Bus Rapid Transit Plan, Vision or Fantasy? - Opinion

By Woody Brosnan

Depending on your point of view the County Council next week will adopt a bold plan to stream Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) across 98 miles of county highways by 2040 or it will adopt an unfunded wish list.

Or both.  

This is one of those debates where there are good arguments on each side.

Councilmember Marc Elrich, the original proponent of BRT in the country, says correctly that it will be difficult to bring new jobs to the East County area, along Route 29 (Colesville Road), and along Route 355 (Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike) without new mass transit options and of these BRT is the cheapest.

Even more ardent transit advocates see BRT as lower-cost, complementary system to Metro that will persuade thousands of commuters to abandon their cars.

The problem is that to connect the 10 routes proposed in the Council plan to Metro’s Red Line stations requires stringing BRT on lanes through some of the most congested areas of Montgomery County – Four Corners along Colesville Road and University Boulevard, Montgomery Hills at Georgia Avenue and the Beltway, and Wisconsin Avenue through Bethesda/Chevy Chase.

Neighborhood leaders are concerned about the potential loss of property and businesses to road widening, more cut-through traffic on neighborhood streets and pedestrian safety.

Nor does the plan before the Council address how to pay for the estimated cost of the full BRT system, which at between $2.1 and $2.9 billion rivals the $2.2 billion cost of the Purple Line.

Faced with this dilemma the Council gave preliminary approval last Tuesday for a plan that attempts to please transit advocates by putting the entire 98-mile system on the planning books while assuring nervous neighborhoods that nothing will happen on any of the ten routes without more study, public comment and hearings. The final vote is scheduled for this Tuesday.

Councilmember Valerie Ervin, who represents the Silver Spring East County area, authored the amendment requiring studies and hearings on each route. It concludes,  “No County funding for transit corridor implementation nor additional rights-of way, as proposed in this plan or in subsequent studies, will be considered until the Council is satisfied that this fundamental public engagement requirement has been fulfilled and public hearings are held."

Councilmember-At-Large George Leventhal added another amendment requiring the appointment of an advisory group of residents, business owners and other stakeholders for each of the routes.

Leventhal then said that in his opinion the only two routes that are feasible are along Routes 29 and 355.

Indeed, had the Council members listened to the professional staff of the Transportation and Environment Committee they may have shortened some routes, eliminated some stations and dropped two routes entirely – Georgia Avenue South between Wheaton and Takoma Park and Randolph Road between White Flint and Colesville Road.

Councilmember-at-Large Nancy Floreen supported the staff recommendation but fellow at-large Councilmember Hans Riemer and Committee Chairman Roger Berliner, who represents Bethesda, voted for the full plan proposed by the County Planning Board.

The staff report said the Georgia Avenue South route “almost totally duplicates” the service by the Red Line, connects no major activities between Wheaton and Silver Spring and only makes sense if there was a plan to extend BRT into D.C.

In a similar vein, Berliner voted to extend the Wisconsin Avenue Line from Bethesda to the D. C. line at Friendship Heights if BRT is extended into DC.

But there is no plan to extend BRT into D.C. except in the dreams of transit lobbyists.

The D. C. government is planning for a largely downtown trolley system to relieve inner city congestion. The only north-south trolley route is along Georgia Avenue. And the trolley would not be rapid. The plan states that the trolley would go at the same speed as cars and buses, about 25 to 30 miles an hour.

I have yet to hear the most ardent transit advocate explain why someone would take a rapid transit bus from Olney to the D.C. line – bypassing five Red Line stations -- in order to hop on a slow moving trolley. Or why would D.C. government carve a BRT lane out of Wisconsin Avenue or Georgia Avenue to make it easier for Montgomery County residents to commute to work in D.C. instead of living and paying taxes in D.C.?

These are just a few of the questions that must be answered if this transit corridors plan is to survive except on paper. The debate does not end now; it starts.

“Silver Spring Neighborhoods” is a publication of the Presidents' Council of Silver Spring Civic Associations (PREZCO), a group of neighborhood Silver Spring civic groups that meet regularly to discuss community issues.

Silver Spring Neighborhoods” welcomes articles of interest from all members of the Silver Spring community.

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Disclaimer: The purpose of this blog is to inform Silver Spring residents about important events and issues affecting them.  Any views expressed represent those of the author(s) and not necessarily all representatives of the Presidents’ Council of Silver Spring Civic Associations.