Act Now! Oral Comments Close Sept. 10.
This month and next, you can speak directly to the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) leaders and tell them you support the “No-Build Option.” Your oral comments on the project are critical for stopping this disaster, which will significantly damage our environment, our communities, and our pocketbooks without fixing anything.
MDOT recently released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the public-private partnership (P3) project to add four private toll lanes on I-495 and I-270. In fact, the DEIS says northbound traffic on I-270 will get WORSE once the toll lanes south of the ICC are in place.
Your feedback matters!
Public hearings on the DEIS will be held in August and September and written comments will be accepted until October 8th. You may provide both verbal testimony and written comments. This newsletter focuses on presenting verbal testimony. Subsequent newsletters will focus on submitting written comments.
ACTION ITEM
Give verbal comments/testimony on the DEIS.
There are four ways to provide your 3-minute testimony:
Oral testimony to panelists at a virtual hearing (August 25, Sept. 3).You will need to use your phone to provide testimony at the virtual hearings. Registered participants will be placed in time slots; the queue is first come, first serve. MDOT will send you detailed instructions on how to provide live testimony. Click here to register to give virtual testimony.
Oral testimony to panelists at an in-person hearing (Sept.1 in Largo or Sept. 10 in Rockville). Social distancing protocols will be strictly enforced, including required face coverings, hand sanitizing stations, and limited capacity in the hearing room. Register by calling 833-858-5960.
One-on-one oral testimony to a court reporter (Sept.1 in Largo or Sept. 10 in Rockville). Register by calling 833-858-5960.
Leave your testimony by voicemail on the virtual hearing dates (August 25, Sept. 3) from 9 am-8 pm or on the in-person hearings dates (Sept. 1 and Sept. 10) from 12 pm-9 pm. Call 855-432-1483 and press * to hear options.
MDOT will make the hearing transcript available on the Program website at a later date after the hearings have been concluded.
The Montgomery County Council and County Executive seek public input and have requested that County residents who testify at the hearings send a copy of their testimony to County representatives no later than Monday, Sept. 14. This information will be reviewed by the County to guide development of a detailed County position. County residents can submit testimony to: managed.lanes@montgomerycountymd.gov.
How to Comment
Introduce yourself. State your name, spell your name, and provide your address slowly and clearly.
You will have just 3 minutes after you have introduced yourself to present verbal testimony and therefore it is best to focus on one to three issues/points about the DEIS that are of particular interest to you.
It is very important to state upfront that you do not support the project and support a no-build option so that this is clearly on the record. “No-build” is the one MDOT alternative that does not include adding new toll lanes but it does not preclude improvements to I-270 such as those identified in our logo above.
Explain how the proposed expansion project will impact your life and loved ones, particularly if you live near the proposed expansion or have children in affected schools.
Then choose one or more topics and elaborate and customize. The following are key issues of concerns developed by some organizations and agencies that may provide useful information for choosing a topic that is important to you:
Remember: Effective comments are clear, concise, and provide specific examples.
Additional Resources on the DEIS:
General information from MDOT on providing feedback on the DEIS.
View the DEIS document (the full document or by chapter)
18,000 Pages, Myriad Questions: Hogan’s Highway-Widening Plan Faces the Public, Maryland Matters, August 18, 2020.