June 15, 2011 | Author: John Fineran
After several months of laying the groundwork, Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance Chair, former Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, announced that SMTA is now officially open for business. Duncan noted: “Transportation is a top issue to the people who live and work in this area, and we’re not making the investments we need to be making to relieve congestion and get our economy back on track." That is a challenge we will be working hard to address in the coming months. In the meantime, please take this opportunity to sign up either as a...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreJune 14, 2011 | Author:MoveMDweb
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) will meet tomorrow to take up their plan to develop a list of transportation priorities, in what looks to be a two-year process that should produce a final report by July of 2013. For those of us in Maryland who are stuck in traffic every day, or wondering when we might ever see major new transit projects like the Corridor Cities Transitway and the Purple Line move forward, or any serious effort to reduce the crippling congestion on the Beltway and I-270, 2013 might seem like...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreJune 11, 2011 | Author: John Fineran
Washington Post columnist Robert Thompson's column Maryland Drivers Face Many Mini-Challenges draws a pretty stark contrast between the levels of major investment in congestion relief taking place in Virginia compared to Maryland. Northern Virginia is currently in construction on two multi-billion-dollar "mega projects" -- the Metrorail extension to Dulles Airport and adding new lane capacity to their portion of the Capital Beltway (I-495) with additional high-occupancy-toll (HOT) lanes. Both are being funded with a mix of public and private capital. Additional capacity expansion projects are also either planned or starting construction in...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreJune 9, 2011 | Author:MoveMDweb
The Maryland Transportation Authority has given preliminary approval for the first significant hike in toll rates in decades. They are now in the process of receiving public input on the proposed rates before they go into effect October 1st. Among other things, the new proposal would increase tolls on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from $2.50 to $5.00 this year (and to $8 in 2013). Tolls on Baltimore's Harbor Tunnel, Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Key Bridge would go from $2 to $3 one-way. The funding is needed to make up for...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreJune 1, 2011 | Author: John Fineran
This week the University of Maryland announced they have reached agreement with the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and are no longer opposing the proposed routes for the Purple Line that run right through the College Park campus. Supporters of the Purple Line may take heart in this welcome development, which removes one of the last major sticking points in determining the alignment between Bethesda and New Carrollton for this nearly $2 billion light-rail transit project. The University of Maryland deserves credit for recognizing the value of direct access to a...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreMay 25, 2011 | Author:MoveMDweb
The preliminary report on Montgomery County's proposed Bus-Rapid-Transit (BRT) study is posted on-line, but in a recent email from the County, it was disclosed that due to a traffic model coding error, some of the results will need to be recalculated. The net effect was that ridership figures across much of the system were overstated. County officials noted that the cost figures would likely be revised downward as well, as fewer BRT vehicles would be needed once the lower ridership numbers were adopted. Read the preliminary report here.regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
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