Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials and advocates in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are working to create safe streets for all. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation. Stay tuned for our Active Transportation Summit in Spring 2021!
Author: Elena Sorokina
CSG Letter on Proposed Property Tax Changes
July 27, 2020
The Honorable Sidney Katz
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Re: Property Taxes
Dear Council President Katz and Councilmembers:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposals to alter the rules for property tax increases. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the DC region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities.
We support a fix to the artificial constraints imposed by the current property tax cap, and want to ensure that the Council and County Executive have the authority to budget in a way that meets the community’s needs, particularly for social services, affordable housing, and public transportation. The county requires improved flexibility to meet unexpected challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the increased need it has created.
At the same time as needs rise, Montgomery County has not been able to benefit from growth in the tax base, growth which is supported by a history of successful public investments in infrastructure, schools, and transportation. Continuous public investment and services are vital in order to maintain a high quality of life, spur further economic development, and battle external threats, including public health and climate crises.
Therefore, we support proposals to remove the property tax cap and to require a supermajority of at least two-thirds of the council to raise the general property tax rate, not a unanimous vote as is now the case. We also support setting equal limits on rate increases for owner-occupied residential properties and for residential rental properties, since landlords pass property tax increases onto tenants in the form of higher rents. Homeowners and renters should be treated equally – renters should not face a higher pass-through cost of tax increases than homeowners.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jane Lyons
Maryland Advocacy Manager
Coalition for Smarter Growth
CC: Montgomery County Councilmembers County Executive Marc Elrich
CSG Testimony Re: Montgomery County Complete Streets Design Guide
July 21, 2020
Montgomery County Planning Board
8787 Georgia Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Item 12 – Complete Streets Design Guide (Support)
Testimony for July 23, 2020
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager
Good evening and thank you to Chair Anderson and Planning Commissioners. My name is Jane Lyons and I’m speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We enthusiastically support the Complete Streets Design Guide.
Thank you and congratulations to the staff who worked on this project – who has yet again solidified Montgomery Planning as a national leader in creative suburban planning. We are pleased that the Complete Streets Design Guide is clear in prioritizing safety, sustainability, and vitality, and provides a roadmap for how to balance competing needs. When we prioritize street space correctly, streets can become an engine for healthy people, a healthy economy, and a healthy environment.
The biggest challenge in actualizing safe, green, vibrant streets is reengineering the county’s arterial roads, especially in lower income neighborhoods where traffic fatalities are more common. The vision in Thrive 2050 is for these arterials to become safe, green, multimodal boulevards, and this document will be a critical guide for those changes.
A few constructive comments:
• Page 55: We’d like it to be clear that a sidepath is always preferable to bikeable shoulders.
• Page 57: We recommend that bikeways be listed as a high priority for downtown boulevards, downtown streets, town center boulevards, and town center streets.
• Page 82: Bus shelters, in addition to BRT stations, should consider opportunities to provide additional passenger amenities such as seating, local area information, wayfinding, and real time traveler information.
• Page 88: We urge the county to update its policy for snow events. Especially in downtowns and town centers, the county – not the building owners – should be responsible for clearing snow on sidewalks, sidewalk ramps, and sidewalk-level bicycle facilities.
• Page 232: Public engagement should also include on-the-street direct outreach strategies, as well as strongly encourage paid community focus/advisory groups to ensure diverse input for major decisions.
• Finally, we ask that the design guide be open to amendment upon the completion of the Pedestrian Master Plan and Vision Zero Action Plan.
Implementing the Complete Streets Design Guide is key to achieving the county’s Vision Zero goal, as well as improving connectivity and helping shift mode-share away from single occupancy vehicles. We look forward to the comprehensive update of the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways that is necessitated by the guide, along with its implementation throughout new projects, resurfacing, construction, and maintenance. Wherever possible, we encourage the Planning Board, MCDOT, DPS, and the Council to codify the guide into law and regulation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Keep transit moving by wearing a mask!
Public transit has been a lifeline for essential workers who keep our society and economy moving. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that masks work to keep people safe. Reports from countries like Japan and France suggest that public transit is relatively safe, so long as passengers wear masks, don’t talk, maintain distance, and agencies maintain regular cleaning.
Click here for a great graphic from the Mayo Clinic on which masks work and which don’t. Avoid N95 masks with vents, as they do not prevent virus transmission. See below for how to correctly wear a mask.
All transit agencies in the DC region require masks. WMATA and Ride On both offer disposable masks and hand sanitizer to riders free of cost, but please do your best to remember your own mask!
By wearing a mask, you will be protecting your fellow passengers, your transit operators, and yourself! As the CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield recently announced, transmission will decrease sharply if we can all commit to wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.
We know, masks aren’t always comfortable, especially in the hot summer months in the DC area, but masking up is a relatively easy way to make a positive impact in your community and keep transit moving. So wear your mask, travel with hand sanitizer, and please continue to stay safe and healthy. We will get through this together!
For more information on transit safety in the age of COVID-19, check out these resources:
Bloomberg: Japan and France find public transit systems safe
NY Daily News: Transit: safe and vital to reopen
The Atlantic: Fear of Transit is Bad for Cities
Keep transit moving by wearing a mask!
Public transit has been a lifeline for essential workers who keep our society and economy moving. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that masks work to keep people safe. Reports from countries like Japan and France suggest that public transit is relatively safe, so long as passengers wear masks, don’t talk, maintain distance, and agencies maintain regular cleaning.
Be sure to wear the mask correctly on your face, and avoid touching it whenever possible. Avoid N95 masks with vents, as they do not prevent virus transmission.
All transit agencies in the DC region require masks. For those in Montgomery County, Ride On buses are equipped with limited supplies of disposable masks available to riders without masks, but please do your best to bring your own!
By wearing a mask, you will be protecting your fellow passengers, your transit operators, and yourself! As CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield recently announced, transmission will decrease sharply if we can all commit to wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.
We know, masks aren’t always comfortable, especially in the hot summer months in the DC area, but masking up is a relatively easy way to make a positive impact in your community and keep transit moving. So wear your mask, travel with hand sanitizer, and please continue to stay safe and healthy. We will get through this together!
Active Transportation Webinar: Active Transportation during COVID-19
Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are responding to COVID-19. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation.
Sligo Creek Trail Crossing Safety Improvement Sign-on Letter
Mr. Tim Smith
State Highway Administration
707 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Dear Mr. Smith,
We, the undersigned, request the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) implement pedestrian and bicyclist crossing improvements at highways MD-212/Riggs Road and MD-410/East West Highway which intersect M-NCPPC Sligo Creek Trail and highway corridors near the park trail.
These popular Sligo Creek Trail crosswalks at state highway intersections present a significant threat to vulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists as a consequence of inadequate signal facilities, excessive driver speed for conditions, substantial crossing distances, several multi-threat travel lanes, exposure from high vehicle volume, lack of shoulders and center median (MD-410), and obstructed crosswalk visibility. In short, these crosswalk systems are compromised.
We request the following suite of Safe System elements be implemented by MDSHA to provide adequate crosswalk safety:
- Narrow Travel Lanes
- Remove Visibility Obstructions and Barriers
- Build a Pedestrian Island Refuge (MD-410)
- Extend Bike Lanes (MD-212)
- Implement a Road Diet (MD-212)
- Implement Context-Driven Safe Speed
- Upgrade the Crosswalk Beacons
These Safe System elements work together as an ensemble to keep vulnerable crosswalk users and drivers safe. These recommended Safe System elements are summarized in Table 1.
This is a major safety issue.
- Vulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists on key trail crossings, which include school children, are currently exposed to high speed, high volume (23,000 vehicles per weekday) traffic, crossing several dangerous multi-threat lanes with inadequate or non-existent shoulders. The crossing systems are also compromised by obstructed sightlines from the presence of blind (sag) curves, utility poles, and bridge wall visibility blockages.
- These compromised trail crossing systems have resulted in numerous documented Maryland State Police crashes resulting in the crossings being identified as medium to high pedestrian and bicyclists crash “crash hot spots” in the MDOT Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (2019).
The design ignores equity and land use contexts.
- These highway corridors serve a highly disadvantaged and chronically underserved majority-minority community and included within Maryland Equity Emphasis Area, Priority Funding Area, and Health Outcomes SocioNeeds Area.
- These trail crossings serve a dense urban community (10,000 residents per square mile) with extremely high percent of no-car households (30%) satisfying demand created by numerous nearby (<0.25 mile) amenities including elementary schools, park and recreation centers, and shopping centers.
Sligo Creek Trail is a major part of our transportation system.
- These trail crossings are an integral component of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System (ATTS) serving seven regional and national trail systems thereby helping Maryland promote its rich and diverse cultural, historic, and environmental, and heritage.
- These trail crossings provide 23,000 residents critical links six transit stations from four rail lines (WMATA Purple, Red, Green, Yellow Lines and MVA/MARC Camden Line) meeting growing demand for accessibility within the region’s multi-modal transportation system which include significant Transit/Trail Oriented Development, upgraded nearby bicycle facilities (MD-500, MD-193, Ager Rd), and the 670 bicycle fleet Prince George’s County Bike Share Program.
Our request is consistent with MDOT/MDSHA’s “context driven” engineering guidelines. These MDSHA guidelines include safe speed limits, continental crosswalks, and specialized signals. Similar Safe System elements are being implemented by MDSHA through the MD-500/Queens Chapel Project. Prioritizing Sligo Creek trail crossings is also congruent with MDOT policy goals promulgated by the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (2019).
Finally, our Sligo Creek Trail crossing Safe System recommendations are consistent with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) recommendations, MDOT/MDSHA urban mobility-focused streetscape policy, and MDSHA cost-effective pedestrian safety countermeasures currently being undertaken.
Thank you for your urgent attention to making the M-NCPPC Sligo Creek Trail crossings safe.
Sincerely,
Capital Trails Coalition
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Table 1. Crosswalk System Deficiencies, Risks, and Recommended Safe System Elements
| Crossing System Deficiency | Risk | Recommended Safe System Element | MD212 /Riggs Road | MD410 /East West Hwy |
| Excessive Crossing Distance, Pedestrian & Bicyclist Exposure, Streetscape Encourages High Driver Speed | Pedestrian & Bicyclist Exposure, Unsafe Driver Speed especially with presence of blind curves and obstructions | Narrow Travel Lanes, Decrease Exposure, Encourage Drive Safe Speed, Decrease Stopping Distance | X | X |
| Crosswalk Barriers, Utility Poles, Bridges, Walls, and Blind Curves | Drivers and Vulnerable Crosswalk Users fail to see each other, increasing risk of crashes | Remove obstructions and barriers, improving visibility | X | X |
| Speed Limit Excessive for Trail, School, and Shopping Urban Environment | Likelihood of death for Pedestrians and Bicyclists struck by vehicles traveling faster than 30 mph is High | Implement Safe Speeds consistent with Context-Driven multimodal, urban conditions | X | X |
| Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Excessive Crossing Distance, Streetscape Encourages High Driver Speed | Drivers Vision of Vulnerable Users Blocked, Significant Exposure to Vulnerable Users, Streetscape Encourages High Driver Speed | Build a Pedestrian Island Refuge (24 inch wide) in Median, Reduce Exposure from Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Encourage Driver Safe Speed | X | |
| Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Excessive Crossing Distance, Poor Driver/Vulnerable User Vision | Drivers Vision of Vulnerable Users Blocked, Significant Exposure to Vulnerable Users, Streetscape Encourages High Driver Speed | Extend Bike Lanes on MD212 from Sargent to MD410/East-West Highway Intersection, Reduce Exposure from Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Encourage Driver Safe Speed | X | |
| Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Excessive Crossing Distance, Poor Driver/Vulnerable User Vision | Drivers Vision of Vulnerable Users Blocked, Significant Exposure to Vulnerable Users, Streetscape Encourages High Driver Speed | Implement Road Diet (6 ->4 Travel Lanes), Extend Crossing Queuing Area using Curb Extensions/Bump-Outs as supported by highway Volume/Capacity, Encourage Driver Safe Speed | X | |
| Crosswalk Width (6ft) does not provide early warning of presence of Vulnerable Users in Crosswalk | Drivers speed and braking distance is excessive for conditions; risk of collisions elevated | Widen Crosswalk width from 6ft to 10ft, an, Encourage Drive Safe Speed | X | |
| Existing Circular Yellow Beacon Provides Inadequate Vulnerable User Crosswalk Safety for Highway Speed, Crossing Distance, Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, High Vehicle Volume and Vulnerable User Demand, Lack of Shoulders and Median, and Obstructed Visibility | Number of Crashes at and near crosswalks is high, risk of serious injuries and fatalities is significant | Upgrade crossing signal to Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon / HAWK or Full Signal (preferred) to provide adequate crosswalk safety for Vulnerable Users | X | |
| Existing Circular Yellow Beacon Provides Inadequate Vulnerable User Crosswalk Safety for Highway Speed, Crossing Distance, Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, High Vehicle Volume and Vulnerable User Demand, Lack of Shoulders, and Obstructed Visibility | Number of Crashes at and near crosswalks is high, risk of serious injuries and fatalities is significant | Upgrade crossing signal to Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB), Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon / HAWK (preferred) or Full Signal to provide adequate crosswalk safety for Vulnerable Users | X |
RELEASE: Advocates Alarmed at 18,000 Page Environmental Impact Statement on Gov. Hogan’s I-495 and I-270 Widening Plan
July 10, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 10th, 2020
CONTACT:
Lindsey Mendelson, Maryland Sierra Club
lindsey.mendelson@mdsierra.org | (240) 706-7901
Jeanne Braha, Rock Creek Conservancy
jbraha@rockcreekconservancy.org | (301)-312-1471
Advocates Alarmed at 18,000 Page Environmental Impact Statement on Gov. Hogan’s I-495 and I-270 Widening Plan
MARYLAND- Today, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released an 18,000 page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on Gov. Hogan’s plans to expand I-495 and I-270 with two private toll lanes in each direction. The DEIS outlines the impacts of the plan on the region’s air, water, parks, noise levels, traffic and other categories.
Residents and community organizations have just started to sift through the 90 pound document to assess the damage that the over $11 billion project could cause to Maryland’s environment, health, and economy, especially in the midst of a global pandemic and economic downturn. Advocates are concerned that the DEIS, despite its size, does not adequately examine key alternatives to the widening such as public transit and better land use planning nor effectively examine telecommuting’s role in reducing congestion.
In the last two weeks, over 40 organizations and U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin asked for the comment period to be at least 120 days to accommodate the public’s ability to comment during the pandemic and complete the approximately 600 hours it would take to read through the document completely. Despite this request, the public comment period remains at 90 days, which would not be enough time for a person reading 40 hours a week to get through all the pages of the document.
“The Draft Environmental Impact Statement weighs 90 pounds. That alone indicates that this project warrants intense scrutiny. We are concerned that this massive highway project will exacerbate harm to our health and environment. The Sierra Club and other organizations have been denied, delayed or charged $300,000 for public information requests that would have shed more light on this project. We need more time to comment on this controversial proposal.” –Josh Tulkin, Director, Maryland Sierra Club
“Experience shows that highway expansions increase, not decrease, driving demand. By fueling more long-distance living and commuting, toll lanes are a massive, generational alteration of our landscape and come at high cost to homes and neighborhoods, people and health, and the natural environment.” – Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager of the Coalition for Smarter Growth
“The $11 billion I-495/I-270 expansion is too big and will affect too many lives over the next 50 years for Marylanders to accept an 18,000 page draft environmental impact statement that offers vague assurances that pollution and flood risk won’t increase and parks and communities will be protected. We urge MDOT to give the public the time it needs to review this draft statement and to release the secret traffic and revenue studies being used to justify this massive, high-risk project. Maryland cannot afford a repeat of the crisis plaguing the Purple Line, the Hogan administration’s first public-private partnership. –Brad German, Co-Chair, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion
“This proposed expansion threatens our national parks, including Greenbelt Park, C&O Canal, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Suitland Parkway, and Baltimore-Washington Parkway, without solving the region’s transportation needs. Should this proposal move forward, over 300 acres of local parkland – including valuable green space in an increasingly urban area — could be paved over. Instead of pursuing this new and costly highway expansion, the National Parks Conservation Association urges the Maryland Department of Transportation to examine the many alternatives available that will address our transit needs without sacrificing our parks.”-Pamela Goddard, Mid-Atlantic Senior Program Director, National Parks Conservation Association
Rock Creek is just one of the many special places that will be impacted by the proposed $11 billion expansion of I-495 and I-270. These impacts will extend far downstream, including into the creek through the nation’s first urban national park, Rock Creek Park. The public deserves a full range of alternatives for these sensitive waterways, habitat corridors, and public lands and time to fully consider them.-Jeanne Braha, Executive Director, Rock Creek Conservancy
“How precious is breathing? How important is it to preserve natural spaces and protect the health of residents of this region? We at the Audubon Naturalist Society want MDOT and the SHA to tell us, because the delivery of this 90-pound EIS for an $11 billion project with only 90 days to review it suggests that our health and well-being are not a top priority. Taxpayers deserve better.” –Denisse Guitarra, Maryland Conservation Advocate, Audubon Naturalist Society
“MDOT gave assurances that the public would have an opportunity in the DEIS process to actively participate in the consequential decisions related to the I-495 & I-270 project. However, in releasing an 18,000-page DEIS in the middle of a health and fiscal emergency, and then failing to provide adequate time for document review, MDOT shows disregard for public input. No one knows what post-pandemic commerce, employment, and traffic patterns will look like — the entire effort should be paused until the pandemic subsides.”-Linda Rosendorf, Don’t Widen 270.
Had the Governor and the Maryland Department of Transportation followed a process that allowed for sufficient constituent input and alternative proposals before announcing this massive, destructive plan, the citizens of Maryland would not be in the position of pointing out the obvious. The plan is deeply flawed and may very well cause more harm than good.- Cecilia Plante, Maryland Legislative Coalition.
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CSG Testimony Supporting Montgomery County Bill 13-20
July 8, 2020
Montgomery County Council Council Office Building
100 Maryland Ave.
Rockville, MD 20850
Bill 13-20, County Property – Disposition – Affordable Housing (Support)
Public Testimony
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager
2020.07.07-CSG-Testimony-for-Bill-13-20-County-Property-Disposition-Affordable-Housing-Final-1Download
President Katz and Councilmembers, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony on Bill 13-20. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We strongly support any efforts to make better use of our public land for affordable housing.
Bill 13-20 would require any disposition of property that will be used primarily for housing development must be 30 percent income-restricted, with 15 percent as moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs) and the other 15 percent for households earning 50 percent of less of the area median income (AMI).
For too long, the county has not used its public land for its full potential. With many county properties located near high-capacity transit and land being a significant cost of construction, subsidized land costs makes deeper levels of affordability possible. At a time when we need 75 percent of new housing in the region to be affordable for low and middle income households, this legislation is common sense.
We would like to see this legislation go a step further. If county land dispositions meet certain requirements, such as being a certain distance from transit, it should be required for that land be used for affordable housing. There is nothing under current law prioritizing or requiring certain uses to be considered, or giving preference to experienced affordable housing developers as partners.
We need to re-imagine how we use public land, when being disposed of and when redeveloping. Libraries, community centers, and other public facilities should all be co-located with housing. Our region already has several examples of housing co-located with public facilities. We hope this legislation will be a first step for better using public land for the public good.
Therefore, we urge you to support Bill 13-20 and seek provisions to make it even stronger. Thank you for your consideration.
RELEASE: CSG and Montgomery Open Streets Coalition Ask SHA for 19 Miles of Shared Streets
July 1, 2020
Mr. Greg Slater
Maryland Secretary of Transportation
7201 Corporate Center Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
Mr. Tim Smith, Administrator
Maryland State Highway Administration
707 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
RE: Shared Streets Treatments on Maryland State Roads in Montgomery County
To: Tim Smith MD SHA Administrator
Dear Secretary Slater and Mr. Smith,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we would like to offer a list of State Highways that would benefit greatly from a “Shared Streets” approach as is being used by Montgomery County Department of Transportation. Recently, SHA itself coordinated with MCDOT and Councilmember Tom Hucker’s office in the closing of the right northbound lane on MD-97 in downtown Silver Spring to facilitate outdoor dining.
We are proposing a similar treatment of longer stretches of some State roads to promote greater connectivity for bicyclists and pedestrians and make it safer for those who do not want to drive or do not have access to a car to make trips throughout Montgomery County walking or by bicycle. These could be commuting to work trips, or shorter ones to go buy groceries, visit the doctor, connect with trails or do other errands. It is vital to provide alternatives to cars that are safe, affordable and are useful in getting people between different parts of the County or even within a short radius of where people live.
The list below amounts to almost 19 miles of state roads. We understand that SHA may want to pilot this concept of partial closures to cars and suggest that the stretch on University Boulevard is a good place to start as it would connect the Wheaton CBD with Sligo Creek Parkway and neighborhoods east of the Parkway as well.
We look forward to your response and hope that you can work with MCDOT and members of the Maryland House and Senate and the Montgomery County Council.
Here is the list of roads we propose as candidates for a Shared Streets approach:
- University Blvd/MD-193 from Colesville Road/MD-29 to Viers Mill Road/Md-586 (3.0 mi) (Connects from Four Corners neighborhood to Sligo Creek Parkway and Trail to Wheaton CBD)
- Viers Mill Road/MD-586 from MD-193 to Matthew Henson Trail (works best in pairing with no. 1 above (2.7 mi) (Connects Wheaton CBD to Matthew Henson Trail)
- Frederick Road/MD-355 from Germantown Road/Md-118 to MIddlebrook Road (.8 mi) (Connects Montgomery College/Germantown Campus and Holy Cross Hospital/Germantown)
- Piney Branch Road/MD-320 from Sligo Creek Pkwy to New Hampshire Ave/MD-650 (1.4 mi) (Connects Sligo Creek Parkway and Trail, New Hampshire Elementary School, Flower Ave and Northwest Branch Trails)
- Old Georgetown Road/MD-187 from I-495 to Executive Blvd (2.6 mi) (Connects Bethesda Trolley Trail, Ratner Museum, Wildwood Shopping Center, Josiah Henson Museum and White Flint)
- Georgia Ave/MD-97 from Norbeck Road/MD-28 to OlneySandy Spring Road/MD-108 (3.5 mi) (Connects Leisure World, ICC Trail and Olney CBD)
- Georgia Avenue/MD-97 & 16th Street/MD-390 from I-495 Overpass to Colesville Road (1.5 mi) (Connects Forest Glen Metro and Montgomery Hills Shopping Center)
- East-West Highway/MD-410 from Georgia Ave/MD-97 to Connecticut Ave/MD-185 (3.2 mi) (Connects Silver Spring CBD, Rock Creek Trail, and Chevy Chase)
Paul Goldman, President, Action Committee for Transit
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager, Coalition for Smarter Growth
Alison Gillespie, President, Forest Estates Community Association
Kristy Daphnis, Chair, Pedestrian Bicycle Traffic Safety Advisory Committee
Peter Gray, Vice President, Board of Directors, Washington Area Bicyclist Association
cc: Montgomery County State Delegates and Senators, Montgomery County Council, Director MCDOT