Solution: Smart Growth throughout
the Region
Smart
Growth development provides alternatives to expensive road building projects
and poorly planned development. Two key aspects of smart growth are balancing
job centers with housing and increasing transit choices.
Creating a balance
of jobs and housing:
The Montgomery County
Balanced Land Use (BLU) Scenario seeks to preserve "a region blessed
with a rural greenbelt and proud historic sites; with walkable towns knitted
together by rail, bus, bike and roads; with an economically vibrant urban
core and thriving suburban neighborhoods; and with cleaner air, and healthy
streams and rivers that will benefit urban, suburban and rural residents".
The vision of the Balanced Land Use Initiative is to link development (jobs, housing and services) to transit in order to create more walkable, livable communities, save open space, better protect the environment and provide travel options within Montgomery County. Balancing land uses in the county have proven to provide greater congestion relief than the ICC. Related issues include: land use, New Urbanism, Transit Oriented Development and affordable housing.
Increasing Transit:
By increasing the transportation
money for transit, existing systems
can be improved and expanded throughout the region. Mass transit is a proven method
for congestion relief and is healthier for our air and water quality. There are
great social benefits of mass transit as well, including giving people more time
to relax during their commutes instead of being stressed about traffic and parking.
The Inner
Purple Line is a transit project currently being studied in Maryland as a
rail system that would connect job centers and residential centers in Montgomery
County and Prince George's County. Extending rail to Tysons Corner and Dulles
would provide commuters with additional transportation choices and there are many
communities in the region that would benefit from expanded bus service.
Read more about the Negative Effects of Building the ICC
Return to the ICC main page