| WHICH AREA IS NOT URBAN? |
In order to increase the levels of density to allow Johns Hopkins Real Estate to put 15,000 people on
Belward Farm, the Montgomery County Planning Board contrived the Gaithersburg West Master Plan.
If the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) runs through our area it will be considered a "transit-oriented
development" and therefore "urban" which essentially allows for higher levels of traffic congestion.
The traffic tests are different for urban and suburban areas. The allowable speeds for an "urban" area
are much lower. For instance, it would not be considered a problem if the average speed on Great
Seneca Highway fell to 9 mph, much like Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda.
The Planning Board and Johns Hopkins Real Estate proposed to add 55,000 people to the "Science City"
in order to secure funding for the CCT. However, the CCT is expected to carry only about 12% - 15%
of the additional people leaving 85% or tens of thousands of additional cars on the already congested
roads. To handle the crush of additional traffic, the roads would be widened to six- and eight-lanes with
multilevel highway interchanges in the so-called urban transit-oriented development.
However, the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) recently said sufficient density currently exists to build
the Corridor Cities Transitway even if the Gaithersburg West Master Plan is scrapped. Therefore, the
County has lost their excuse for proposing 55,000 more people for an area that is already highly
congested.
The County has yet to revise their circular reasoning or the proposed density in this master plan.
Belward Farm, the Montgomery County Planning Board contrived the Gaithersburg West Master Plan.
If the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) runs through our area it will be considered a "transit-oriented
development" and therefore "urban" which essentially allows for higher levels of traffic congestion.
The traffic tests are different for urban and suburban areas. The allowable speeds for an "urban" area
are much lower. For instance, it would not be considered a problem if the average speed on Great
Seneca Highway fell to 9 mph, much like Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda.
The Planning Board and Johns Hopkins Real Estate proposed to add 55,000 people to the "Science City"
in order to secure funding for the CCT. However, the CCT is expected to carry only about 12% - 15%
of the additional people leaving 85% or tens of thousands of additional cars on the already congested
roads. To handle the crush of additional traffic, the roads would be widened to six- and eight-lanes with
multilevel highway interchanges in the so-called urban transit-oriented development.
However, the Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) recently said sufficient density currently exists to build
the Corridor Cities Transitway even if the Gaithersburg West Master Plan is scrapped. Therefore, the
County has lost their excuse for proposing 55,000 more people for an area that is already highly
congested.
The County has yet to revise their circular reasoning or the proposed density in this master plan.
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The Chairman of the Montgomery County Planning Board, Royce Hanson, has said the Planning Board is planning for the residents of tomorrow, not the residents of today. They are ignoring the fact that the residents of tomorrow will be living in our homes and will need to travel about the county, just as we do today. CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH AREA WILL NEVER BE URBAN. |