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| Ike Leggett proposes $11.5 million for bus rapid transit in Montgomery County | Ike Leggett proposes $11.5 million for bus rapid transit in Montgomery County |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said Wednesday that he will propose $11.5 million in county funds to plan a bus rapid transit system to reduce traffic and help people reach jobs in the heavily congested Rockville Pike and Route 29 corridors. | |
| Meanwhile, Leggett said, he will recommend adding upgraded rush-hour bus service to Rockville Pike (Route 355) between the Medical Center Metro station and the Lakeforest Transit Center within two years. The specially branded buses would run in regular lanes — but have limited stops — provide real-time arrival information and have priority at traffic signals. | |
| He said he will also recommend money for express rush-hour Ride On bus service between Clarksburg and the Shady Grove Metro station, beginning in spring 2017. | He said he will also recommend money for express rush-hour Ride On bus service between Clarksburg and the Shady Grove Metro station, beginning in spring 2017. |
| Leggett said the $11.5 million for the bus rapid transit (BRT) planning would come from the county’s six-year capital budget and would not require any tax increases. He said that might mean delays for other projects but that the county would keep costs down by improving bus service in stages and not buying any additional right-of-way to widen roads. | |
| [Leggett says Montgomery will build bus rapid transit on its own] | [Leggett says Montgomery will build bus rapid transit on its own] |
| “If you look at [Route] 29 now, it’s unacceptable, and you simply can’t build more lanes,” Leggett said. “The only realistic possibility is transit, and the most realistic way to do that is in stages and prioritizing places where it’s most needed.” | “If you look at [Route] 29 now, it’s unacceptable, and you simply can’t build more lanes,” Leggett said. “The only realistic possibility is transit, and the most realistic way to do that is in stages and prioritizing places where it’s most needed.” |
| Leggett said he wants the more extensive BRT system running on Route 29 (Colesville Road) within four years. That system would run buses on the road’s shoulders outside the Capital Beltway, where Route 29 has its heaviest traffic, and in regular traffic lanes inside the Beltway, he said. The busway ultimately would extend to Columbia in Howard County. | Leggett said he wants the more extensive BRT system running on Route 29 (Colesville Road) within four years. That system would run buses on the road’s shoulders outside the Capital Beltway, where Route 29 has its heaviest traffic, and in regular traffic lanes inside the Beltway, he said. The busway ultimately would extend to Columbia in Howard County. |
| Leggett said he will ask the state to pay $1.8 million annually to step up peak-period Metrobus service on Veirs Mill Road while the state studies how to add a more extensive BRT system there. | Leggett said he will ask the state to pay $1.8 million annually to step up peak-period Metrobus service on Veirs Mill Road while the state studies how to add a more extensive BRT system there. |
| The three routes would make up the first segments in what Leggett ultimately envisions as a 98-mile network of BRT lanes throughout Montgomery. Compared with traditional buses, BRT lines have more frequent service, more substantial stations spread farther apart, level boarding for wheelchairs and strollers, and mostly bus-only lanes to avoid traffic. | The three routes would make up the first segments in what Leggett ultimately envisions as a 98-mile network of BRT lanes throughout Montgomery. Compared with traditional buses, BRT lines have more frequent service, more substantial stations spread farther apart, level boarding for wheelchairs and strollers, and mostly bus-only lanes to avoid traffic. |
| Last year, opposition forced Leggett to withdraw a more ambitious plan for an independent transit authority that would have used a new transit tax to finance the estimated $2 billion construction of the 98-mile system. | Last year, opposition forced Leggett to withdraw a more ambitious plan for an independent transit authority that would have used a new transit tax to finance the estimated $2 billion construction of the 98-mile system. |
| [Why Leggett withdrew his plan for a county transit authority] | [Why Leggett withdrew his plan for a county transit authority] |
| Leggett described the scaled-back bus proposal announced Wednesday as being “practical, cost-effective transit options” that could be up and running “in the near term.” | |
| The county executive said he will request $5 million in county money and ask the state to pitch in another $5 million for early planning work that would move the Rockville Pike BRT study to the design phase. | The county executive said he will request $5 million in county money and ask the state to pitch in another $5 million for early planning work that would move the Rockville Pike BRT study to the design phase. |
| He said he will recommend another $6.5 million of county funds to plan and design the BRT system for Route 29, pointing out that his administration will negotiate with the state and Howard County to share in the construction costs for a busway between Columbia and the Silver Spring Metro station. | |
| Ronit Aviva Dancis, president of the Action Committee for Transit advocacy group, said Montgomery “desperately needs” more transit options. | Ronit Aviva Dancis, president of the Action Committee for Transit advocacy group, said Montgomery “desperately needs” more transit options. |
| “I think anyone who’s sat in traffic in this area knows the more people we can get out of their cars, the better,” Dancis said. | “I think anyone who’s sat in traffic in this area knows the more people we can get out of their cars, the better,” Dancis said. |
| John B. Townsend II, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said he applauds efforts to expand transit but added that he is skeptical of how many people would forgo driving alone for a bus ride. | |
| “It’s worth giving it a try so we can see if there’s an audience and an appetite for it,” Townsend said. “If it works, then it will be a model for the rest of the Washington area.” | “It’s worth giving it a try so we can see if there’s an audience and an appetite for it,” Townsend said. “If it works, then it will be a model for the rest of the Washington area.” |
| Leggett said his administration also is working with the state on ways to lower costs for the first nine-mile segment of a Corridor Cities Transitway. That BRT line would run between the Shady Grove Metro station and the Metropolitan Grove MARC commuter rail station to serve the county’s biotech corridor west of Interstate 270. | Leggett said his administration also is working with the state on ways to lower costs for the first nine-mile segment of a Corridor Cities Transitway. That BRT line would run between the Shady Grove Metro station and the Metropolitan Grove MARC commuter rail station to serve the county’s biotech corridor west of Interstate 270. |