More News

With the Montgomery County Council's 6-3 vote this week to recommend light rail for the Corridor Cities Transitway, a 14-mile mass transit project from Clarksburg to Shady Grove, the task now falls to state and federal leaders to secure enough cash to turn plans into reality. The hitch is that Gov. Martin O'Malley and Maryland's representatives in Congress have seemed lukewarm on improvements that would help cement Montgomery County's position as the engine of the state's economy.

The same day council members voted for light rail, they unanimously recommended to the Maryland Department of Transportation that Interstate 270 be expanded with two reversible lanes, a similar recommendation to the one made by the Frederick County commissioners, who believe that outer suburbs are often neglected when it comes to transportation funding. This demonstration of unity from different counties should send a strong signal about the importance of the I-270/U.S. 15 corridor.

The need for the improvements is clear — according to a Maryland Department of Transportation position paper on the project, "Traffic conditions ... are expected to worsen dramatically by 2025 due to projected increases in population and employment as the result of planned development [in] Montgomery County ... and the projected expansion of suburban residential development in ... Frederick." Business interests, residents, civic groups and now local politicians are speaking with one voice on the CCT, but it's unclear whether their calls are being heard.

According to the most recent version of the state's capital projects budget for transportation, $5 million is available in fiscal 2011 for planning and engineering of the CCT. That's an important first step, but the planning and engineering stage could take years, and the more difficult part will be to secure construction funds — about $1 billion for light rail or, if the state decides bus rapid transit is preferable, about $530 million. The Montgomery County Planning Board prefers the bus option, which is more likely to get funding because of its price. While that may seem to conflict with the council's vote for light rail, the council's decision was probably driven by constituent feedback and members would not be overly disappointed with bus rapid transit, done right.

David McDonough is the senior director of development oversight for Johns Hopkins Institutions, which is developing 107 acres as part of the Gaithersburg West Master Plan, a vision that calls for the creation of 40,000 new medical and research jobs at the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center. McDonough says he is less concerned about whether the CCT has buses or light rail and noted that an alignment shift that takes the CCT through the Life Sciences Center was far more important. Still, he said, though it's worthwhile to explore the long-term operating costs for BRT and light rail before making a final decision, Hopkins would like the CCT up and running as soon as possible.

Either way, the project will need significant federal money to be completed, and with Maryland having gone all-in on two other light-rail projects — the $1.5 billion Purple Line to connect Prince George's and Montgomery counties and a $1.6 billion Red Line extension in Baltimore — it would take a near-miracle to secure funds for all three (though there is some talk of public-private partnerships if federal dollars aren't available).

This is where Montgomery County's history of playing the good soldier in Maryland may come back to bite it you-know-where. For years, the county has assumed the role of wealthy benefactor for the rest of the state. But now, even with Montgomery's main thoroughfare busting at the seams, it seems doubtful state and federal leaders will return the favor.

The buzzwords you hear when discussing the project are that the CCT will stand or fall on its own merits when competing for the same federal pot of money as Maryland's other two light-rail projects, as well as endeavors throughout the country. That is a nice sentiment, but overly idealistic. The truth is that politics will play a large role in where the money goes, and wherever O'Malley and members of Congress throw their weight will likely end up with the cash.

That will be problematic for O'Malley, who tries to be all things to all people, representing himself as a Montgomery boy or a Baltimorean, depending on the circumstances. It will also be difficult for Maryland's congressional representatives, who may be directly asked to support one project or another.

Still, any movement on mass transit for such a focal point of economic development is welcome, and the permanence of light rail for the CCT makes it a solid option.