Maryland Matters does as good a job as anyone summing up the toll-lane project’s current status: “Next steps are not immediately clear.”
YES: Toll-giant Transurban has exited the I-495/I-270 project. A big step in the right direction.
BUT: Pro-highway interests keep pushing toll lanes, and we don’t know what the Moore administration will do.
YES: Gov. Moore has pledged to address the project through the “lens of equity… the lens of environmental protection” and to leave no one behind.
BUT: He hasn’t said “no” to a vastly inequitable project that benefits only the wealthiest.
YES: Making smart, collaborative decisions about regional transportation is immensely complex. The Moore administration needs time to do it right.
BUT: What doesn’t take time is announcing ASAP the end of any version of Hogan’s hugely harmful left-over of a plan. A plan that lacks public support. A plan that would require Moore to spend the rest of his first term imposing destructive construction on an unwilling public, only to leave them worse off than before.
As long as any version of the toll-lane scheme remains on the table, our broad coalition will keep actively opposing it and pressing for the smarter alternatives. (See “Look to the List!” and “Latest Lawsuit”, below).
Northbound I-495 toll lanes between Tysons and Route 50 at peak congestion. General lanes (with no inside shoulder) are packed; toll lanes are empty. Maryland chose the same design.
Action Item
The fate of the toll lane project may be decided soon. Governor Moore repeatedly said he wants “engagement with local partners...” Lobbyists and special interests are working hard to get the governor’s ear. Our county elected officials need to be in that mix, actively calling for an end to this harmful plan.
Write to the Montgomery County Council today. Urge them to call on the Moore Administration to cancel the toll lane plan now in favor of the effective alternatives.
Use your own heartfelt/worried/impassioned words to explain why you oppose the project.
Send your message to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov. Your message will be distributed to the Council President and all County Councilmembers.
Look to the List!
Anyone who doubts the breadth of opposition to the public-private toll lane scheme should check out the more than 70 organizational signers of this powerful letter to Transportation Sec. Wiedefeld.
Signing on: Unions, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the NAACP, civic groups, environmental coalitions, the Sierra Club of Maryland, transit advocates, conservationists, foundations, grassroots orgs, homeowners’ associations, scientific associations, sports orgs, faith ministries, the City of Rockville, and on and on.
It’s a gathering of advocacy forces that collectively represent hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who know a very bad deal when they see one. All are urging Governor Moore to make the only call consistent with his goals and values: end the toll lane scheme and pivot to future-looking alternatives that will truly meet public needs.
Latest Lawsuit
A dark hallmark of the toll-lane plan has been the relentless effort by MDOT and others to hide information from the public. Now the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition, our trusted partner, has filed a lawsuit to force the Federal Highway Administration to share documentation about the project. The suit calls out in particular the mysterious Capital Beltway Accord, the much publicized, never seen bi-state “agreement” that may or may not exist, may or may not govern Maryland financial commitments for the next 50 years, may or may not constrain Maryland transportation policy for generations. Thank you for filing, MTOC.
The construction/destruction that awaits us if Moore says ‘yes’.
Just one example: sound wall down, trees felled. Prep for toll lane construction.
Northbound I-495 near Georgetown Pike, 4/12/23.
You can easily see what will happen in MD if the toll lane project goes forward. Just take a drive on I-495 in Northern VA. Under Hogan, MDOT’s project was designed to be a continuation of VDOT’s 495 NEXT project, which is now under construction.
See VDOT’s chillingly business-as-usual description of neighborhood sound wall removal, tree clearing, pile driving.
Read about the actual devastating impact on communities in this lawsuit filed by the Northern Virginia Citizen’s Association.
See this warning from VA residents to Marylanders, published in Maryland Matters.
We need to make our voices heard! Write to the Montgomery County Council today at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.