Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The planning board will once again take up a bus rapid transit concept, including a proposal to dedicate Rockville Pike travel lanes for the high-speed buses.
The Montgomery County Planning Board will decide Thursday whether to advance a proposal for a 79-mile, 10-route bus rapid transit system into the public hearing stage. As a part of the proposal, Montgomery County planners are recommending that two travel lanes of Rockville Pike from the Capital Beltway to Western Avenue be re-purposed as dedicated rapid transit bus lanes. Planners say the rapid transit route would draw high ridership, but drivers could see their afternoon rush trip increase by nearly six minutes from Western Avenue to Cedar Lane by 2040. Recommendations for corridors across the county vary from buses driving in mixed traffic to developing new busways separated from traffic. Planners are also recommending taking out travel …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Taking out two travel lanes from the Beltway to Western Avenue could add six minutes of travel time on the stretch for motorists by 2040.
Montgomery County planners are recommending that two travel lanes of Rockville Pike from the Capital Beltway to Western Avenue be re-purposed as dedicated rapid transit bus lanes. Planners say the rapid transit route would draw high ridership, but drivers could see their afternoon rush trip increase by nearly six minutes from Western Avenue to Cedar Lane by 2040. The recommendation is part of a staff draft of a Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan presented to the Montgomery County Planning Board Monday evening. The master plan includes a proposal for a 79-mile bus rapid transit system using 10 routes across the county. The draft will undergo an extensive public hearing process before it’s submitted to the Montgomery County …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Montgomery County Planning Board is expected to discuss a mixed-use development near the future home of Wegmans during its March 14 meeting.
Montgomery County planning staff is recommending approval, with conditions, project and preliminary plans for a mixed-use development in Germantown near the future home of Wegmans. The planning board is expected to discuss the project during its regular meeting on Thursday, March 14. The so-called Crystal Rock development would be situated north of Father Hurley Boulevard/Ridge Road, between Crystal Rock Drive and Interstate 270 in Germantown, according to a department memo. The project calls for: *** County planning staff is expected to recommend the approval, with conditions, of a plan to redevelop 7535 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda. According to a planning department memo: "The Applicant is proposing a mixed-use redevelopment with up …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
County planners still are determining the details of just how the Purple Line would cut across the region, but the biggest issue of all is funding.
County planning staff are slated to update the planning board about the Purple Line, Capital Crescent Trail and Silver Spring Green Trail projects at the board's meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday. A variety of issues still remain in the Purple Line planning process: planning the rail's connections to the Red Line's east and west branches, its connections to the MARC train and the Capital Crescent Trail, its crossing over Connecticut Avenue, the landscaping along the rail—but one of the biggest issues is how it will be funded, according to a memo from county planning staff to county planning board members. The preliminary engineering phase of the Purple Line is expected to be completed this summer, after which the Federal Transit Administration…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The county planning staff will make recommendations to the board about future bus rapid transit systems at the meeting on Thursday.
Discussion about the implementation of dedicated bus lanes or bus rapid transit systems in Montgomery County will continue at the Montgomery County Planning Board's next meeting, on Thursday, Feb. 21. The county planning staff will update the board on its recent work on the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan. A public hearing for the plan will be held on May 2, according to a planning department briefing. The planning staff recommends that Maryland State Route 355 "is the best candidate for pursuing a high-quality BRT treatment to serve future planned growth," and that U.S. Route 29 "is the best candidate for implementing dedicated bus lanes in the near term," according to the briefing. There is a concern, however, that …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Montgomery County Planning Board will discuss a development in Bethesda, the county's Zoning Rewrite Project and other issues at the board's Feb. 14 meeting.
Montgomery County Planning Board members and staff planners will discuss the proposed Bethesda development at 7900 Wisconsin Ave. at the board's meeting on Thursday, Feb. 14. The development—a 444,000-square-foot residential building with 475 units and more than 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail between Wisconsin and Woodmont avenues at St. Elmo Avenue—fits all zoning requirements and amendments, according to the board's briefing materials for the meeting. Planning staff received only one email expressing concern about the development, according to the briefing documents. Residents of the adjacent Fairmont Plaza Condominium Building (4801 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda) expressed concern about construction hours and noise (several …
Sunday, February 10, 2013
The county's zoning rewrite would allow a residential neighborhood to change, gradually, to diversify its housing stock.
Revisions in the works for Montgomery County's aging zoning code—which dates to 1977 and is more than 1,200 pages long—are meant, among other things, to help Montgomery County's residents age in place, architect and sustainability expert Carl Elefante said. In the planning department's December 2012 cable show Montgomery Plans, Elefante—who served on the planning department's advisory panel when planning staff drafted the zoning code rewrite—explained how the county's ambitious Zoning Rewrite Project would make it possible for residents to stay in their communities as they grow older. The zoning rewrite—which is entering into its final stages of revisions—is meant to allow for more variety in residence size and type within a neighborhood, …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The Montgomery County Council will hold a public hearing on the bill Jan. 17.
Rhe Montgomery County Planning Board is expected to review on Thursday a tree canopy conservation bill proposed by the Montgomery County Council in November. Bill 35-12 would protect existing tree canopy, create a fund to plant new trees, and "establish procedures, standards, and requirements to minimize the loss and disturbance of tree canopy as a result of development," according to the language proposed. Planning staff has recommended that the Planning Board support the bill with amendments. The county council will hold a public hearing on Bill 35-12 on Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, in Rockville.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday is expected to discuss changes to the proposed Village West at Germantown Town Center.
A developer wants to add 15 more residences to a proposed 455-unit development off Father Hurley Boulevard and Wisteria Drive, according to records submitted to the Montgomery County Planning Board, who is expected to discuss the changes during its meeting Thursday. The proposed development—Village West at Germantown Town Center—would be built behind the 600-unit Fairfield of Germantown community and would sit on 26.48 acres, abutting Waters Road, planning records show. The sought amendment would add more residences, permit taller buildings—to the maximum five story height—and change the parking lot and layout design, planning records show. County planners have recommended approving the changes. The full agenda is available at the …
Monday, October 8, 2012
Planning Board schedule, zoning amendment and study into top county salaries top Oct. 9 agenda.
The Montgomery County Council gets back to work Tuesday after a two-week break, taking on an amendment to the Commercial/Residential Zone, a study of salaries for councilmembers, the county executive, sheriff and state's attorney, and its twice-annual meeting on the County Planning Board's work schedule. DECISION ITEMS INTRODUCTIONS HEARINGS The council will also have its twice-annual meetings with the Montgomery Business Development Corporation and the County Planning Board. The Planning Board meeting will update the council on the study for a countywide rapid-bus network and on the revision of the county's zoning ordinance, which is on track to present to the council for approval in December. The Planning Board will also hash over its …
Matt
7:13 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
I don't think you're comprehending this concept fully. This useless bus lane is going to end at Western Ave. Which means the people will be getting off the bus and onto the Metro. So if your justification is reducing the load on Metro, that's totally invalid. In fact, the opposite will happen. If people who now drive to work decide to use this BRT system, it will be for the purpose of getting to … more ›