November 13, 2003

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ICC Opponents to Hold Save Our Communities campaign kick-off

A coalition of citizen organizations, public officials and environmental groups will launch their campaign November 14 to rally long standing public opposition to the proposed Intercounty Connector (ICC).

Citing past state sponsored studies showing the ICC would provide no significant traffic relief, Save Our Communities will criticize the Ehrlich administration's current study as a rubber stamp on a huge boondoggle, which will cost taxpayers nearly $3 billion, squandering decades of future transportation funds.

The campaign will hold a press conference at Blake High School, Sat. Nov. 15 at 11 AM. The regional campaign questions the high costs of the ICC, calling instead for less costly and equally effective alternatives to building the ICC. These include transit investment, balanced land use bringing jobs and homes closer together, and improvements to existing roads.

Speakers will include Montgomery County Councilperson Phil Andrews, College Park Councilperson Eric Olsen, civic leaders and environmental leaders. The event will be held outside the State Highway Administration's public ICC Workshops where highway routes for study will be released to the public.

• What: Save Our Communities campaign kick-off
• When: 11 AM, November 15, 2003
• Where: Blake High School, 300 Norwood Rd., Silver Spring
• Who: Montgomery County Councilperson Phil Andrews, College Park Councilperson Eric Olsen, civic leaders, and environmental organizations.

Save Our Communities is a campaign organized by a growing coalition of community members, civic organizations, smart growth groups, and environmental organizations, opposing the ICC in favor of addressing traffic problems through non-highway alternatives that meet or beat road alternatives including bringing jobs and homes closer together in livable, walkable communities, investing in transit, and taking simple measures to improve existing roads.

Civic and environmental leaders are concerned that Ehrlich's biased study only considers major highway options to address traffic problems and regional mobility.

For more information, visit www.savecommunities.org