bestnightmare
Cyburbian
- Messages
- 61
- Points
- 4
as planners, most of you probably subscribe to the idea of 'if you build it they will come' when it comes to roadbuilding - that is, new roads create more traffic problems than they solve.
the situation in suburban md seems a bit more complicated, however. for years, environmentalists and anti-sprawl activists have vigorously opposed the 'inter-county connector' to run between interstates 270 and 95 (connecting rockville and laurel). and, for years, their efforts were successful, especially with an environmental activist governor. now, it appears the road will be built within the next 10 years or so...
as much as i hate suburban (read: auto-dependent) development, there are a handful of things which make me think this road project is a good idea:
-southern montgomery is almost completely developed, so building this road would serve already-built areas,
-maryland is progressive in its land use, restricting suburban growth to "priority funding areas" which are basically in synch with with the 'urbanized area' in maps
-it better connects the i-270 biotech corridor with baltimore city, the port of baltimore, and bwi airport. currently, connecting these places requires using traffic-clogged secondary roads or the capital beltway.
thoughts about this kind of project? are issues like this one burning elsewhere?
the situation in suburban md seems a bit more complicated, however. for years, environmentalists and anti-sprawl activists have vigorously opposed the 'inter-county connector' to run between interstates 270 and 95 (connecting rockville and laurel). and, for years, their efforts were successful, especially with an environmental activist governor. now, it appears the road will be built within the next 10 years or so...
as much as i hate suburban (read: auto-dependent) development, there are a handful of things which make me think this road project is a good idea:
-southern montgomery is almost completely developed, so building this road would serve already-built areas,
-maryland is progressive in its land use, restricting suburban growth to "priority funding areas" which are basically in synch with with the 'urbanized area' in maps
-it better connects the i-270 biotech corridor with baltimore city, the port of baltimore, and bwi airport. currently, connecting these places requires using traffic-clogged secondary roads or the capital beltway.
thoughts about this kind of project? are issues like this one burning elsewhere?