Community invited to attend virtual meeting on Corridor Forward: The I-270 Transit Plan on July 20

Community invited to attend virtual meeting on Corridor Forward: The I-270 Transit Plan on July 20

Staff will present an overview of the transit options evaluated to serve communities and employment centers along I-270

Per Montgomery Planning:

The Montgomery County Planning Department will hold a virtual public meeting for Corridor Forward: The I-270 Transit Planon July 20 (7 – 8:30 p.m.).

At the meeting, Montgomery Planning staff will present an overview of the six transit options retained for detailed analysis and evaluation, which were identified in the initial stage of the plan. Planners will also discuss the evaluation metrics that will be used to prioritize the transit options and outline how responses from the Transit Values Questionnaire informed the development of these metrics. RSVPs are required to attend. The meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams.

During the first phase of the plan, Montgomery Planning staff identified six transit options to advance from an original 13 conceptual transit options, a result of the plan’s pre-screening process. The options are:

• Enhanced MARC Rail
• Red Line Extension
• Corridor Cities Transitway
• Purple Line Extension
• New Rail Connection to Frederick
• I-270 Corridor Bus Rapid Transit

About the Corridor Forward Plan

The goal of Corridor Forward is to comprehensively evaluate, prioritize and advance transit options that achieve the best combination of the following values, consistent with the Planning Board Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050:

• Strategic Connections: Serve high-demand origin and destination pairs, balancing costs of implementation with projected benefits.
• Economic Health: Enable existing development and master-planned communities to realize their potential as livable and economically vibrant places.
• Community Equity: Align with the county’s social equity goals and principles.
• Environmental Resilience: Operate sustainably and reduce negative environmental impacts.

To create the plan, Montgomery Planning is working with state and county agencies, neighboring jurisdictions, county municipalities, advocacy groups, and community members as we analyze transit options and an evaluation methodology. Montgomery Planning has engaged community members about their needs and values related to transit through the Corridor Forward Plan’s Transit Values Questionnaire.

Is the Corridor Forward Plan part of the Managed Lanes project?

The purpose of Corridor Forward is to evaluate and prioritize transit options to serve communities and employment centers along the I-270 corridor. The Plan stands on its own and will provide guidance to the county regardless of the outcome of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Managed Lanes effort. While the Plan will not specifically consider the role of transit in relation to the Managed Lanes study, it will identify transit options which offer an alternative to travel by car. Each of the options advanced for detailed study is anticipated to reduce vehicle miles traveled, and a combination of these options will further transit accessibility and competitiveness for communities along the corridor.