Press Releases - Department of Transportation

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

County Executive Ike Leggett held an online interactive forum today that allows residents to send questions directly to him that are answered in real time. The following are the transportation-related questions that were answered:

Baltazar from Silver Spring
Mr. Leggett. I live in the Briggs Chaney area for the last 18 years and I see the traffic on Route 29 that every year the congestion is worse and worse and like to ask you If it is any plan in your administration to improve the traffic in that area? Thank you, very much.

Mr. Leggett Thank you for your question. I live in East County and have done so for the last 42 years. I agree traffic has gotten worse. We have some exciting plans for the US 29 corridor that are on the way to help reduce traffic congestion. Starting in January, a new Ride On Route 129 limited stop service will begin between Burtonsville and the Silver Spring Transit Center, providing service during rush hour every 15 minutes. This service will be in place until 2020 when the US Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Service begins.

BRT will bring a comfortable, reliable, new transit option to Montgomery County with frequent, bus-on-shoulder service and green light priority signaling to keep BRT vehicles moving. One BRT can take up to 90 cars off the road. The BRT station will feature real-time travel information and pre-boarding fare payment. Learn more at getonboardbrt.com.

James from Up County
The County recently decided to stop bus service from Clarksburg to the the Germantown Marc station. Due to limited parking at the Marc station this is causing residents to overcrowd local roads to commute to work. Is there a plan to restore this service (Route 94). A change.org petition has already gained hundreds of signatures to restore this vital ride on bus route so there is clear support for the bus service.

Mr. Leggett Thank you for your question. Ride On routes are evaluated three times a year and the Route 94 continues to rank in the lower quartile in terms of performance comparing average daily ridership to resources required to operate the service. After years of evaluations and some modifications to the service in an effort to improve its performance, it was decided that elimination was necessary to help keep the Ride On system operating efficiently. The Route 94 service was discontinued effective September 17, 2017. It’s important to note, this was part of an overall budget decision. A public hearing was conducted in April 2017 on the FY18 budget which included the proposed elimination of the Route 94 and two other Ride On routes.

There are several alternate transit options available for those who reside in Clarksburg:

In May 2017, a new express route called the Route 73 began. This route originates near the intersection of MD 121 and Gateway Center Drive, operates through the Cabin Branch development, serves multiple stops along West Old Baltimore and MD 355 before going directly to the Shady Grove Metro Station.
There are two Ride On routes which operate on the east side MD 355. The Route 75 operates between the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and the Germantown Transit Center.
There are two Ride On routes that operate between the Germantown MARC station at the Transit Center. These services help to relieve parking congestion at the Station.
Effective September 17, 2017 the Route 75 operates until 11 p.m. during the week and new Saturday and Sunday service have begun allowing Clarksburg residents to better connect to transit and allowing other County residents an opportunity to use transit to access the Clarksburg Outlets. The Route 75 serves communities along Stringtown Road, Snowden Farm Parkway, Little Seneca Parkway and other locals stops to the Germantown Transit Center.
Additionally, an express route called the Route 79 operates along Clarksburg Road, Snowden Farm Parkway, New Cut Road, Skylark Road, Ridge Road and other local stops in Germantown before proceeding directly to Shady Grove Station.

Richard from Mid County
My question is about the severe traffic congestion in the I-270 corridor: Governor Hogan has committed to fund the Watkins Mill Interchange and put $100 million into short-term congestion management ideas, but the studies all show we need to do much more. County and state studies show adding new lane capacity in the upper parts of 270, and the spurs down to the American Legion Bridge, where the choke-points start; building mid-county highway, the CCT and other master-planned projects that add new capacity will be highly effective in reducing congestion, not just on 270 but on horribly congested local roads like 355; and new dedicated lanes on I-270 open up great possibilities to expand regional transit service using BRT from Shady Grove to Frederick and Northern Virginia. So what can you do, along with other Montgomery and Frederick County leaders, to press Governor Hogan on this, to be much more visionary and forward looking, and get him behind a more ambitious multi-modal plan for this key corridor that actually cuts CONGESTION? As his Transportation Secretary has said, this is not about roads or transit, we need "all of the above". He's right, every study shows this, so how can you help deliver that message to the Governor with some real urgency? and how can we help?

Mr. Leggett

Thank you for pointing out how our priorities can shape our transportation strategy. I have been working successfully with the State to take a multi-modal approach for our transportation needs. At my urging, the State has included additional funding for advancing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Route 355, and they have included funding in their budget for the Route 29 BRT, which we hope to have up and running by 2020. My staff is also working closely with State DOT to find an innovative public-private financing option so that we can begin work on the CCT (Corridor Cities Transitway).

Regarding I-270, we are asking the State for more details. We don't yet know if the State's plan of adding lanes is feasible. The State's Secretary of Transportation, Pete Rahn, will be joining the Council's Transportation and Environment Committee soon to provide us with more information on their proposed plan.

We welcome the State's initiative and providing additional resources; and that is the first major step in helping to make improvements. We do remain skeptical about the overarching plan, we are reviewing how the proposed improvements will impact Montgomery County residents and businesses.

Adriana from Mid County
6 years have passed since MCDOT and SHA issued the 2011 Pedestrian Road Safety Audit for the Connecticut Avenue corridor near Aspen Hill, yet the majority of the audit's 53 recommendations haven't been implemented. What will the county do to compel SHA to implement the much needed pedestrian safety improvements, including installation of audible signals, ADA compliant pedestrian islands, increase the crossing time (currently 20 seconds to cross 9 lanes!), and traffic calming measures along the Connecticut Avenue corridor?

Mr. Leggett

Thank you for your question. The County will continue to advocate for implementation of the recommendations to Connecticut Avenue, but we cannot compel the State to implement anything on their infrastructure. Our Pedestrian, Bicycle and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee is also keenly interested in these improvements and is also encouraging the State Highway Administration (SHA) to implement improvements to Connecticut Avenue. Although we feel that implementation of these recommendations has been too slow, we recognize that SHA has a statewide network to manage and that they have limited funding for these types of improvements.

It is important that you convey your sentiments to members of our State Delegation who can also assist in providing additional support and resources for SHA to implement more of these types of initiatives throughout the State.

In our ongoing conversations with SHA, we will continue to encourage them to move forward with improvements recommended by the Road Safety Audit Program. Meanwhile, MCDOT has updated the pedestrian clearance interval timings for traffic signals along Connecticut Avenue between Veirs Mill Road and Bel Pre Road to the new 3.5 feet/second walking speed standard.

Anthony from Silver Spring
Will you be still trying to get a Rapid Transit Authority in Montgomery County in the future. I am a bus operator in Silver Spring and I think we need one. I am all for it. Let me know your plans and if there is anything I can do to help with input, please fill free to contact me via email. Thanks a plenty. We can be the best Transit Authority in the DMV area if given the chance.

Mr. Leggett

Thank you for your question and your enthusiasm for transit. Currently, I am not pursuing a Transit Authority. I pursued the idea a couple years ago; and there was some reluctance by the County Council to add another authority, so I have decided to proceed in another direction. Instead, the County is working closely with the State to advance several Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects. We are currently in design for a BRT on Route 29, from Burtonsville to the Silver Spring Metro station, which should be operating by 2020. In partnership with the State, we have moved up the timeline for the BRT on Route 355, and are pursuing a public Private partnership for BRT on the Corridor Cities Transitway.

I appreciate your offer to advocate for these important projects. I look forward to working with you!

Release ID: 17-212
Media Contact: Esther Bowring 240-777-7170