Study: Montgomery County Needs Dedicated Bus Lanes, Rail Extension

According to an analysis by Montgomery County planners, "[h]elping more people to avoid driving in Maryland’s heavily congested Interstate 270 corridor would require building a network of dedicated bus lanes and eventually extending Metro’s Red Line to Germantown," reports Katherine Shaver.

In the first mass transit study for the corridor, planners assessed potential transit improvements in an effort to "help Montgomery leaders prioritize transit projects as funding becomes available" and "serve areas of the county that don’t have high-quality transit today." The report recommends prioritizing "a network of dedicated bus lanes to feed into Bus Rapid Transit lines being designed for Rockville Pike (Route 355) and Veirs Mill Road" over the next two decades, as well as extending the Red Line. "The bus lanes would serve 'equity focus areas' of lower-income residents, major job centers and some Metro Red Line stations."

The I-270, "one of the most congested in the Washington region, carries commuters from job centers in Montgomery, the District and Northern Virginia to homes in Montgomery, Frederick County, western Maryland and Pennsylvania" and is the home of major employers including biotech companies and universities.

While any implementation remains years away, the recommendations open a discussion about the future of public transit in the growing region.