Plan to Fix Traffic
COOPER RELEASES METRO 360 PLAN FOR
TRANSPORTATION TRANSFORMATION
BETHESDA, MD – Today Jordan Cooper announced his comprehensive Metro 360 Plan for transportation transformation. Cooper announced: “Gridlock. Rush hour. Traffic congestion. These are experiences familiar to every constituent in District 16.”
Cooper went on to describe our past success at handling increasing traffic through our investments in mass transit infrastructure, saying “We have done two things right with transit in the past 60 years: in the 1960s we built the Capital Beltway and in the 1970s we built Metro. We need to build upon our successes and create an outer beltway and a beltway Metro system.”
The Metro 360 Plan entails building an outer beltway, of which the Inter-County Connector (ICC) would be a part, that includes a second bridge across the Potomac River, connecting Montgomery and Loudon Counties. This second connection above the American Legion Bridge would enable Marylanders to travel directly to Dulles Airport without first driving either down to the Beltway or up to Frederick. No development would be permitted along this direct access road connecting Maryland to Virginia in order to preserve the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve as much as possible.
The Plan also calls for a Beltway Metro system of which the Purple Line is a part. In order for Metro to be a viable transit option for the entire DC metropolitan area, Metro lines need to run along the entire beltway. Cooper’s Metro 360 Plan takes into account some features of existing master plans that were implemented decades ago when, for example, a bridge connecting Prince George’s County to Alexandria, VA was intentionally built wider than necessary in order to accommodate the future construction of a Metro line over that bridge. With a Beltway Metro system Montgomery County residents would be able to take Metro to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport within a half-hour through a connection between the Red and Silver Lines. And as the Silver Line has been partially funded through Metro impact taxes, so too could this new Beltway Metro plan be fund by the same in addition to an increase in the gas tax in Maryland.
Cooper summarized his Metro 360 Plan as such: “Improved mass-transit options will increase mobility, strengthen our economy, and improve our quality of life. We must continue to invest in the maintenance and expansion of our transit infrastructure.”
Gridlock. Rush hour. Traffic congestion. These are experiences familiar to every constituent in District 16. Among the top issues that I'm hearing from you as I go door to door with my team is your frustration with traffic. As a result I am pleased to announce my comprehensive Metro 360 Plan for transportation transformation.
We have done two things right with transit in the past 60 years: in the 1960s we built the Capital Beltway and in the 1970s we built Metro. We need to build upon our successes and create an outer beltway and a beltway Metro system.
The Metro 360 Plan entails building an outer beltway, of which the Inter-County Connector (ICC) would be a part, that includes a second bridge across the Potomac River, connecting Montgomery and Loudon Counties. This second connection above the American Legion Bridge would enable Marylanders to travel directly to Dulles Airport without first driving either down to the Beltway or up to Frederick. No development would be permitted along this direct access road connecting Maryland to Virginia in order to preserve the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve as much as possible.
The Plan also calls for a Beltway Metro system of which the Purple Line is a part. In order for Metro to be a viable transit option for the entire DC metropolitan area, Metro lines need to run along the entire beltway. My Metro 360 Plan takes into account some features of existing master plans that were implemented decades ago when, for example, a bridge connecting Prince George’s County to Alexandria, VA was intentionally built wider than necessary in order to accommodate the future construction of a Metro line over that bridge. With a Beltway Metro system Montgomery County residents would be able to take Metro to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport within a half-hour through a connection between the Red and Silver Lines. And as the Silver Line has been partially funded through Metro impact taxes, so too could this new Beltway Metro plan be fund by the same in addition to an increase in the gas tax in Maryland.
Improved mass-transit options will increase mobility, strengthen our economy, and improve our quality of life. We must continue to invest in the maintenance and expansion of our transit infrastructure.