Officials Try To Relieve I-270 Gridlock

The Montgomery County Council attempted to address the daily gridlock on Interstate 270 on Thursday. The council employed two different strategies-- expanding the lanes and adding light rail service.

The council voted unanimously to recommend that Maryland construct two additional lanes from Shady Grove north to the county line. They would be reversible HOT lanes, High Occupancy Toll lanes.

High-occupancy vehicles, like carpools and buses, would ride free. Solo drivers would pay a toll for access to the new lanes.

At-large Councilman Marc Elrich grumbled that the project was inadequate to the problem.

"It basically pours more traffic into the funnel," Elrich declared.

"Much remains to be done," responded Council President Phil Andrews, "But, if nothing is done, things will get worse than they already are -- which is already bad."

The legislative body was more divided on what kind of transit system should serve the upper part of the populous county. Some members pushed for BRT -- Bus Rapid Transit-- for the 14-mile Corridor City Transitway envisioned from Shady Grove to Clarksburg. BRT would be far cheaper to build than rail, and District One Councilmember Roger Berliner warned that, in the present economy, "Dollars do matter."

But the Council voted 6-3 to recommend a light-rail system instead. The trolley-like system would include extra stops in the planned "Science City" development around Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and at the edge of the sprawling, mixed-use Kentlands development in Gaithersburg.

Both motions are only recommendations. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley gets to choose which projects apply for the all-important federal funding component.

One supporter of light rail was asked: if all agencies give the green light to trolleys, when might they actually be running between Shady Grove and Clarksburg? His answer is an estimate, but a knowledgeable one: 2017.