Tuesday, June 10, 2003

Resolution against the ICC passes
Prince George's County Council Unanimously

Today the Prince George's County Council passed a resolution opposing the Inter-County Connector, by a vote of 9-0. This comes just when Governor Ehrlich and Montgomery County Executive Duncan will be kicking off the new ICC study tomorrow in College Park.

During the resolution discussion, Prince George's Council Chair Peter Shapiro said that the ICC should be renamed the "Prince George's County Bypass" because of its likely negative economic effects on the county.

Council member Hendershot said that the ICC was all about servicing and subsidizing the business needs of the I-270 corridor by providing them with easy access to BWI. He said that Prince George's County already has excellent access to BWI without the ICC, and he welcomes businesses to locate in Prince George's County to take full advantage of it. Hendershot also mentioned the Brookings Region Divided study, and said that Prince George's County is on the "have-not" side of the region, and the ICC would do nothing to help that divide.

"The Prince George's County Council raised critical issues about the future of the region today," said Laura Olsen, Assistant Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. "Instead of spending billions to create the ICC, a Prince George's County bypass, we should put new jobs at Metro stations in Prince George's County, allowing thousands of commuters to get off the Beltway and work closer to home."

Council member David Harrington emphasized that he is a strong advocate of transit-oriented development, and he said that we already have a good plan for an Intercounty Connector Ð the Purple Line.