MDOT’s Rosy Toll-Road Story Is Contradicted By The State’s Own Documentation

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.

Toll sign.png

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

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.

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.

Franchot May Have Voted for the Toll Lanes, but the Fight Is Far From Over!

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.

  • 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)

At Toll-Lane Vote on 8/11, Peter Franchot must say ‘WAIT!’

Even if you’ve reached out to Comptroller Peter Franchot before, there are NEW reasons to do it again! You may have written him about the $4/mile peak tolls coming in 2026 and the loss of free lanes on I-270.

But do you want him to vote for a $50 million toll-lane contract without having the State’s Bond Counsel and Financial Advisor even examine it? Details below.

ACTION ITEM

Ahead of the August 11 Board of Public Works (BPW) vote on the toll-lane predevelopment agreement, urge Franchot – the swing vote on this issue – to insist on a delay of vote until the BPW and the public get the information they need.

  • Call Franchot’s office at the BPW at 410-260-7801 and leave your message.

  • Send an email to the entire BPW (Governor Hogan, Treasurer Nancy Kopp, and Franchot) at email.bpw@maryland.gov.

  • For message ideas, see how Hogan prevented the State’s financial and legal experts from reviewing the toll-lane contract (below). Then check out this spot-on Q&A from our friends at the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition.

  • If you’ve called or written Franchot before, please do it again! He needs to hear us.

The State Is Forging Ahead, Ignoring the Public Good

In the rush to a BPW vote on August 11, the Governor is doing an end run around our State’s own Treasurer, Nancy Kopp.

  • The Treasurer was given 30 days to assess an overwhelming number of legal and financial documents and evaluate the risks and costs of the proposed $6 billion public private partnership (P3) agreement.

  • But the Governor DENIED her request for $100,000 to get the input she needs from the State’s Bond Counsel and Financial Advisor – experts in analyzing and negotiating P3s like the one the BPW will vote on.

  • Denying the Treasurer’s request is denying her and Comptroller Peter Franchot the ability to perform their due diligence and make an informed decision about the agreement by August 11.

  • To fulfill his self-described duty as the State’s “fiscal watchdog,” Franchot must insist on delaying the vote until the financial and legal review is complete.

The State is also doing an end run around federal environmental mandates.

  • The project’s environmental review has not been completed; the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) has not been issued. These are not pesky details.

  • The FEIS is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). So, too, is the State’s response to the nearly 3,000 unanswered public comments on the draft EIS submitted as part of the NEPA process.

  • The Mayor and Council of Rockville, the city most at risk from this project, have received no answers to the many substantive questions and issues they raised in their comments submitted over eight months ago. Read the powerful new letter they just sent the BPW.

  • If the predevelopment agreement is approved on August 11 and the project later fails the environmental review, Maryland taxpayers must pay a $50 million penalty to the private contractor.

  • But if Franchot calls for a delay of vote until the results of the environmental review are known, that $50 million is not at risk. That alone should persuade Franchot to wait.

What if Franchot Ignores his Responsibilities and Votes ‘Yes’?

  • Well, first – shame on any public official or politician who understands what’s in the predevelopment agreement and still supports it. And shame on any public official or politician who doesn’t understand what’s in it and blindly supports it anyway.

  • Second, no need for despair. Even if the BPW approves the predevelopment agreement, this project will have to clear more hurdles: state and federal reviews, mandatory periods for public input, BPW votes, and – if needed – opportunities for litigation before the project can actually go forward.

Meanwhile, and for as long as it takes, we keep making our voices heard.

There’s Strength in Numbers: Help us Grow Our Mailing List

People who read our newsletters take action, and our elected officials take notice! Help spread the word about what we can do to safeguard our environment and promote healthy, efficient, and fair transportation options. Tell your friends and neighbors they can join our newsletter email list by going to https://dontwiden270.org/get-involved and checking the "keep me informed" box. Our website is https://dontwiden270.org.