TRANSPORTATION

Residents in our county spend more time in their cars than almost anywhere else in the country. Although Montgomery County boasts many wonderful amenities—great schools, neighborhoods, world-class research facilities and the Agricultural Reserve—too often we face unbearable gridlock. Building more roads is not the solution—there isn’t enough space and frankly, the more road capacity we add, the more we encourage people to continue driving.

Furthermore, our region consistently exceeds the Clean Air standards. The national goal is to go back to the 1990 levels of carbon dioxide emissions to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. But how do we do that? Even if we increase CAFÉ fuel efficiency standards to 35 mpg by 2020, pollution continues to increase; it simply increases less quickly than it otherwise would. However, if we reduce the vehicle miles travelled (VMT) by 8.3%, we can get down to 2002 levels of CO2. An 8-10% reduction in VMT is doable.

 

Bus Rapid Transit: Effective, Efficient, Environmental

Our current transportation system is not sufficient to convince people to leave their cars behind. I have developed a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system currently under review by county transportation planners.

What is BRT? Think of it like light rail without the overhead wires, steel wheels and tracks in the ground. It is not simply a bus. It is not just a fancy bus.  It is a rapid transit vehicle which runs in its own lane, a guideway, and has small side wheels that run up against the curb so that the ride is smooth.

Importantly, BRT has dedicated right-of-way. That means the vehicle is not stuck in traffic with the cars. In areas where the traffic jams are one-directional (think about Rt. 29, Georgia or Connecticut Avenues south in the morning), the vehicles can run in the guideway in the peak direction and return in the non-peak direction on the regular roads at the speed limit. This means only one track needs to be built, which reduces construction costs and minimizes right-of-way requirements.

Building a BRT system is relatively inexpensive and quick. A mile of BRT guideway costs between $6-$20 million. Compare that to $300 million/mile for heavy rail like our Metrorail system and $75-100 million/mile for light rail. A 75-mile system in York Region, Ontario, Canada was built in approximately 2 years.

The guideways are two ribbons of pavement, not a solid sea of impervious concrete. Because the vehicle never leaves the guideway only the curb and 2 foot running surface is constructed. The center is grass to absorb stormwater and improve visual appeal.

BRT systems like the one I am proposing have been built in a few jurisdictions in this country and elsewhere around the world. This type of BRT systems is a 21st-century answer to a decades-old problem.