Tuesday, December 2, 2003

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AAA Poll Disingenuous-Outer beltway Would Bring More Traffic and Bankrupt Needed Transportation Projects

After a non-stop campaign telling people that the ICC is the silver bullet solution to traffic problems, it is not surprising that when asked should we build it, with no information about cost, impacts or effectiveness, that people say yes. People want solutions to our traffic problems, that's not news. But they want fiscally sound, realistic solutions, not ones that just line the pockets of developers.

ICC & New Bridge Would Add Traffic, Not Relieve it

When it comes to the outer beltways, AAA is selling their members a boondoggle. Existing studies show that neither the ICC nor a new bridge would relieve the traffic commuters find on the beltway, I-270 or I-95. And we now know that Gov. Ehrlich plans to sacrifice other current and future transportation projects to finance the ICC. When voters are asked if they want to spend $2.5 Ð 3 billion on a highway that won't solve traffic problems, will increase traffic on the north-south roads and would only save a driver traveling from Gaithersburg to BWI 6 minutes, they say NO.

This message was clear at the recent public workshops for the ICC, where over 800 people came to just one workshop and they were dominantly against the ICC. There were probably more people at that one workshop than were surveyed by AAA, and from listening to residents ask questions of the state officials, only some lone voices were supporting the ICC.

Support for a new bridge and highway are at the same low levels. When Congressman Wolf initiated a study of the techway two years ago, hundreds of residents in both Maryland and Virginia came out to oppose the proposal. That opposition has not subsided. A clear sign of the ongoing opposition is the lack of support by candidates in this last election.

People oppose the techway because it would create more traffic, not relieve it. An existing study by Smart Mobility, Inc. found that if the techway were built, traffic on Route 7 in Virginia adjacent to a new interchange would almost double compared to the No Build scenario. Traffic on Maryland Route 28 would nearly triple. These results confirm findings from a Virginia Department of Transportation analysis as part of the Northern Virginia 2020 Transportation Plan and by Montgomery County in its Transportation Policy Report.

How & Where We Develop is Key to Traffic Solutions

People indicated their interest in non-highway solutions to address traffic congestion. In their poll, AAA did not offer land use and how we develop as a solution. But Washington area residents understand that we can't solve our traffic problems without addressing how and where we are developing. If we continue to scatter housing, jobs and services, forcing people to drive long distances, no amount of new transportation, highways or transit, will solve our problems. Providing people with more options including better transit service and shorter commutes is the key to a better quality of life.

In the case of the ICC one of the best solutions would be to shift jobs to Prince George's county so the 800,000 residents don't have to travel to Montgomery's I-270 corridor or across the Wilson Bridge for jobs. If so many Prince George's residents weren't driving across Montgomery County to get to jobs, traffic would be notably better.

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The Coalition for Smarter Growth is a network of civic, environmental, transit and taxpayer groups working in Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland. We have long advocated for a better way to grow in our region, one that creates more walkable communities and better links between development and transit in order to reduce traffic congestion, save open space, reduce air and water pollution and create better places to live, work and play.