MDOT is ramping up its toll-lanes-are-terrific campaign. Wherever you look – on MDOT’s website, social media posts, videos, paid ads – you see fabricated “facts” used to “prove” that the 495/I-270 toll lanes are a benefit to all. The barrage of false good news aims to mislead and lull the public and elected officials into letting the project proceed unchallenged.
What MDOT doesn’t want you to know is that facts buried in thousands of pages of project documentation belie the rosy stories.
Consider two of the most egregious and intentional features of the toll-lane plan: exorbitant tolls and worsening congestion. Compare how MDOT publicly spins what it’s doing vs. how it documents what it’s doing.
Example 1: MDOT may say, “…motorists can expect to pay — on average — about $1 per mile during the morning commute and approximately $1.50 per mile to get home.” But state documentation (found on pgs. 25 and 27 here) indicates the maximum rush hour toll when the lanes would open in 2026 will be $50 to go 12 miles. And an MDOT graphic (p. 31) of 6 p.m. tolls in 2026, “in 2021$”, shows what they really anticipate.
Example 2: MDOT may say the toll roads are “a historic effort to reduce congestion for millions of travelers in the National Capital Region.” But MDOT’s own presentation material used not only a big red circle but a label to point out a new bottleneck the toll-lanes will create.
Source: MDOT presentation to NCPC, Nov. 7, 2019
The key to countering what MDOT is selling is to know and widely share the facts. See the Action Item below for important ways to get at the truth. Then read about commenters’ reactions to sky-high tolls (it’s just what you’d think).
Action Item
Now is the time to become familiar with go-to sources of factually correct toll-project information. When you’re armed with the facts, you can rebut MDOT’s falsehoods.
You can knowledgeably question the politicians who will vie for your attention in a year of intense political campaigning. And you can hold candidates accountable for taking clear, factually-informed positions on this massive, $7 billion boondoggle.
Most importantly, you can help educate your neighbors, friends, colleagues, and communities about the need to oppose this disaster. The only people who believe MDOT’s rosy stories are the ones who haven’t yet learned how the toll-lane project will harm them.
Start accessing trusted information sources
These non-profit organizations regularly challenge MDOT's false claims. Check their sites often and follow them on social media.
Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition. Click on the “Latest News” tab for project updates; see @TransitForMD .
Coalition for Smarter Growth. Scan the home page “Latest Happenings”; see @BetterDCRegion .
Consider a free newsletter subscription to Maryland Matters, an independent source of news on state government and politics -- it frequently publishes toll-lane articles (see an excellent example below).
Encourage everyone you know to sign up for the mailing lists at DontWiden270.org and Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE). Both websites have abundant toll-lane-specific resources, including background information, archived testimony, news articles, previous newsletters, links to state and local documents, and more.
MDTA Learns That People Don’t Like Exorbitant Tolls
On August 26, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) reported on public comments it received on toll-setting for the I-270/I-495 project. This Maryland Matters article describes the earful MDTA got. “By more than 2-to-1, members of the public who submitted formal comments on Maryland’s proposed Interstate 270/I-495 express lanes plan objected to the tolls motorists would pay to use the lanes.”
The article quotes Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton: “I just continue to be amazed at their tone-deaf response, which is to surge ahead with a plan that disregards climate change and the inequality that exists in our society…It is shocking how much Maryland taxpayer funding has been expended thus far, and how much more is being pledged to a private company from Australia.”
You can view the MDTA summary report here. Transcripts and recordings of all testimony are here. On the DontWiden270.org website, read selected testimony from our colleagues and partners.
The Sierra Club is Exploring Legal Options Related to the Toll-Lane Plan: Consider Donating to Its MD Smart Growth Defense Fund
DontWiden270.org does no fundraising and accepts no contributions. But at times, we provide fundraising information for our valued partners. The Sierra Club has been an unfailing leader and enormous source of help in the fight against the Governor’s disastrous toll-lane plan.
The Sierra Club Foundation is now raising money to, in its own words:
Continue to work with a law firm that advises [the Sierra Club] on legal strategy and opportunities
Contract with a different law firm to support [the Sierra Club] in making comments on the SDEIS
Hire consultants on traffic analysis and other issues for which [the Sierra Club doesn’t] have in-kind support in relation to the SDEIS
Take advantage of opportunities for advocacy, some of which are revealed in consultation with lawyers
Set the groundwork for litigation next year if it comes to that.