Save I-270 from Lexus Lanes

February 23, 2020 Clare Callaghan

Take five minutes and click HERE to email Del. Kumar Barve. Even if you have emailed Delegate Barve in the past, or if you didn’t do it last week, please click HERE and send another email.

When you click, you will see an email ready to go; just click “send”. We made it easy for you because we know you are busy, but you care, and your voice is needed. If you have time, add your own words to the email.

The bill we support, HB 292, is the “County Consent” bill. It is our best hope of being able to prevent high tolls, worse congestion on I-270/I-495, a multitude of negative impacts to Rockville and nearby communities, and a possible financial fiasco for Maryland. The letter tells Chairman Barve that you support the “County Consent” bill (HB292) and asks him to report it out of committee to give other delegates a chance to make up their own minds about the merits of this legislation and vote.

This bill would give our county leaders a seat at the table, so they may engage in genuine collaboration on a region-wide mobility strategy. The focus would be on multimodal solutions, instead of exclusively paving more lanes of highway.

Time is quickly running out and we NEED you. Numbers matter a LOT! Many delegates support the “County Consent” bill, SB229/HB292, but unless the chairman, Kumar Barve, brings it up for a vote, they won't be heard and it will die.

Supporters have made a very strong case for the bill, and if it is brought up for a vote, it could pass! The people who oppose this bill want the P3 Lexus Lanes project to be fast-tracked – and they are working overtime. Please take action today. Email Delegate Barve and tell him you NEED his support for HB292.

MORE UPDATES

Greg Slater Takes the Helm at MDOT

Greg Slater is Maryland’s new Secretary of Transportation. He replaces Pete Rahn, one of Governor Hogan’s earliest Executive Council (cabinet) appointees, who resigned in early January. The Governor appointed Slater MDOT Acting Secretary on January 14. Slater’s appointment as the new Secretary of Transportation was recommended by the Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee on February 3, and on February 7 his appointment was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.

Secretary Slater has been with MDOT for more than 20 years, most recently as head of the State Highway Administration. He has built a solid reputation among State and local elected officials as well as community activists, consistently drawing praise for his integrity, even keel, and collaborative spirit. Slater’s professional background and public remarks suggest that he takes an evidence-driven, forward-looking approach to transportation issues.

However, in announcing Slater’s appointment, Governor Hogan credited him with spearheading the I-495/I-270 P3 project championed by Hogan and former Secretary Rahn. With its apparently preordained focus on road-widening and toll lanes, the project has compiled a record of missteps, obfuscation, acrimony, and broken promises. Appointment to Hogan’s cabinet brings new dimensions—including greater visibility and accountability—to Greg Slater’s role in this controversial project.

Slater replaces Rahn just when critical decisions are on the horizon for the P3 project. Can Secretary Slater restore public trust in the State’s transportation planning process? That’s a lot to ask. We at DW270 are hopeful. However, the current iteration of the P3 project has I-270 widening/toll lanes first in line, reserving similar activity on the Beltway east of 270 until later.

Justifying this approach, Mr. Slater recently said “we want to do an area like 270 first, where we have a much greater agreement, and then just continue a collaborative dialogue with our local partners on what the right solution is on the rest of that system.”

We hope Mr. Slater realizes he does not have “a much greater agreement” in communities that border I-270, including Rockville. He need only ask the 1,000+ members of DontWiden270.org. These communities, and their elected officials, don’t want to feel like they are part of the planning process. They want to be part of the process—not repeatedly blindsided by State officials. As Mr. Slater himself recently said, “You can’t develop the best solutions unless every voice is at the table.”

You can read more about Secretary Slater on the DW270 website.

ACTION ITEM

EMAIL Del. Kumar Barve, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee . Tell him you support the “County Consent” bill (HB292) and ask him to report it out of committee to give other delegates a chance to make up their own minds about the merits of this legislation and vote.

GOOD READS

More on problems with Public Private Partnerships (P3s) – and why Maryland should pass P3 reform (HB1424)

https://theconversation.com/west-gate-tunnel-saga-shows-risk-of-lock-in-on-mega-projects-pitched-by-business-131210

URGENT: Email Kumar Barve. Here's why

February 16, 2020 Clare Callaghan

Take five minutes and email Del. Kumar Barve if you oppose high tolls, worse congestion on I-270/I-495, a multitude of negative impacts to Rockville and nearby communities, and a possible financial fiasco for Maryland. Tell him you support the “County Consent” bill (HB292) and ask him to report it out of committee to give other delegates a chance to make up their own minds about the merits of this legislation and vote.

Numbers (emails and phone calls) matter a LOT! The “County Consent” bill, SB229/HB292 has many supporters, but unless we convince the chairman, Kumar Barve, to let it out of his committee with a favorable report, it will die. Our advocates have made a very strong case for the bill, but the outcome is still uncertain. The people who want this potentially disastrous project to be fast-tracked are powerfully working against this bill.

This is why we're asking you to take action today. Email Delegate Barve and tell him you NEED his support for HB292. This is urgent! Other important ACTION ITEMS are listed below, but first please do this one!

Here's Why State Senators and Delegates Need to Pass P3 Reform Now!
with help from Citizens Against Beltway Expansion

A pair of fresh news reports vividly show why legislation is needed now to protect Maryland taxpayers, commuters, and communities from massive public-private partnership (P3) proposals, like the one to widen I-495/I-270 for $11 billion Luxury Lanes.

First, Governor Hogan appears to have been altering the P3 proposal in ways that favor Transurban, the Australian toll road giant, at the expense of Maryland taxpayers”, according to an investigative column in Maryland Matters by Ben Ross, president of the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition.

Latest example Ross cites: the Hogan Administration quietly decided – and without General Assembly notice -- to put one firm in charge of the whole shebang instead of following through on the state's original procurement plan to have competing companies present their own plans and designs for the different toll road segments across the American Legion Bridge, over parts of I-495, and up I-270.

The sole-source contract feature is important since Transurban already has a contract to expand its I-495 Virginia tollways up to the American Legion Bridge. What's more, Transurban reportedly told investors it “would be the developer” of Maryland’s toll lanes (a claim it later walked back), Ross reports. (Transurban has spend $370,000 to lobby the Maryland legislature, according to Ross.)

For a more complete understanding of how Transurban operates, read these:

“The Making of a Monster”, about Transurban’s powerful contracting skills,
How Transurban’s contract with Virginia caused a needed bottleneck solution to go unchanged for over ten years, and
About Transurban’s latest disaster in Australia

BOTTOM LINE:

If the State outsources our highways to the Australian company, Transurban, without giving our counties a seat at the table on major transportation decisions like this, we will be at Transurban’s mercy for at least 50 years. We will lose our voice on this project and many others down the line.

MORE UPDATES

Tell MoCo County Council to Protect the Planning Board I-270 Corridor Transport Study!

The County Council put off a vote on the only comprehensive study that will directly compare the toll lane project with all transit alternatives, including MARC, monorail, Red Line extension, and bus rapid transit.

Tell your county councilperson to approve the $300,000 needed for this essential Planning Board study of all transportation alternatives for the I-270 corridor.

Tell the Council this study is critical for keeping Transurban, or other for-profit tollway companies, from strangling different transportation options and forcing commuters to jam the roads and drive up future tolls. (Rush hour tolls can top $48 on I-66.)

Tell them only the planning staff has the capability to evaluate transportation plans in the context of other critical issues --environment, equity, and land use.

Tell them the planning board study will complement -- not duplicate -- a county transportation department study focused on moving vehicles.

Tell them to approve this modest $300,000 item in a budget of billions for the unbiased comparison of transportation alternatives that we desperately need to protect ourselves from the Governor's worst case Luxury Lane scenario.

Click here to send this message.

THANK YOU EVERYONE--YOUR EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS GAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT TO OUR CITIZEN LOBBYISTS IN ANNAPOLIS ON THURSDAY, FEB. 14 (KEEP IT UP!)

ACTION ITEMS

ACTION 1: EMAIL Del. Kumar Barve, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee. Tell him you support the “County Consent” bill (HB292) and ask him to report it out of committee to give other delegates a chance to make up their own minds about the merits of this legislation and vote.

ACTION 2. Contact County Council Members to request they vote on $300,000 needed for the Planning Board’s Study of all transportation alternatives for the I-270 corridor. Details below.

ACTION 3. EMAIL Del. Kumar Barve, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee and your other Senators and Delegates, to ask for their support of HB292/SB229 (the County Consent bill) and also these three important bills:

1. *HB1424: Public Private Partnership (P3) Process and Oversight Bill. Critically important to prevent the governor from committing Maryland to potentially disastrous P3 projects without proper transparency. Details below.

2. *HB299: To limit the taking of private property by the State (eminent domain) for P3 toll projects on I-495/I-270 (to save our homes and backyards)

3. *HB1249 - Maryland State Department of Transportation Promises Act of 2020: I-495 and I-270 Public-Private Partnership -Partnership Agreement - Requirements. This would force MDOT to keep promises made when seeking approval for P3. Details below.

ACTION 4. Watch for next week’s email for Updates, Action Items, Details, and More Good Reads – things are happening fast!

DETAILS

HB 1424 — sponsored by Del. Jared Solomon (D18), would toughen P3 oversight and reviews by adding new taxpayer protections and transparency requirements for all public-private partnership (P3) transportation proposals with enhanced protections for proposals exceeding $500 million. This bill will fix a very flawed P3 process in which just two of the three people on the Board of Public Works (Governor, State Treasurer, State Comptroller) can turn over our public land to private companies who will collect high tolls from us for 50 years.

HB 299 — sponsored by Del. Sara Love (D16) would prohibit a State agency or its designee from acquiring residential real property for a public-private partnership project that includes the addition of toll lanes on I-495 or I-270. See last week’s newsletter for more details.

HB 1249 — sponsored by Del. Marc Korman (D16) puts into statute all of the promises the Administration made to get the Comptroller's vote and the Montgomery County Executive's positive press statements. For example, local toll setting hearings; 10% or more for transit; bus access to the toll lanes for free; no taxpayer costs; etc. See last week’s newsletter for more details.

MORE GOOD READS

Chairman Kumar Barve needs to hear from you! Here are two write-ups of Thursday’s hearing on the “County Consent” bill (HB292), for which the outcome is still uncertain.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/traffic/supporters-opponents-of-bill-on-veto-power-over-toll-roads-cross-swords-again/

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/14/panel-chairman-expresses-skepticism-over-county-consent-bill/

Why Governor Hogan is in a perfect position to enrich his private business through the power of his office, and how Vaughn Stewart’s Conflict of Interest bill (HB1404) would remedy that.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/09/bill-would-require-more-in-depth-financial-disclosures-from-hogan/

Two stories showing transit is being begged for all over the state!!

https://marylandreporter.com/2020/02/12/local-officials-urge-lawmakers-to-balance-transportation-spending-statewide/

and

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/13/we-have-to-get-things-moving-baltimore-area-leaders-urge-transit-boost/

Marylanders fear losing federal transit dollars

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/12/marylanders-fear-losing-federal-fight-for-public-transit-cash/

How Transurban’s contract with Virginia caused a needed bottleneck solution to go unchanged for over ten years due to Transurban’s expertly written non-compete clause. The solution was to give Transurban more contracts to build more toll roads and take more revenue that could have gone to the state of Virginia. A quote from the article:

“This issue has been on everyone’s radar for about 10 years now and the primary obstacle to doing anything was the Transurban contract,” said state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), who along with state Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William) lobbied the governor to put the Occoquan improvement on the negotiating table. “The only way that the Occoquan bottleneck was getting fixed was through the governor negotiating with Transurban. That was the only way.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/02/01/how-virginias-billion-deal-with-transurban-came-about-solved-major-i-bottleneck/

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

The Post says widen Maryland highways. But who do they represent?

https://ggwash.org/view/75859/the-post-says-widen-md-highways

And how could we forget….

Maryland’s Lesson:Widen the Roads, Drivers Will Come

Washington Post, Jan. 4, 1999, about the unexpectedly quick return of congestion when I-270 was widened from 4 to 12 lanes. The construction lasted 6 years (1985-1991); the rolling parking lot was back by 1998, just 7 years later. Read here.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE ON LOBBYING DAY

Get your friends and neighbors to join our e-mail list

This is a great way for them to stay current on what’s happening with the highway project and to learn how they can help fight this boondoggle. Go to https://dontwiden270.org/get-involved to sign up. And check out our website dontwiden270.org for more information. We even have a Spanish language section with translations of key documents.

Have a Question or Comment? Want a speaker for your community?

E-mail us at contactdontwiden270@gmail.com .

Want a Yard Sign?

Raise your voice and draw attention to Dontwiden270 with these colorful, two-sided yard signs! Order here.

Delegate Solomon’s essential P3 Reform bill, HB1424, is hot off the presses!

February 9, 2020 Clare Callaghan

UPDATES

Delegate Solomon’s essential P3 Reform bill, HB1424, is hot off the presses! Read more about it below!

But the 2020 legislative session is 1/3 over!

(The 2020 session runs from Jan. 8 – Apr. 6)

NOW IS THE TIME TO BE HEARD !

ACTION ITEMS

ACTION 1: EMAIL Del. Kumar Barve, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee HERE. Ask him to report FOUR CRITICAL BILLS out of committee so they can be voted on. (More details on the new bills below)

*HB299: To limit eminent domain for P3 toll projects on I-495/I-270 (to save our homes and backyards)
*HB292 : The House counterpart to SB229, the “County Consent” bill (to force MDOT/SHA to work with Montgomery County on this toll road project, and possibly even cancel it)
*HB1424: Public Private Partnership (P3) Process and Oversight Bill (details below)
*HB1249 - I-495 and I-270 Public-Private Partnership - Partnership Agreement - Requirements (Maryland State Department of Transportation Promises Act of 2020) (details below)

ACTION 2. Come to Annapolis Thursday for the HB292 hearing. (details below) Chair Barve needs to see you really care!

ACTION 3. Come to Annapolis Tuesday to join the Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE) Lobby Day (details below) and/or attend the HB299 hearing (details below)

ACTION 4. Watch for next week’s email for Updates, Action Items, Details, and More Good Reads – things are happening fast!!!!

HEARINGS TO ATTEND THIS WEEK

District 17 Delegate Kumar Barve chairs the House Environment & Transportation Committee and will hear two critical bills THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.:
HB299 : To limit eminent domain for P3 toll projects on I-495/I-270
Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.:
HB292 :The House counterpart to SB229, the “County Consent” bill

Both hearings are in Room 251, House Office Building, Annapolis MD 21401

DETAILS

Jared Solomon’s HB1424 P3 Reform Bill Details:

(from DW270’s partner, CABE)

One of the bills CABE and DontWiden 270 plan to lobby for on Tuesday, February 11 is HB 1424, which sets new taxpayer protections and transparency requirements for all public-private partnership (P3) transportation proposals with enhanced protections for proposals exceeding $500 million. Introduced by Delegate Jared Solomon (D-Mont.), the bill builds on legislation overwhelmingly passed by the House of Delegates last year and gives the General Assembly up to a year to review and nullify previously approved P3 designations.

Solomon's bill aims to fix the current P3 review system, which allowed the Board of Public Works to vote on the $11 billion P3 Luxury Lane proposal for I-495/I-270 despite MDOT's two-year refusal to share basic project and fiscal information with the Board, affected local governments, and the public.

If passed the bill would stop the BPW from designating $500+ million transportation proposals as P3s until they are cleared by a new Public-Private Partnership Oversight Review Board. Made up of appointees from the General Assembly, Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer, the new panel would review projects, pre-solicitation reports (with the General Assembly's Budget Committees), develop recommendations, and provide a report to Budget Committees and BPW.

The bill would also give the General Assembly up to one year to revisit BPW decisions to designate a proposal as a P3 and, if necessary, pass legislation to nullify it.

To protect taxpayers, HB 1424 would require independent auditors (or rating agencies) to conduct a rating assessment survey for every contract under a large P3 agreement before the Board of Public Works can vote on it.

This is a smart response to numerous studies from the U.S. Department of Transportation and others that blame over-optimistic assumptions about traffic volumes and revenues for unexpected taxpayer bailouts of struggling P3 tollways in Texas and other states.

Finally, the bill would expand existing 'no-compete' requirements to ensure local governments can add roads, transit, and other options for commuters that may compete with P3 toll roads without having to pay a penalty or get the P3 company's permission. Current law only affects state-funded transportation projects.

Bottom line: this is an important bill that would go a long way to restoring certainty and public confidence in massive P3 proposals for highways and other transportation projects. We strongly urge both houses to take it up and pass it.

HB1249 - I-495 and I-270 Public-Private Partnership - Partnership Agreement - Requirements (Maryland State Department of Transportation Promises Act of 2020)

This legislation sponsored by Del. Marc Korman (D16) puts into statute all of the promises the Administration made to get the Comptroller's vote and the Montgomery County Executive's positive press statements. If you saw his exchange with Secretary Slater a few weeks ago, (watch here) it has all of the elements he hit on there. For example, local toll setting hearings; 10% or more for transit; bus access to the toll lanes for free; no taxpayer costs; etc.

This is not how Marc Korman would do this project, it is how MDOT claims they will do it.

If the Administration has agreed to these elements of the project, then why do we need this bill? Because we know these promises may not be kept, just as they were not in the case of the Harry Nice Bridge where the Administration backed off of announced plans to have separated bike/ped lanes: read here

No hearing is set yet, but it is not too soon to email Chair Barve to ask him to support this bill.

CABE Lobby Day
February 11, 2020
10:00 am
Main Entrance to the Senate Office Building
11 Bladen Street
Annapolis, MD 21401

The General Assembly is in full swing and we need you to help convince our Senators and Delegates to pass bills that protect taxpayers, communities, and commuters from high-risk boondoggles like Governor Hogan's $11 billion Luxury Lane plan for I-270 and I-495.

We came close last year. The House passed legislation overwhelmingly, but it stalled in the Senate. This year we can get it done. But only with your help.

Time is short. MDOT has issued a new Request for Qualifications to line up vendors and hopes to sign a contract by spring 2021.

We need to meet with as many Senators and Delegates as possible. Bigger turnout on Tuesday, means more meetings with Senators and Delegates. More meetings is how we get it done.

Mark your calendar. Join us on Tuesday, February 11, for CABE Lobby Day at the main entrance of the Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD.(Remember to bring a driver's license or other government ID to enter the Senate building.)

Contact Barbara Coufal for more information at bcoufal10@aol.com.

City of Rockville Opposed I-270 Widening

From Cliff Cumber, City of Rockville Public Information Specialist

The Mayor and Council continued efforts in January to oppose a state project to widen interstates 270 and 495 over the American Legion Bridge with toll lanes, as a state board approved the project.

The Board of Public Works, comprised of the governor, comptroller and state treasurer, approved the project on a 2-1 vote on Jan. 8, with Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp voting in opposition. In a letter to the board on Jan. 6, the Mayor and Council said they “were stunned to learn from the press” late on Jan. 4 that the vote had been scheduled for Jan. 8 and that the plan had changed.

The approved plan calls for toll lanes between a widened Legion Bridge and Interstate 370, and defers widening the remainder of I-495. “This plan is dramatically different from the previous plan and no one has had time to study the impacts these changes will have,” the letter said. The city will be “the most critically affected municipality,” with the highway’s 12 lanes abutting homes, Julius West Middle School, two churches and senior facilities, the letter said.

The Mayor and Council have actively engaged with the state about this proposed project, encouraging state officials not to take homes or breach sound-wall boundaries. The Jan. 6 letter expressed their concern that the project would force Rockville to reconstruct city-owned bridges over I-270 at Wootton Parkway and Gude Drive.

The Mayor and Council requested an analysis of the traffic that construction related to the widening will generate, and a discussion of long-term maintenance needs resulting from additional traffic. The letter noted noise pollution from the existing highway and questioned why other options were not considered, telling the board, “Let’s put transit options first – not last.”

The Mayor and Council also questioned why state officials were not more transparent and rushed toward a vote, asking the board to remove the item from its agenda and work with the city. Read about Rockville's efforts to advocate on behalf of the community about the widening project at https://rockvillereports.com/?s=I-270.