Download - Smart Growth Montgomery County Magazine
smart growthmontgomery county
A publication of the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®
Smart Growth Initiatives: The New National Mindset
Making Smart Growth Happen in• Bethesda• Great Seneca• White Flint
Rapid Transit Vehicle SystemThe Future of Transportation
Pho
to:
Ele
na E
lisse
eva\
phot
os.c
om
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 1
smart growthmontgomery county
Making Smart Growth HappenWith just over 500 square miles in
Montgomery County and most of it already developed, much of the expansion planned in the area is for higher density than what currently exists, changing the way neighborhoods look, feel, and function. The range of housing options REALTORS® will be showing in 20 years will most definitely look very different than it does today.
To maintain the quality of life expected by County residents, mass transit needs to be expanded to accommodate the growing workforce and population. GCAAR is taking a leading role in advocating for funding and support of new development that will increase the County’s tax base and effective transit plans to service these developments.
Integral to GCAAR’s support is educating members about the benefits of the County’s smart growth agenda and specific development and mass transit plans. This effort began with a variety of planned development seminars held in 2011 and 2012 in the areas of White Flint, the Great Seneca Science Corridor, and Bethesda, providing a vision for the County’s landscape of the future. Each of the seminars covered changes to major transportation corridors, expanded modes of transportation, and the integration of ‘mass rapid transit’ into the living and working environments, in addition to the development plans themselves.
With the help of a Smart Growth Grant from the National Association of REALTORS® GCAAR is able to expand the reach of its information and advocacy efforts, and produce this magazine. This grant has also helped fund GCAAR’s participation in a coalition of County officials, developers, private sector businesses, organizations, planning officials, and transportation/transit groups, that is actively advocating for a comprehensive “Rapid Transit Vehicle” or RTV mass transit plan.
In order for RTV to become a reality, major legislative and public policy changes, as well as funding, are required at the state and local levels. Many development projects are tied to RTV and cannot move forward without its implementation. These developments would create tens of thousands of quality jobs, expand the economic base, and provide affordable housing, ultimately improving the quality of life REALTORS® sell in Montgomery County.
A publication ofGreater Capital Area Association of REALTORS®
8757 Georgia Avenue, Suite 600Silver Spring, MD 20910301-590-2000www.gccar.com
Pho
to:
Pau
l Vas
arhe
lyi\p
hoto
s.co
m
2 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
insideTable of Contents
1 Making Smart Growth Happen
3 Introduction – Welcome Letter
4 Smart Growth: The New National Mindset
5 Securing Montgomery County’s Economic Future through Enhanced Mobility
7 North Bethesda’s Urban Center
10 Great Seneca – a Mid-County Life Sciences Center
12 The Future of Downtown Bethesda
15 Rapid Transit Vehicle System – the Future of Transportation in Montgomery County
Pho
to:
Ste
ve J
ohns
on\p
hoto
s.co
m
7 North Bethesda’s Urban Center
15 Rapid Transit Vehicle System
12 The Future of Downtown Bethesda
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 3
WelcomeLooking For AnswersMetropolitan Washington in the 21st Century is going through a time of significant change and uncertainty.
DC has seen the rejuvenation of many commercial areas – but still faces challenges in housing, transportation, education, and other services – all of which have an impact on the supply, price and quality of housing.
Maryland, and Montgomery County in particular, are confronting population growth and demographic change. These changes put pressure on housing availability and affordability, job creation, transportation, education, and other services. Montgomery County is in the midst of a hugely important transition from a suburban to a much more urbanized community.
Regionally we are looking for approaches to accommodate these changes, and not just maintain the quality of life we have come to expect but improve upon it. For this reason, the REALTORS® as well as our local units of government are looking to implement Smart Growth policies that will enable us to achieve balanced and sustainable economic growth and enhance our quality of life.
Smart Growth and Economic SuccessSmart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory the result of which is to concentrate growth in compact, walkable, urban centers to avoid sprawl. It provides a diverse range of choices in land uses, building types, transportation, homes, workplace locations, and stores. Such development projects are attractive to private-sector interests because they can find a ready market and compete financially. They appeal to local governments because they can be the building blocks of a growing economy and high-quality, economically-sustainable neighborhoods and communities while also helping to create a cleaner, healthier environment.
Metropolitan DC residents know what happens when development occurs without sufficient planning for present and future transportation needs. We doubt there is one of us who has not been stuck on the Beltway or in the heart of Bethesda or downtown DC for over an hour to complete a trip that should take ten minutes or less. Thus, GCAAR has focused on the importance of transit-oriented development as the linchpin for smart growth in the area.
Our area is growing and that is good. This magazine features some of the most significant areas of growth in Montgomery County today. It also features the transportation plans and zoning guidelines that make these developments “smart” with access to current and future mass transportation, and rebuilt roads that increase greenscapes and improve the flow of traffic.
Keep this magazine as a reference, and feel free to give a copy to your clients, friends, and anyone else who is curious about how the County is growing.
—GCAAR Board of Directors
The constant influx of new people demands new
development, but the form it takes is likely to be
critical to the long-term quality of life and economic
stability of our towns, cities, and nation. In recent years
our metro areas have sprawled outward. It has been
easier for developers to gobble up fields and forests with
new subdivisions while leaving older areas to languish,
with declining population, decaying infrastructure, and
a slumping tax base. As farms surrender to big-box
stores and woods give way to asphalt, there is mounting
frustration over increased traffic, decreased open space,
inadequate public services, over-crowded schools,
lack of affordable housing, and loss of community
vitality. In our most economically-vibrant metros, many
young families face a painful choice between close-in
neighborhoods that are expensive even when they are
less-than-desirable, and ever more-distant subdivisions
that condemn them to a life spent behind the wheel.
The approach to planning and development that
has come to be known as smart growth grew out
of an effort by policy makers, real estate
professionals, planners and urban designers,
environmentalists, key employers, and many
ordinary citizens to find ways to ease these
tensions. It is an attempt to find a middle way
between growth-at-any-cost and the “no-growth”
reaction to it. The idea is to involve citizens,
public officials, and myriad stakeholders in
working together to plan ahead for development
according to a set of common-sense principles.
The vision is that communities get better as
they grow, while remaining both economically
viable and environmentally responsible. n
Smart Growth:
The New National MindsetSince the end of World War II, the US population has doubled to more than 300 million people and continues to grow by three million people annually, adding a new person every 13 seconds. This rapid population growth, compounded by development patterns that encourage bigger houses and longer commutes, is forcing us to face an important question: How should our communities grow?
Reprinted from NAR Smart Growth Toolkit
4 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
Pho
to:
Jenn
ifer
Pin
to\p
hoto
s.co
m
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 5
Securing Montgomery County’s Economic Future through Enhanced Mobility Excerpted from Sage Policy Group Report for Montgomery County Task Force
Over the next 20 years, Montgomery County will face
a problem many counties would love to have – the
estimated increase of more than 160,000 jobs. Of
course, this merely represents estimated job growth,
but one could reasonably ask whether a County that is
already heavily gridlocked has the wherewithal to absorb
a 36 percent increase in employment. It is unlikely that
the County could accommodate the forecasted jobs and
associated families without a substantial upgrade in
transit capacity and relevance.
This expansion of the employment base from 2010
to 2030 will coincide with the retirement of 200,000
baby boomers, most of whom will stay in the area. The
200,000 replacement workers the County will need
over the next 20 years will also add to the demands for
housing and other development and will also place new
demands on the transportation system.
Public transit is a growing part of that transportation
system. Growth in employment over the past 20 years
has coincided with an even larger increase in the use
of public transit. Residents’ use of public transit in
Montgomery County has grown 42 percent in recent
years with more than 77,000 County residents routinely
using public transit in 2010, almost 20,000 more than
in 2000 after modest growth in the 1990s.
Master plans for planning districts within Montgomery
County provide another perspective on the relationship
between transit and development. A review of 10
master plans, commercial market analyses, sectors
plans, and similar documents found an almost
universal identification of transit as a critical element
in overcoming local congestion and in facilitating
planned growth potential through increased mobility. A
Residents’ use of public transit in Montgomery County has grown 42 percent in recent years with more than 77,000 County residents routinely using public transit in 2010, almost 20,000 more than in 2000 after modest growth in the 1990s.
t
MOBIL ITY
Pho
to:
Ste
ve J
ohns
on\p
hoto
s.co
m
6 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
number make specific reference to mass transit systems
and its ability to facilitate the development process.
In other words, many of Montgomery County’s most
transformative planned and approved commercial and
residential real estate investments simply cannot move
ahead without additional transit capacity (e.g., White
Flint, Shady Grove, Great Seneca). An RTV system would
deliver that capacity.
The Washington, DC region, including Montgomery
County, is already the most congested in the country.
Each year the average vehicle-based commuter wastes
74 hours and 37 gallons of fuel because of congestion.
The forecast of net new jobs will only add to this
congestion. In the absence of a substantial increase
in transit capacity, the County will be unable to
accommodate already planned and approved growth or
the additional jobs, growth, and other economic benefits
that will accompany the expanding employment base.
Alternatively, an RTV system coupled with more intense
development tied to this system can accommodate net
new jobs and the housing and other development that is
associated with new workers and new households. The
RTV system can mitigate congestion associated with
this growth by providing a countywide RTV mass transit
alternative to automobiles.
From a public policy perspective, Montgomery County
could embrace both the expected population and job
growth, creating potentially shorter commutes in the
process. The County could also embrace jobs, but not
housing with the implication being that many of the
new jobs would be filled by nonresidents, often traveling
long distances. The County could also accommodate the
population, but not make the infrastructure investments
necessary to support commercial development. This
would require many of the new residents to secure
employment outside of the County, also leading to
lengthy commutes as well as a foregone commercial
tax base. A final possibility is to try to prevent both
residential and commercial development, which would
cause the County to age over time as population
stagnated and as other communities steadily attracted
a higher share of the region’s net new jobs. This would
shrink the tax base at least in real terms over time.
The implication of this discussion is that the best public
policy outcome emerges from a strategy that seeks
to intelligently accommodate both commercial and
residential development. In the absence of significant
transit improvements, accommodating this growth
intelligently or at all will be difficult. n
Each year the average vehicle-based commuter wastes 74 hours and 37 gallons of fuel because of congestion.
MOBIL ITY
Pho
to:
S J
upit
erim
ages
\pho
tos.
com
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 7
The White Flint area has long been
the gateway to Rockville Pike and
the seemingly limitless retail and office
space opportunities it offers. Bordered
on the north by Montrose Parkway, the
south by White Flint Mall, the west by Old
Georgetown Road, and the east by CSX
tracks, the White Flint area is scheduled
for an early twenty-first century overhaul.
Unanimously approved by The Montgomery
County Council on March 23, 2010, the
White Flint Sector Plan aims to create
a thriving, diverse, mixed-use center
with easy access to Metro and Rockville
Pike. The plan transforms the Pike into a
boulevard with street trees and improved
crosswalks, improves the pedestrian and
bicycling environment, and creates new
parks and open spaces. Integral to the
plan is a newly-developed transportation
network that includes a grid of new public
streets and an emphasis for developers
to incorporate environmentally-sensitive
design. A total of 9,800 new residential
units and 5.69 million square feet of office
and retail space are proposed in the plan.
The core of the urban center will be at the
existing White Flint Metro station, where
the highest density and tallest buildings
will form an identifiable center expressing
White Flint’s character. New development
will decline in height and density from the
center, providing compatible transitions
as it approaches the surrounding
neighborhoods. The compact development
plan includes a system of public-use
WHITE FL INT
t
White Flint: North Bethesda’s Urban Center
Wisconsin Avenue in North Bethesda. Photo courtesy of The JBG Companies.
8 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
spaces where people can gather for events or
enjoy recreational activities.
This Sector Plan updates the 1992
North Bethesda Garrett Park Master
Plan. In October 2010, the plan won the
“Neighborhood/Small Area Plan award”
from the National Capital Area chapter of
the American Planning Association. Several
stakeholders including property owners,
residents, as well as a steering and an
advisory committee, contributed to creating
the Plan.
The White Flint area was chosen for
redevelopment in part because of the
strength of its existing infrastructure. “Given
the reality of future energy constraints and
the effects of climate change, growth must
take advantage of existing infrastructure,
especially transit, to create compact
new communities where reliance on the
automobile is unnecessary. Growth should be
directed to those places where a reduction
in the carbon footprint is possible, like
White Flint, and where the infrastructure
can support a sustainable, culturally diverse
urban center. . .” according to the text of
the White Flint Sector Plan.
On February 23, 2011, GCAAR invited the
major developers involved in the White Flint
projects and a representative from the Office
of the Montgomery County Executive to
present each group’s plan for redevelopment.
Representatives from The JBG Companies,
ProMark Real Estate Services, and Federal
Realty Investment Trust shared their
strategies and architectural layouts and
drawings with the crowd. The target audience
for the residential units includes both young
Whole Foods Market boasts its own parking garage and easy access out of the hustle and bustle of Rockville Pike. Photo courtesy of The JBG Companies.
WHITE FL INT
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 9
Seasons 52 restaurant welcomes diners. Photo courtesy of The JBG Companies.
singles and couples, and local move-down
empty nesters. In general, the units to be
built are smaller than current offerings, offer
luxury finishes, balconies and views, and are
laid out in a pedestrian-friendly format with
easy access to a multitude of retail offerings.
JBG’s first leg of construction was
completed in late 2010 and includes a
Whole Foods Market, LA Fitness, Seasons
52 restaurant, Aurhaus Furniture, Starbucks,
CVS, and both a high-rise and mid-rise
residential development complete with
concierge service.
ProMark’s plans for North Bethesda
Gateway include 622,000 square feet of
office, 811,000 square feet of residential,
a 181,000 square foot hotel, and 74,000
square feet of retail.
Federal Realty Investment Trust is
redeveloping Mid-Pike Plaza with plans for
434,000 square feet of retail, 1,192,000
square feet of office, 1,727,000 square feet
of residential (1,544 units), and a 90,000
square foot hotel.
To wrap it all up, a representative from
the County talked about the infrastructure
changes that will be taking place along
Rockville Pike to accommodate the projects,
including more use of green space, walking
trails, and reduced vehicle traffic. n
Epad concept living space. Photo courtesy of ProMark.
WHITE FL INT
10 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
Home to a major hospital, academic institutions, and private biotechnology companies, the Life Sciences Center (LSC) already
serves as the County’s premier location for and has the largest concentration of advanced technology companies. Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Johns Hopkins University-Montgomery County Campus (JHU-MCC), the Universities at Shady Grove, and biotechnology companies such as Human Genome Sciences, BioReliance, and the J. Craig Venter Institute are all located in the Life Sciences Center. The federal government’s General Services Administration recently selected the JHU-MCC site for the National Cancer Institute’s consolidated headquarters.
GREAT SENECA
Great Seneca Science Corridor
A Mid-County Life Sciences CenterA 21st-century blueprint for the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center was established with the approval of the Great Seneca Science Corridor (GSSC) Master Plan by the County Council on May 4, 2010.
Master Plan VisionThe Master Plan envisions -- and zoning will help implement -- a future LSC that includes an expanded, first-class medical center, research facilities, academic institutions, and an array of services and amenities for residents, workers, and visitors. It will have an open space system that incorporates the area’s natural environmental features into a larger network, connecting destinations by paths and trails, and providing opportunities for a range of outdoor experiences.
Over the next 20 years the GSSC Master Plan for an Applied BioScience Research Community will generate 60,000 new full and part-time science-related jobs within the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center. The annual contribution to County tax revenues associated with the center is projected to be $176 million, with $11 billion in annual goods and services for businesses. In addition to the commercial space, the Plan could yield 2,000 dwelling units.
TransitTransforming today’s suburban, auto-oriented LSC into tomorrow’s walkable, vibrant science center requires changing the built environment and the mix of uses over time. The Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) – a 14-mile system that will run from the Shady Grove Metro Station to Clarksburg – is a centerpiece of the Master Plan’s vision. The LSC of the future will be served by this fully-integrated transit system that links the LSC Districts as well as mid-County activity centers in Rockville and Gaithersburg. The Master Plan includes a rigorous staging element that ties
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 11
development to implementation of the CCT, including funding, construction, and operation of the transit system.
On April 4, 2012, developers, involved institutions, and representatives from the County and state presented
detailed plans for the area to GCAAR members. Johns Hopkins University opened the session with a discussion of the expansion of its existing Montgomery County Campus, which will include 2.7 million square feet with a transit station, town center and a mix of uses. The JHU Belward Research Campus plan includes 4.7 million square feet with a transit station and town center. Adventist HealthCare is also planning to expand its campus. Developers DANAC Corporation and Woodfield Investments are planning new residential developments in the area to help house the new work force.
State and County transit planners presented the details on the CCT that must be built to accommodate the influx of 60,000 jobs to the area. The final approval of each development phase depends on the building progression of the CCT and meeting minimum ridership goals. If the CCT gets delayed, so does the private development. Once built, if a certain percentage of workers don’t use the CCT, the next phase of private development won’t be approved. With these triggers in place, the County and state are ensuring that development does not continue until the transit to facilitate movement around the area is functional. n
GREAT SENECA
The Montgomery County Planning Board approved Camden USA’s Sketch Plan Application for up to 498,072 SF of multifamily uses and a minimum of 5,000 SF of commercial uses on 7.62 gross acres of the DANAC Stiles Corporate Campus, in the Great Seneca Science Corridor.
Home to a major hospital, academic institutions, and private biotechnology companies, the Life Sciences Center (LSC) serves as the County’s premier location for and has the largest concentration of advanced technology accompanies. Photos courtesy of Johns Hopkins University.
12 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
The Future of Bethesda’s Urban Center
BETHESDA
Downtown Bethesda has long
been a vibrant urban center
in Montgomery County and
continues to be an admirable
model of smart growth. While
other parts of the county require
major changes to roadways
and transit infrastructure
to accommodate growth,
Bethesda’s infrastructure is
poised to handle significant
increases in residential and
office space within its already
Montgomery County continues to be an admirable model of smart growth. Downtown Bethesda offers a lively urban community filled with restaurants, home and fashion retailers, and walkable access to unique boutiques, day spas and salons, three live theaters, and numerous art galleries. Photo courtesy of Bethesda Urban Partnership.
Below: The Bernstein Companies is bringing a new high-end Starwood Westin Hotel to Bethesda, along with trophy office, retail, and restaurant space. Rendering courtesy of The Bernstein Companies. Photo courtesy of Bethesda Urban Partnership.
Pho
to c
ourt
esy
of B
ethe
sda
Urb
an P
artn
ersh
ip.
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 13
walkable footprint with modest additions of parking
and connection to the proposed Rapid Transit Vehicle
system.
Bethesda boasts a Metro station that currently handles
more than 15,000 passengers on the average weekday,
and 10,000 each weekend. Downtown Bethesda offers
17 public garages and lots for easy access by car, and
offers a free “Circulator” bus from many garages to the
most central downtown attractions, including Metro.
Living in downtown Bethesda offers a lively urban
community filled with nearly 200 restaurants, home
and fashion retailers, and walkable access to unique
boutiques, day spas and salons, three live theaters,
and numerous art galleries. Apartments and
condominiums in downtown Bethesda offer
convenient and luxurious living.
As with any true urban center, in addition to the many
retail and residential opportunities, Bethesda’s office
space is integral to its downtown. According to the
Montgomery County Department of Parks
& Planning, Bethesda has a downtown
workforce that exceeds 43,000.
With all the excitement already in Bethesda,
and the additional jobs projected to enter
the area with the Base Realignment plans for
Navy Medical and the National Institute of
Health just north of downtown, it’s no wonder
that Bethesda remains one of the prized real
estate markets in the DC Metropolitan area.
BETHESDA
t
Three developers currently working on projects in
Bethesda’s downtown highlighted their plans at a
GCAAR seminar on June 28, 2012. Significant
residential growth is planned over the next seven years.
In 1994 there were 5,200 residential units available in
Bethesda. By 2019, that will have more than doubled
to 10,691 units.
StonebridgeCarras, in joint venture with PN Hoffman,
is developing “Lot 31,” two former surface parking
lots at the corner of Woodmont Road and Bethesda
Avenue, at the gateway of “Bethesda Row.” The County
has approved development plans including up to 250
condominium units, 40,000 square feet of retail,
1,400 underground parking spaces, 1,100 of which
will be controlled by the County for public parking, and
the re-alignment of Woodmont Road and major public
amenities. The adjacent Capital Crescent Trail will be
widened to support its use. The residences will include
a combination of workforce, affordable, and luxury
condominium product comprised of studio units to
three-bedroom units with private decks. Stonebridge is
also developing 8300 Wisconsin Avenue into a mix of
townhouse and high-rise condo units with a full-service
grocery store and attractive public space.
Right: Montgomery County has approved StonebridgeCarras’s LEED certified development plan for the 3.3 acre Lot 31 project, which
includes up to 250 condominium units, 40,000 square feet of retail, 1,400 underground parking spaces, 1,100 of which will be
controlled by the County for public parking, the re-alignment of Woodmont Road and major public amenities.
Rendering courtesy of StonebridgeCarras.
Photo courtesy of Bethesda Urban Partnership.
14 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
Donohoe’s development of The Gallery of Bethesda I & II
high-rise apartment buildings will bring 454 rental units
and nearly 19,000 square feet of retail to the Central
Business District (CBD). Housed on Auburn and Del
Ray Avenues, the two buildings will be separated by a
pedestrian street, Rugby Lane.
The Bernstein Companies is bringing a new high-end
Starwood Westin Hotel to Bethesda, along with trophy
office, retail, and restaurant space. At 7750 Wisconsin
Avenue, one building will feature a 210 key full-
service Westin Bethesda hotel with a 6,000 sf ballroom
overlooking the shared plaza, while the other brings a
250,000 sf trophy office building. The unique shared
plaza which connects Woodmont Avenue to Wisconsin
Avenue will feature 16,000 sf for restaurant and retail
space on the ground floor of the buildings.
In no small part, Bethesda’s success is due to its
connectivity to existing public transportation. Once
you’re there, the Bethesda Circulator bus system, run
by The Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP), offers
door-to-door service from parking garages to the most
popular destinations. A non-profit organization, BUP
also handles landscaping and maintenance, manages
the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, operates
Bethesda Transportation Solutions, and handles
promotion of downtown.
Bethesda will become even more connected with the
introduction of the proposed Rapid Transit Vehicle (RTV)
system. With a focus on increasing east-west connectivity
through mass transit, RTV will open up to even more
County residents all Bethesda has to offer.
The final presentation in June was from the County’s
Director of Economic Development, Steve Silverman.
Silverman underscored the importance to the County and
the state of Bethesda’s growing and thriving economy.
Already a significant contributer to the area’s tax base,
Bethesda’s continued success is important to and greatly
supported by the local and state leaders. n
BETHESDA
Donohoe Development Company’s planned Woodmont Central multi-phase development will include two high-rise apartment buildings. The Gallery of Bethesda will feature 5,400 sf of retail along with public art space and a pedestrian street. Rendering courtesy of The Donohoe Companies.
GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine 15
Rapid Transit Vehicle System The Future of Transportation in Montgomery CountyBy Mark Winston, Chair, Montgomery County Executive’s
Transit Task Force
What is RTV?
The Rapid Transit Vehicle (RTV) System creates a comprehensive transit network across Montgomery
County, providing north-south and east-west transportation opportunities. The proposal suggests a sophisticated surface transit system covering approximately 160 miles, using vehicles that will operate like “light rail on rubber tires.”
To the maximum extent possible, the RTV network will have physically separated, dedicated RTV lanes, so that operations are not commingled in traffic. This will enhance system performance and result in transformational change in how people move around the County.
The vehicles themselves will be high quality, energy efficient, and as environmentally clean as possible, including state of the art information technology for the benefit of passengers and operators. Stations will be comfortable, functional, and will have “next vehicle” information and off-vehicle payment technology.
The proposed network of 23 corridors (or lines) builds on previously proposed route corridors with a focus on north-south and east-west connectivity. Within the network an infinite number of routes are possible by combining lines and segments of lines to accommodate user needs. Reconfiguration of the existing Ride-On bus system is envisioned to serve as a feeder from virtually every neighborhood in the County to the RTV network and Metro Rail.
When Will the RTV System Be Built?
RTV is still in the study and planning stages. The network is proposed to be built in three phases to mitigate construction and affordability issues. Each
RAPID TRANSIT
phase is designed to be fully functional and maximize network connectivity. It is anticipated that the County Executive will propose, and it is hoped that the County Council will adopt, a series of proposals that will create and advance this unique transit asset.
Why Do We Need More Public Transit?
Transportation is at the foundation of the government’s and the private sector’s ability to achieve their goals in a wide range of activities, each of which requires access and mobility in the County and throughout the region. Investment in transit must be undertaken to enable any community to meet its most basic needs of moving people and commerce. Failure to make these necessary investments undermines our productivity, economic competitiveness, environment, safety, and quality of life.
The Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University forecasts that between 2010 and 2030 the Washington Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (“WPMSA”) will experience employment growth of approximately 1.05 million net new jobs. Montgomery County’s forecasted share of this job growth is approximately 163,000 net new jobs. The WPMSA already suffers from the most congested roads in the country. The Transportation Planning Board projects that the region will add yet another 3.9 million daily vehicular t
16 GCAAR Smart Growth Magazine
trips, another 25 million vehicle miles travelled daily, and another 250,000 daily transit trips during the same 20 year period. Even more daunting, if the current trends of exurban/urban sprawl were to continue, today’s estimated 230,000 daily work trips from outside the WPMSA into and through the WPMSA (pass-through traffic) is projected to more than triple to approximately 700,000 by the year 2030. With 75% of commuters traveling in single-occupancy vehicles and another 10% traveling in carpools, such an automobile-dependent commuting pattern is unsustainable.
Why Is RTV the Answer for Transit?
• It is the most cost-effective way to address transportation capacity and congestion issues.
• It is our best hope for creating vibrant, live-work communities for existing as well as future residents and employees that reduce our reliance on automobiles to get to and from work.
• It is needed to implement the County’s already adopted and anticipated future land use decisions.
Without an increase in transportation capacity, forecasted jobs will not come to the County. They are likely to go elsewhere, either to other jurisdictions or out of the region altogether. This will result in more congestion on our roads without the economic and fiscal benefits that would occur if such jobs and housing were created in the County. The proposed transit network provides the best option for providing the transportation capacity for these forecasted jobs to become a reality. At the same time, it will positively impact our congestion, environmental quality, and general quality of life needs.
Paying for the RTV System
The system is projected to cost in excess of $1.8 billion to build, including approximately $477 million for the Corridor Cities Transit Way, which is a portion of the system already being planned by the State Mass Transit Administration. The projected annual operating cost of the system is up to $1.1 million per mile.
There are a variety of ways in which to finance these costs. The funding of capital costs is proposed to come primarily through the issuance of debt. Debt service payments are proposed to be funded by a combination of annual State contributions toward debt service on special obligation bonds, and revenues derived from one or more special taxing districts formed to tax real property. Special tax district revenues will be used both to pay the County’s share of debt service on capital costs, and to fund operating deficits of the transit operations.
Another funding alternative, in whole or in part, may be to use a portion of the County’s capital improvements program budget, which could be re-allocated to transit uses from certain road projects.
How Was this Plan Created?
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett appointed the Transit Task Force in February 2011 and starting in March 2011, met numerous times in public session. The Task Force was comprised of a group of community leaders, elected and appointed officials, and transportation and planning experts from state, regional, and local government agencies. The Executive’s directive to the Task Force was to develop a plan for the implementation of a comprehensive and effective rapid transit system for Montgomery County. After over a year of deliberations, the Task Force recommended the approximately 160-mile RTV system.
The Task Force believes that a high-quality transit network, matched with transit-supportive mixed-use development and density, is not only consistent with but required by the “wedges and corridor” plan embodied in the County’s General Plan, as amended.
The Task Force has proposed the exploration of the creation of an independent transit authority to plan, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the combined RTV system and the redeployed Ride-On transit operation. The Task Force has also recommended that the County explore using public-private procurement methods and processes to make the system development and operations process more efficient, less expensive,
and more expeditious. n
RAPID TRANSIT