Corridor Cities Transitway on Tuesday Agenda

On Tuesday, the Council will consider a recommendation that I believe is the best bet to maximize transit usage and reduce congestion along the I-270 corridor.

The Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, which I chair, recommended Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for the Corridor Cities Transitway. This option offers a much higher level of service and convenience than a standard bus, and it provides the best flexibility to serve residential neighborhoods.

The alignment we chose for the transitway provides service to the highest-demand areas between the Shady Grove Metro Station and Clarksburg, including the Crown Farm area (which also serves the popular Rio commercial center) and the Kentlands (which includes the growing MedImmune campus). We also recommended a stop to serve Johns Hopkins’ proposed biotechnology center at the Belward Farm. We’re aware that the Council may approve higher densities in the upcoming Gaithersburg West Master Plan, so we reserved the right to revisit the light rail option if the new plan warrants it.

For the I-270 portion of the two-pronged plan, we’re supporting the option that adds two electronic toll lanes in each direction. I don’t like adding pavement any more than you do, but I’m convinced the juice is worth the squeeze in this case, especially since much of the land needed is within the existing I-270 right-of-way, and this, they tell us, is the best way to maximize transit and reduce congestion in the corridor up to Frederick.

The new lanes will be operated as High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes, which are HOV lanes (allowing buses, carpools and vanpools to drive at the speed limit even during congested times) that also allow lower occupancy vehicles to use the lanes if they pay a toll. The experts tell us this is the best option to provide the most congestion relief with the least disruption to the people who live near the highway.

This is only the first step in coming to regional and state agreement on locally preferred alternatives both for the CCT and the I-270 project that will then go to the feds for review and, we hope, funding in the next year.

I have long believed that providing the appropriate transportation infrastructure is one of the government’s most basic jobs. That means supporting our growing biotechnology industry, the emerging Germantown Employment Corridor and the ongoing build-out of Clarksburg. Our proximity to the nation’s capital affords us vast opportunities, and we need to have the infrastructure in place to make the most of them. I feel confident we’ve chosen a good mix of highway and transit improvements to meet our goals.

For more details, see the press release, and remember to tune in to the Council session on Tuesday.

On the Wrong Page

Perhaps you saw me on one of our local news programs Sunday night when stories ran with photographs of a Ride On bus driver apparently reading a book while driving. Such poor judgment is not only distressing but also a clear violation of County policy. I’m following up to make sure this individual situation is addressed appropriately, and in the meantime, I remain confident that our bus drivers as a whole perform safely and professionally.

Council Agrees to Purchase Land in Burtonsville

Today, we as a full council approved the purchase of 52.9 acres of land as an addition to the Fairland Recreational Park. The Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee, of which I’m a member, had recommended this purchase (see my July 2 post). The parcel contains old growth forest more than 100 years old, as well as wetlands and bogs that will serve as a buffer for the nearby ICC. As I’ve said before, I think this is the best use of the money we received from the State as reimbursement of land used for the ICC, and I’m glad we were unanimous in this decision.

Progress on Climate Protection

Since the Sustainability Working Group released its Climate Protection Plan in January, we’ve seen some good progress, particularly in the area of clean energy. The Council directed the formation of the SWG as a way to help the County with our pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. With 58 recommendations in the plan, we still have plenty of work to do, but while our G-8 leaders discuss climate change issues internationally, here are some good things we have going on right here, right now:

• Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)—Homeowners can voluntarily obtain a home energy audit and then take the results of the audit to the County, which will provide a zero-interest loan to make improvements. The County is currently working on developing the regulations.
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants—The County will receive approximately $7.6 million from the federal government through these block grants. While a final determination regarding its use will hinge on federal approval, a significant percentage will be allocated to greenhouse gas reduction actions listed in the Climate Protection Plan.
• Maryland Clean Energy Center—The County will host the center’s headquarters. The center will provide a coordinated approach to building a strong, clean energy economy in Maryland through technology commercialization, business incubation and workforce development and training.
• Biogas Feasibility Study—WSSC’s FY10-15 Approved Capital Improvements Program includes $345,000 for a feasibility study to develop a comprehensive program for the engineering, design and construction of sustainable energy equipment and systems to produce biogas at the Seneca and Piscataway Wastewater Treatment Plants.
• Programmable Thermostats—The County was selected for a $70,000 grant award from the Maryland Energy Administration for the distribution of programmable thermostats.
• Bikeway Improvements—The Department of Transportation has completed 10 bike route sign plans ready for installation; distributed 1,000 bike safety lights and bike safety brochures to encourage increased usage of bicycles; and purchased 15 bicycle racks which can be installed in the public rights-of-way upon request.

The SWG will take up its work again at the end of the summer, and I look forward to continued progress. Let me know what you think.

Germantown Sector Plan Schedule and Background Info

If you are following the discussion of the Germantown Sector Plan, here's the schedule and background information. We'll finish our committee work sessions today, and then the full Council will take up the plan.

Germantown Sector Plan schedule:

June 22, 2 p.m.--Committee Work Session, COB, 3rd Floor Conference Room
June 29, 2 p.m.--Committee Work Session, COB, 3rd Floor Conference Room
July 7, 1:30 p.m.--Committee Work Session, COB, 7th Floor Hearing Room
July 21, time TBD--Council Work Session, COB, 3rd Floor Hearing Room
July 28, time TBD--Council Work Session, COB, 3rd Floor Hearing Room
Sept 15, time TBD--Council Action, COB, 3rd Floor Hearing Room

*The schedule can change rapidly, so always check the agenda for the most up-to-date information.

Background information:

Draft Master Plan

Montgomery County Planning Board's Germantown Sector Plan Website

Planning Board’s July 28, 2008 Public Hearing

Council Staff June 15, 2009 Memo

Council Staff June 22, 2009 Memo - Continued from June 15, 2009

Council Staff June 22, 2009 Memo - Transportation Elements

Council Staff July 7, 2009 Memo

Council Staff July 7, 2009 Memo - Transportation Elements Follow Up

Four Master Plans Coming Up

After a bit of a hiatus from master plan revisions, we now have four of them lined up for approval. Master plans serve as vision statements for our communities’ growth over the next 30 years, and they include zoning recommendations, future transportation plans, parks and green space. We revise them about every 20 years or as circumstances change, although we sometimes review smaller areas called sector plans more frequently. We take our master plans very seriously here, and we use them as a guide for all of our land use decision-making.

Once approved by the Planning Board, a plan goes to the Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee (PHED) and then on to the full Council. We’re currently considering the Germantown Sector Plan and expect to complete it this month. For the Gaithersburg West Master Plan, we’ll hold a public hearing on September 15, followed by PHED work sessions through October and Council action in December. Then we’ll take up the White Flint Sector Plan with a public hearing on November 6, PHED work sessions through January and final action in February. Finally, we’ll look at the Kensington Sector Plan with a public hearing in January, PHED work sessions in February and action in March. To get Council agendas by e-mail visit e-Subscription.

Park Expansion to Provide ICC Relief

I’m delighted that today my committee (the Council’s Planning Housing and Economic Development Committee) agreed that we should purchase 53 acres of land to expand the Fairland Recreational Park. We’ll pay for it with money the County received from the State as reimbursement for land used in construction of the Intercounty Connector. I can think of no better place to invest this money than in replacement parkland in the communities that are bearing the greatest impact of the highway project. The property being purchased lies just 1.5 miles north of the ICC, so this type of environmental mitigation is right on target.

Planning Staff's Recommendations on the CCT

Last week, planning staff at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission recommended bus rapid transit for the Corridor Cities Transitway. Such a system would be designed to move transit vehicles past traffic congestion on dedicated lanes between Shady Grove and Clarksburg.

Following recommendations rolled out in the draft Gaithersburg West Master Plan, planners have endorsed a route for the CCT that follows a long-established alignment from the Metro station through Gaithersburg, Middlebrook and Germantown on its way to Clarksburg. However, planners recommend a change to the previously planned route through the Life Sciences Center near Gaithersburg. The recommended alternative will cost around $450 million, and the transitway will carry up to 27,000 people daily by 2030.

The staff recommendations now go to the Planning Board. You can have your say by testifying at the public hearing or submitting written testimony to the Planning Board.

My committee, the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, will take up the Planning Board’s recommendation on July 13. Once the full Council has looked at the my committee’s recommendations we will forward our formal position to the state.

These are important decisions that will affect the entire county and the Upcounty in particular, so please let me know what you think.

Celebrating the Fourth of July

I hope to see you this weekend as I make my way across the county celebrating the Fourth of July. I’ll be at Leisure World on Friday. Then I’ll visit Takoma Park, Wood Acres, Somerset and Friendship Heights on Saturday. If you’re going to be at any of these places, save me a hotdog, and I’ll introduce you to my daughter Rebecca, and my dog Lady.

Independence Day Schedule

While I'll be at several community functions this Independence Day, various parts of the government will observe these schedules for Independence Day on Friday, July 3 (the day the holiday is observed):

County Offices - closed
Libraries - closed
County liquor stores – stores will be open on July 3. On July 4, all stores open 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Ride On – Saturday schedule
Metrobus – Saturday schedule on July 3 and July 4
Metrorail – Saturday schedule on July 3; supplemental service on July 4
Parking at public garages, lots, curbside meters – free
Refuse/recycling pick-up – regular collection
Transfer Station – open
MCPS Administrative Offices – closed
State offices & courts – closed

Watch the History Channel Next Week

Set your DVR. I will appear on the History Channel’s documentary, The Crumbling of America, discussing the December 23 water main break on River Road that led to stranded motorists being rescued by helicopter and swift water boats.

I explained in the taping that Montgomery County, along with many other jurisdictions nationwide, grapples with competing needs. Invisible problems like underground pipes struggle to compete with sexier capital projects like libraries and community centers. The documentary highlights the seriousness of aging infrastructure that increasingly causes headaches for us all, and I am glad to see these issues playing out on a national stage.

According to the program listing, “America’s infrastructure is collapsing. Tens of thousands of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. A third of the nation’s highways are in poor or mediocre shape. Massively leaking water and sewage systems are creating health hazards and contaminating rivers and streams. The Crumbling of America explores these problems using expert interviews, on location shooting and computer generated animation to illustrate the kinds of infrastructure disasters that could be just around the bend.”

The documentary will air on Monday, June 22 at 9 p.m.; Tuesday June 23 at 1 a.m.; and Sunday, June 28 at 5 p.m. Let me know that you think of the program.

Testimony to SHA on Corridor Cities Transitway

Thank you, everyone who attended last night’s public hearing for the I-270/US 15 Multi-Modal Corridor Study (which includes the Corridor Cities Transitway). Your advocacy on these transportation and transit priorities makes a difference. For your reference, here’s the testimony I presented last night:

Good evening and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. My name is Nancy Floreen, and I am an at-large member of the Montgomery County Council. I also serve as the chair of the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee. In that role I have been committed to and continue to be committed to making sure Montgomery County has the best possible transportation infrastructure.

As an elected official, I know how challenging it is to meet current and future demands, and I appreciate the hard work that has gone into the Multi-Modal Corridor Study. The County Council will take up the details of the study and make its specific recommendations in July after the Planning Board completes its analysis.

Today I want to emphasize the Council’s overarching dedication to improving our transportation options. In particular, the Council has ranked the Corridor Cities Transitway, along with the Purple Line, as its top transit priorities. Adding HOV lanes on I-270 is also a very high priority.

I have long believed that providing the appropriate transportation infrastructure is one of government’s most basic jobs. For the Upcounty, that means supporting our growing biotechnology industry, the emerging Germantown Employment Corridor, and the ongoing build-out of Clarksburg. There’s no question that the Upcounty needs improvements to its roadways as well as new transit.

It is not just the Upcounty that will benefit, though. Our proximity to the nation’s capital provides us with invaluable opportunities not just for cultural and educational connections, but especially for the entire County’s economic vitality. We can’t afford to have the buck stop in gridlock on I-270. Traffic on this highway is intolerable and getting worse.

Additionally, Montgomery County, along with many other counties across the country, has pledged to reduce emissions that cause global warming 80 percent by 2050. To do that, we need to reduce vehicle miles traveled and spend less time idling in traffic. That’s good not just for the environment but for our quality of life too. What’s more, Metro’s dramatically increased ridership numbers indicate that commuters are hungry for transit options.

The proposed I-270/US 15 Highway and Transit Improvements will go a long way toward meeting these goals. That’s why I enthusiastically support the broad concepts of this plan, and I look forward to conducting in-depth analysis after hearing from our residents about what the plan means to them.

Girls Power Up Computers

A couple of years ago, I chaired the Girls in Technology Task Force—a group of public sector, private industry and education professionals committed to increasing the number if girls involved in technology studies.

We learned that seven out of 10 of the fastest growing occupations projected from 2004-2014 are technology-related professions. However, by grade eight, half as many girls as boys show interest in careers that require math, science and technology knowledge and skills. As a result, far fewer girls are positioned for technology professions, and there is no evidence that numbers will increase under current conditions without a concerted effort to improve the situation.

So, get your girl over to Montgomery College for two-week camp sessions filled with creative and interesting projects designed especially for middle school girls. Campers will create cool digital graphics and design their own Web sites while using their creativity and sense of style. You can choose from sessions offered at each of the college’s three campuses. Best of all, you can apply for a limited number of scholarships available through the Montgomery County Commission for Women.

Forensic Analysis Presented to Committee

Yesterday the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee heard a presentation by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission on the forensic analysis of the Dec. 23 water main break on River Road that led to stranded motorists being rescued by helicopter and swift water boats. In the meeting, I urged the agency to keep the County Council apprised as it identifies the most compromised pipes in its system and as it schedules repairs to major lines.

The December water main break on River Road in Bethesda put lives in jeopardy, closed schools and caused extreme inconvenience to commuters, residents, businesses and holiday travelers, so it is imperative that we stay on top of WSSC’s plans now that we have detailed information on the cause of the break. That’s why, after speaking with WSSC Commissioner Adrienne Mandel, I’m initiating more regular meetings with our three Montgomery County WSSC Commissioners.

The rupture of the 66-inch pre-cast concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) was caused by damage to the coating as a result of the pipe being supported directly by rock, according to the forensic analysis conducted by Lewis Engineering and Consulting. Installation, which occurred in 1965, did not meet WSSC General Specifications in force at the time.

During prior discussions of the large diameter PCCP issue, it was concluded that a robust inspection and monitoring program was needed for all pipe of this type because of the uncertainty of where these pipes were degrading. The forensic analysis suggests that a review of installation practices, in addition to potentially defective pipe material, may be warranted.

I'll keep you posted as we move forward. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts.

WSSC River Road Break Report

On Monday the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (T and E) Committee, which I chair, will receive a briefing from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission that will include findings of a forensic analysis of the Dec. 23 water main break on River Road in Potomac that led to stranded motorists being rescued by helicopters and swift water boats. The report also will focus on the implications of the findings in regard to the WSSC’s future water main infrastructure priorities.

If you want to follow along, the session will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) or come to the Council's 3rd Floor Conference Room at 9:30 a.m. Then let me know that you think.