighty state senators and delegates, some members of congress, every environmental group that has engaged this issue, and many other citizens and organizations (all of whom Governor Hogan has spent more than two years labeling as ‘pro-traffic activists’).”
And More
Washington Post opinion piece on the BPW vote, by State Delegate Jared Solomon and State Senator Will Smith (August 10, 2021)
County Executive Marc Elrich’s letter to the Board of Public Works (August 9, 2021)
Letter to the Board of Public works from nearly 80 members of the General Assembly (August 10, 2021)
The City of Rockville’s letter to the Board of Public Works (August 3, 2021)
Dontwiden270.org’s testimony at the Board of Public Works meeting (August 11, 2021)