Posted on 08/01/2018 12:14:41 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Marylanders spend more time commuting to work than the residents of every other state, apart from New York. The time spent stuck in I-270 or Beltway traffic is maddeningly frustrating. Congestion results in less time spent with families and discourages workers from taking jobs involving longer commutes.
Economists estimate that congestion costs run into the billions. The statewide cost of congestion based on auto delay, truck delay and wasted fuel and emissions was estimated at $2 billion in 2015. This is an increase of 22% from the $1.7 billion estimated cost for congestion in 2013.
As serious a problem as transportation is for Marylanders, our candidates offer dramatically different solutions.
Governor Larry Hogan has proposed adding four new lanes to I-270, the Capital Beltway (I-495), and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD 295), as part of a $9 billion “Traffic Relief Plan.” The Hogan approach involves using private funds to finance the expansion, through a “Public-Private Partnership (P3). The P3 would use private developers to design, build, finance, operate and maintain these new express lanes on I-495 between the American Legion Bridge and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, on I-270 between I-495 and I-70 and on MD 295.
To be sure, the Hogan approach involves tolls to pay for the improvements. These are essentially voluntary tolls that only apply when a driver uses an express lane. This gives drivers the option to choose to pay for faster travel, essentially when a driver’s personal “time is money” calculation warrants their doing so.
The Hogan approach has also deployed cutting-edge smart traffic signals to improve traffic operation and ease congestion for approximately 700,000 drivers per day on 14 major corridors across the state. The system uses real-time traffic conditions and computer software that adjusts the timing of traffic signals, synchronizes the entire corridor and effectively deploys artificial intelligence to keep traffic moving.
As Montgomery County Executive, Republican candidate Robin Ficker promises to partner with Governor Larry Hogan to implement the Governor’s “End Gridlock Plan." He would also prioritize I-270 relief for the section from Montgomery Village to Clarksburg.
The Jealous approach? He says he would “reverse Larry Hogan’s singular focus on roads” and instead spend more on mass transit. For example, he promises to use scarce state transportation funds to build Baltimore’s Red Line. Jealous has also been critical of toll-lane expansion.
Meanwhile, Democratic Montgomery County Executive candidate Marc Elrich has been a long-time advocate of a “Bus Rapid Transit” system. He promises to make building it, along with the Corridor Cities Transitway, his top priorities.
The major problem with the Ehrlich-Jealous mass transit approach is this:
Nearly half of Maryland’s transportation spending is devoted mass transit, even though cars account for approximately 97% of all travel. The Left tries to justify the imbalance by promising motorists that travelers will be diverted away from the roads to transit.
However, after spending billions over the past two decades on public transit, Maryland mass transit’s increase of 52,000 daily commuters has been more than offset by a 62,000 loss in carpool commuters. In a single recent year, transit usage dropped 8% in Baltimore and 3% in the Washington metro area. In short, promised travel diversion to public transit has never materialized. Nevertheless, Maryland’s left-wing progressives are not prepared to give their public transit spending dreams.
Unlike the Hogan Traffic Plan, the Jealous- Elrich transportation approach offers very little hope that Marylanders will see improvements in their commuting times.
Yeah move them 1000 miles out, TO THE EAST.
One thing they can do is eliminate HOV.
I remember when it started on 270. From then on in traffic began to back up at least 2 miles earlier at the same time of day and never improved so you can’t blame it on many not being used to the new rules.
Also when they lift HOV for an accident traffic is actually better than no accident and HOV in effect.
Also 270 is still 2 lanes most the way to Frederick and the entrance ramps are short. Have to get to speed within a couple hundred feet.
Meanwhile; in the middle of Kansas...
Boys and girls; I see we have a plan!!
Or at least an idea!
FUMD
So that’s what all our gas taxes go toward.
Jealous is nothing but a typical knee jerk liberal bereft of ideas.
Hogan-Let’s combine private money and public services to build a highway to relieve massive gridlock
Jealous-I know, I know, how about light rail.
The Red Line he proposes was an absolute joke. It’s a 17 mile light rail through downtown Baltimore. Best estimates are 59,000 riders a day after 15 years of service.
When they were discussing it, I did a back of the napkin financial analysis. Costs were $2,000,000,000. That assume zero overruns, delays, graft etc. I don’t think that cost included operating labor. I assumed no overruns and no labor expenses simply because I didn’t have the data. I also assumed 59,000 riders a day from day one. Amortized over 25 years (The length of time light rail train cars can legally be kept in service) it worked out to something like $9 per rider per trip. There’s no way 59,000 people a day would pay that, so that means the state taxpayers would have to subsidize it by $6-7 per ride.
I meant circles with a radius, not a circumference, of one and five miles, but you already figured that out. The point remains: there are almost certainly some pretty nice neighborhoods near your job. A lot of people don’t realize that because they’ve not looked around, and sometimes because an area just looks different from what they are used to. DC’s affordable housing is now on the east side, including the close-in PG County suburbs. They’re going to go through the same gentrification process that so much of DC has already experienced. It’s already begun. PG County has been a laughingstock for a long time. That’s going to change. Live in College Park or Hyattsville and take Metro, or live in Urbana and spend six hours a day in your car? The smart choice isn’t Urbana.
True enough. But the farther out you are the more house you can afford. Also families with younger children would find your proposition problematic.
I think there should a DC Metro bypass highway. It would start in Delaware go down the DELMARVA peninsula cross the Chesapeake Bay and meet I-95 somewhere between Fredericksburg and Richmond.
Most people should know him. He’s yet another NAACP president here in MD. Which actually is a great name for an NAACP lackey.
And, please note, he’s a half-breed. You might think he’s white. But he’s yet another half-breed who proves there is black privilege, not white, as his black side is what he chooses.
Recently someone posted a definite truth: more roads or wider roads only leads to more traffic and the same clogging. Oh sure, at first it’s nice, but then more people start moving in or think they can commute longer or using the wider route.
This is a truth most conservatives refuse to see or acknowledge.
Personally I love the DC subway system. NY has a good one. The key is in the planning. Baltimore stinks because these idiots thought they could start with single very long n-s and e-w routes, without anything really connecting them. They are totally inconvenient. Was not planned well.
And yes, I think it would be great to allow private mass transit again.
I favor the old trolley model. It worked great in Baltimore, until GM forced all the trains out.
Honestly, we’re probably stuck with congestion no matter what we do now.
Actually, Ben Jealous was formerly head of the National Association of Angry Colored People.
How about 1000 miles EAST of DC. #DownyOcean
BEAT ME TO IT!!!
Or just take US 13 from Wilmington, DE to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, then take I-64 to Richmond or US 460 to Petersburg. True, it’s not all freeway, but it does roughly follow what you had in mind.
Also, you go from I-95 west of Wilmington down DE 896, which becomes US 301 at US 40. Then you can follow US 301 all the way down to Richmond.
There’s no reason why FBI headquarters cannot be relocated to a city in middle of the country, let’s say, Kansas City?
Strong local accents eh?
Back then, yes. Today, not so much.
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