preserving the quality of life in Olney, Maryland

Transportation

What Can Be Done About Congestion?

Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Linking Solutions to Problems:  A report prepared for the Federal Highway Administration provides an understanding of the various sources of congestion, highlights the growing importance of system reliability, and recommends ways to address congestion by targeting the sources of congestion and unreliability.

Analysis and Solutions for Montgomery County Congestion.

The Montgomery County Civic Federation (MCCF) Transportation Committee presented their analysis and recommendations for the County during their April 12, 2004 meeting. Four problems were identified.

1. The first is that freeways and arterial roads are congested and are getting worse. The Metrorail is crowded and bus service today is not a viable option for many people.
    
2. Second, building significant numbers of new roads is not realistic because the County is largely built-out and land is not available. Further, the impact on neighborhoods, environment, and quality of life creates strong opposition.
    
3. Third, the Transportation Policy Report (TPR) concluded that we cannot build enough roads to address congestion in the long-term, even if funds were available.
    
4. And finally, the fourth problem is that funds are limited.

The foundation for MCCF’s approach is to balance land use and increase funding. Transit policies should encourage transit-oriented development and address current impediments. Buses should increase frequencies, increase hours of operations, and improve connectivity. New lines and more capacity are needed on the Metrorail. Road policies can work to improve signalization and encourage ride sharing. Road improvements, new roads, and interchanges are also needed.

About 10% of the substantial funding needed for the many projects is a county responsibility with the other 90% a responsibility of the state, including federal funding provided to the state. The Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and related Annual Growth Policy (AGP) are intended to pace development with the availability of infrastructure required to support it. The Policy Area Transportation Review that used to be used to stage development to prevent overburdening area roads has been eliminated and there is no replacement staging mechanism. The Local Area Transportation Review, the tool for measuring the impact of new development on adjacent signalized intersections remains and is being strengthened.

The estimated yearly capital funding needed by Montgomery County for transportation is $200 million if growth is 1% and $300 million if growth is 1.5%. The current Strategic Plan for Economic Development (SPED) is proposing 2% growth. There is a public hearing on April 27th on the SPED and the County Council will be voting shortly afterwards. It is important to let our County Council know that 2% growth is not sustainable and will further congest our roads.

Click here to see the full MCCF Transportation Plan on their website.