July 19, 2021
Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Councilmember Canek Aguirre, Councilmember Charles Allen, Councilmember Deni Taveras, Councilmember Evan Glass, Councilmember Kacy Kostiuk, County Board Member Christian Dorsey, Delegate Marc Korman, Director Christopher Conklin, Director Terry Bellamy, Mayor Bridget Newton, Mayor Craig A. Moe, Mayor David Meyer, Mayor Patrick Wojahn, Mayor Pro Tem Emmett V. Jordan
Re: Uphold vote to remove I-495/I-270 from Visualize 2045
We are writing on behalf of the undersigned organizations to express our firm support for your vote on June 16th to remove the I-495 and I-270 toll lane expansion plan from the air conformity analysis to the update to Visualize 2045. Stopping the privatized toll lane expansion of I-495 and I-270 is a top priority for many environmental, transportation, and community organizations throughout the project-affected area and across the state.
We urge you to uphold your vote at the next Transportation Planning Board meeting to protect Marylanders from this harmful, misguided highway boondoggle. The Governor’s project will only make it harder for the region to reach its climate pollution reduction goals and will increase economic and racial inequities in Maryland.
We have fought without success to get Governor Hogan and MDOT to evaluate transit-oriented development (TOD), transit, and demand management alternatives. The State should be investing in equitable TOD to increase access to jobs and shorten commutes for residents, rather than forcing residents to either pay sky-high tolls or sit in worsening congestion in a reduced number of general-purpose lanes.
The opposition to the toll lanes is wide and deep, and reflected in the votes of Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Frederick County, the cities of Greenbelt, Rockville, Takoma Park, College Park, and Laurel, and the Maryland House of Delegates representative to remove the project from the TPB plan. The District of Columbia, City of Alexandria, Arlington County, and the City of Fairfax also voted in support of removal. Concern about climate change, as well as the lack of transparency, failure to consider alternatives, and frustration with the many failings in MDOT’s approach prompted this depth of opposition.
Governor Hogan’s threats to cut funding for local projects are appalling, inappropriate, and hold no water. The projects that the Hogan administration has cited are either not funded now or intended for later years when there is flexibility to ensure that each jurisdiction's priority projects are funded. The TPB’s current regional Visualize 2045 transportation plan update is a 23-year, $229 billion plan, dwarfing the $1.5 billion that Governor Hogan incorrectly claims is at risk.
The funding is not at risk because of the flexibility to move mid- and later-year projects around and because of newly anticipated federal revenues. Many long-range projects will be changed, postponed, or canceled as our travel patterns and needs evolve in the next 10-15 years. Funding sources and anticipated revenues will also change, some possibly as soon as the next year or two as federal transportation legislation is enacted. In fact, anticipated federal funds could cover the $1.5 billion cost of reconstruction of the American Legion Bridge.
Committing to stand by your vote -- alongside the other jurisdictions that voted to remove the I-495/I-270 project from the regional transportation plan -- is critically important. You will protect Marylanders from long-term harm. And you will enable the development of land use and transportation solutions that fulfill the economic development, equity, and climate goals desired by Marylanders and aligned with the goals you have adopted for the region.
Sincerely,
350MoCo
Audubon Naturalist Society
Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition (BTEC)
Bikemore
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church Environmental Justice Ministry
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance
Citizens Against Beltway Expansion
Climate Law & Policy Project
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Defensores de la Cuenca
DontWiden270.org
DoTheMostGood
Downtown Residents Advocacy Network
Friends of Sligo Creek
Fund for Educational Excellence
Greater Farmland Civic Association
Greater Greater Washington
Green Team at St. Vincent de Paul
Greenbelt Climate Action Network
Indivisible Howard County MD
Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)
League of Women Voters of Maryland
League of Women Voters of Prince George's County
Maryland Campaign for Environmental Human Rights
Maryland Conservation Council
Maryland Legislative Coalition
Maryland PIRG
Maryland Sierra Club
MLC Climate Justice Wing
Montgomery Countryside Alliance
Montgomery County Sierra Club
NAACP Maryland State Conference
National Parks Conservation Association
Neighbors of the Northwest Branch
Northern Virginia Citizens Association
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Our Revolution Maryland
Our Revolution Montgomery County
Our Revolution Prince George's
Policy Foundation of Maryland
RapidShift Network
Small Business Alliance
Strong Future Maryland
Takoma Park Mobilization Environment Committee
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
Washington Biologists’ Field Club
Waterkeepers Chesapeake