Open forum: Jones Bridge Road BRT is sensible plan for region

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Open forum: Jones Bridge Road BRT is sensible plan for region

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Recent letters to the editor show a great misunderstanding of bus rapid transit and the state’s proposed alignment along Jones Bridge Road.

In one letter, the writer asserted that a BRT is a train on wheels that cannot operate safely near an elementary school. This is simply wrong. BRTs use clean energy motor vehicles and run safely throughout the world. In fact, a BRT will enhance safety near the school by reducing car traffic. The Base Realignment and Closure draft environmental impact statement projects that the number of vehicles in front of North Chevy Chase Elementary School will increase 19 percent by 2011. With a Jones Bridge Road BRT alignment, that increase could be held to 3 percent.

Also, without a viable transit alternative, residents on Jones Bridge Road can expect a widening of the roads, which will impact their property. In contrast, Maryland Transit Administration’s plans for the Jones Bridge Road BRT show absolutely no houses being taken and running options exist that remain completely within the existing curb lines. That hardly involves the wholesale destruction of homes along Jones Bridge.

Finally, there is the cost issue. Light rail proponents endorse a $1.8 billion dollar light rail plan that the MTA acknowledges is not primarily designed to address road congestion. The Jones Bridge Road BRT would cost around $600 million to build, cost less to maintain, take real cars off the road in the NIH⁄NNMC area, provide a direct link into Bethesda, and allow 10,000 weekly trail users to continue to enjoy the down county park space. Even factoring in the $10 million the county spent to purchase the CFX right of way, that is a huge difference.

This is not a selfish plan but a sensible one for the entire region.

Patricia Burda, Chevy Chase