DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| reply to DonLibes
Re: MC: falling apart and here's why
Studies show that the ICC will not decrease traffic on the Washington DC beltway. Instead traffic will continue to increase. So .... MD also proposes to widen the Maryland part of the beltway. Estimated cost (before overruns): $3B. The new lanes plus one existing lane in each direction will then be usable only to people who pay the toll for them.
The good news is - we'll get even better views of the homes that border the beltway than before.
»www.gazette.net/200512/bethesda/···2-1.html |
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hokiefan
| Have you ever tried to drive from gaithersburg to columbia? You can either sit on the parking lot 495, or have fun behind grandma on the backroads that make up moco. I cant wait till the ICC opens so I can visit my friends in moco in under 90 minutes. Plus, farmer joe wont have to worry about me flying past his tractor on a two lane road at 90mph anymore. Everyone wins, except the loony people that oppose any and all roads.
I'm so glad I live near i95,i295,rt100,rt32, and rt29. Howard and anne arundel at least got it right. |
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nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
 ·Cox HSI
 ·Speakeasy
| reply to DonLibes
Traffic will continue to increase no matter whether roads are built or not. However, if you have too few and/or too small roads, you simply continue to over-utilize the roads that you do have. You think gridlock's bad now? Let traffic continue to grow but don't build any additional capacity in the system. NOT smart.
-tom
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"Some people have morals, standards and ideals about quality, but I'm an American: I couldn't care less." --Tony Pierce (paraphrased) |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
1 edit | Yes, traffic will continue to increase but it will increase even faster due to the ICC. The State Highway Administration report admits it. The ICC will spur more development and the ICC will spur people to drive more. (Drivers are wonderfully sensitive to road conditions.) Of the intersections studied by the State Highway Administration, remarkably few will be aided significantly. Most of the intersections the SHA cites as "failing" will continue to be so.
Some roadways (e.g., the Beltway) will have increased traffic due to the ICC, negatively affecting the entire region. And in Montgomery County, the ICC will take away funding to expand and improve existing roads and intersections.
So if you want to claim that "the ICC is good for people," I'd have to add "but it's bad for others." On balance, I just don't see any overwhelming reason. Factor in the $3B cost and I can't imagine how anyone seriously supports it.
By the way, the report says it may be a toll road. (It includes analysis of usage at varying toll costs.)
The SHA report forcasts that by 2030:
• Number of jobs will grow by 32 percent.
• Population will grow by 24 percent.
However those figures are just for the study area. The figures are much higher for the region - for example, jobs in the region are expected to increase by 46%!!! So you can expect an even larger load placed on the road system by people moving through the area even though they don't live or work in MC. |
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vic102482
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
| reply to nixen
said by nixen  :Traffic will continue to increase no matter whether roads are built or not. However, if you have too few and/or too small roads, you simply continue to over-utilize the roads that you do have. You think gridlock's bad now? Let traffic continue to grow but don't build any additional capacity in the system. NOT smart. -tom Like hosting a Nationals game on the metro blue line. Simply not going to work. Yesterday was a disaster.
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I tie a rope around my penis and jump from a tree, don't you wanna grow up to be just like me!!!! |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19
| reply to DonLibes
said by DonLibes :So if you want to claim that "the ICC is good for people," I'd have to add "but it's bad for others." On balance, I just don't see any overwhelming reason. Factor in the $3B cost and I can't imagine how anyone seriously supports it. By the way, the report says it may be a toll road. (It includes analysis of usage at varying toll costs.) Looks like the MD Transportation Authority is pretty fixed on the idea of ICC tolls. (I guess the $3B base price is not enough.) The Gazette is reporting that the Transportation Authority is in the middle of a survey to "learn about motorists' willingness to pay tolls." |
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