Mr.Termini, if bus rapid transit were using regular traffic lanes, that would be true. But one of the reasons that bus rapid transit still involves significant expense is that it involves building dedicated lanes that serve ONLY the buses. The move much faster than regular traffic and could conceivably cut the cost of effective mass transit by 2/3. In my mind, this is pretty much a win-win! If I could take a bus from Rockville Metro (I live very nearby) down 355 to Congressional Plaza, White Flint, or even Bethesda) using a fast, reliable bus that speeds by traffic and has priority at lights, I'd rarely ever get in my car! We can do it, and for a lot less than Metro or light rail.

The problem with using BRT to connect to Metro is that you're connecting to Metro. You get all the joys of being on one of the most expensive mass transit systems in the country, with some of the worst reliability problems out there.

Doug, more pavement == good. What about loss of green space, fewer bicycle lanes, more polluted run-off. Not to mention eminent domain issues? Just sayin, where's the purple line? Or trolley, or monorail? Or, better yet, personal jet packs?

Not to beat a dead horse, but that is exactly why the developers are using the CCT as the trigger for the development. It is genius on their part because who would oppose public transportation? We could get 60,000 more people in our area...9,000 on the CCT and 51,000 on the roads! All in this very trendy "live, work, play" transit-oriented development with six- and eight-lane roads and twelve- to sixteen-lane multilevel highway interchanges. I'm sorry but that still doesn't make any sense to me. We have been so scammed.

Wow. I guess every Master Plan generates a local fear-mongerer.

Donna, while I understand your position and don't entirely disagree with it, I personally feel that you may have the dynamic a bit backwards. It seems to me, that the Science City proposal is coming whether it remains as large as it's planned to be or not, and by ensuring that a transit system is feasible and in operation as the plans materialize, at least SOME of the people WILL use it, instead of all of them using the already crowded roads.

We will need to grow because the Washington DC area is still expected to generate several hundred thousand more jobs over the next twenty years. We may not like all the growth that's going to come, but make no mistake, living near a large, nationally-important, job-generating major city, it's going to come. We need to plan and prepare as much as we can, and that includes adequate and affordable transit. BRT fits that bill, and I still think the County made a good decision.

Donna,
It's NOT "fear mongering" by you. Many, many people appreciate your efforts with this issue. Frankly.....if you do qualify as a "fear monger"...........I wish we had more.

Thanks, Donna. I agree that expansion should happen where mass transit already exists, as much as possible. In fact, Wheaton seems very ripe for redevelopment and is right next to Metro. Just yesterday I drove by Wheaton and could not believe how many empty stores there are in the old section. This area might be put to better use. Also, the Rockville Pike area is also going to absorb a lot of new growth in the City and south in the White Flint area....these are important discussions for us to have. Thank you for your perspective.

Piotr,
Your analogy is true......starvation prevention could lead to obesity..........moderation in everything is the key word. The question is........can there be moderation?

Piotr,
The CCT is the trigger because the development cannot happen unless the CCT is built. I don't think it makes any more sense than the rest of the master plan but that is the way it is written.
If the master plan was written logically, the CCT would be a separate entity entirely, especially since it will only accommodate a fraction of the people who will result from the proposed development.
Why do you think the developers are pushing so hard to get it built? Do you think they care if we can't get out of our neighborhoods because the roads are full? No, they want the CCT to be built so they can get their full amount of development capacity, especially Johns Hopkins.
This whole debacle goes back to Johns Hopkins. They want to triple the amount of space they can build on Belward Farm, despite the legal issues. They sold the concept of the "Science City" which was supposed to replicate the Biopolis in Singapore and make Montgomery County the center of the science universe. They dusted off the 45 year old plans for the Corridor Cities Transitway and sold the whole thing as a "live, work, play transit-oriented development". If their development was "transit- oriented", that would sound hip and trendy and who could oppose that? Except the transit part will be woefully inadequate to handle the gillions of people they envision.
It is very convoluted. On a positive note, Marc Elrich's BRT system looks like it makes sense.

Before we get back on the trigger thing...let me agree with Whit from Rockville. This county was built with a very weird road system. Nothing seems to connect very well. Roads change names and stop only to start up again somewhere else. There are almost no east-west or north-south roads. The roads meander. It was actually planned that way...go figure.
Now, the county needs to fix the transportation system without relying on the meandering roads or new roads. Thus BRT. Marc Elrich's system does provide some connectivity and that is to be applauded.
One of my problems with the CCT, other than the development issues, is that it resembles a tapeworm more than a transportation system. It meanders. Meandering takes a lot more time than a straight shot. The developers want the CCT to meander so it will stop by all their properties. It reminds me of the definition of a camel...a horse designed by a committee.
Another issue with the CCT is that the current plans have very little parking at the stations because the county wants people to walk or ride their bikes to the CCT. Good luck with that one.

Trust me, it will not miss any populated areas, but I would think there would be some concern with amount of time it will take to meander.

And, I forgot the best part of the transportation issues with the master plan.
According to the county transportation officials, at build-out, after construction of the CCT, the widened roads and the mulitlevel highway interchanges, the traffic on Great Seneca Highway is estimated to travel at an AVERAGE of 9 to 11 mph...on a road that is now posted at 50mph.

Theresa, the numbers are taken from pages 77-78 of the approved and adopted Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan. The projected numbers of people are extrapolated from the development allowed at each stage of the plan using the figure of 300 square feet per person for commercial space which is the number given to me by the planner at the Planning Board . For the number of residents I believe I used 2.1 people per unit which was used on their reports.

At full build-out the master plan allows for 17.5 million square feet of commercial capacity and 9,000 housing units.

The "Science City" is an area of 922 acres around Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Human Genome Sciences, Key West Avenue, Belward Farm and the Public Sevices Training Academy. There is a map of the area on our website, www.scale-it-back.com

The numbers are preposterous because, in a 1995 report, the Planning Board stated that the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center was "virtually built out".

But that was before Johns Hopkins decided to ignore their 1997 Preliminary Plan for Belward Farm for 1.7 million square feet in the hope that they could get approval to build 4.6 million to 6.5 million sq feet of commercial space for 15,000 to 20,000 people in buildings up to 150 feet high or about 14 stories high. The Planning Board allowed 4.6 million sq ft of commercial space in buildings up to 150 feet high.

Belward Farm is surrounded on three sides by residential neighborhoods.

On the contrary, Donna sounds like a lone voice of wisdom in this whole scenario.

Dear jnrentz1: Agree with just one correction - I think development per se is not our enemy. Donna Baron is combating irresponsible, wreckless development. If war is too important to leave to the generals, the future of Montgomery County cannot be left up to the developers. While there is nothing wrong with developers seeking profit maximization, there is nothing right with County government leaving the future of our cities to the whims of such motives. What is gridlock, besides a result of bad planning? It is time wasted in commuter traffic. It is air pollution. It is increased accident and insurance rates, asthma rates, and road rage. It is also a decrease in our economic competitiveness, and in our song bird populations. We all lose if balance is not maintained. Thanks again to Donna Baron for fighting the good fight - may the force be with you!

Thanks Dan. We've said all along that we support the reasonable expansion of the hospital, the biotechs and Johns Hopkins' real estate ventures but there are very real hazards to having thousands of cars and trucks idling on the roads, next to residential neighborhoods and the Muddy Branch Creek.
If the traffic is moving at an average of 9 to 11 mph on Great Seneca Highway, as predicted, there will be a lot of cars sitting on Great Seneca and the surrounding roads as well.

A. I had to google what "Clarksburg" is.
B. That basically answers your question, which I presume is a joke of some sort going over my head? Germantown makes marginally more sense, but sprawl up 270 is already bad enough without the help of many billions spent on heavy rail. Cheaper light rail within the urbanized/urbanizing sections of the county and state makes 10,000x more sense, hence the Purple Line.

Zero. Metro is broke, and all the jurisdictions that could fund Metro are broke.

Additionally, take a map, draw a line from Shady Grove Metro station to Germantown and Clarksburg, and imagine digging a huge tunnel, or clearing a huge right-of-way, through what's already there.

Phew, there's a Clarksburg in MD, along with WV. That at least makes a lot more sense (relatively speaking). No, why on earth would some tiny town in the middle of nowhere get a metro station? Defeats the entire purpose of an urban metro system.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful, and courteous responses.

Mr. Hawkins, I concur.

FYI: There is "new" development slated for the triangle that is bordered by Route 270 to the north, Route 495 to the south and Route 270 spur to the west.

1) A developer wants to erect 155 Townhouses on the Grosvenor Estate, located on Grosvenor Lane at Fleming.

2) A mixed use development is planned for the area on the west side of Old Georgetown Road at Route 270 across from Rock Spring Drive.:

3) A suggested Moderate or Low Income High Rise is planned for the Wildwood Shopping Center between Balducci's and the Wildwood Medical building and Exxon Gas Station.

There is little room for any of this in this already over developed area.

@Nearby
I'm assuming you are "pro density" by your comment. How much "density" is needed though? Any numbers in mind or do we just "wing it".
Does density equal jobs for all?