On this pageCountywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan
Amendment to the Master Plan of Highways
Planners are working on a bus rapid transit (BRT) network to improve accessibility and mobility throughout Montgomery County. BRT is similar to light rail operations, but runs on county roads.
NEW The Planning Board held a May 16 public hearing to hear from anyone interested in the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan and took testimony on the public hearing draft(10.9 MB). The second worksession for the Plan will take place on June 13, 2013. Read the staff memo.
- View the plan appendix
- Read the press release
- Read the transcript of the Public Hearing
Purpose
The Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan will recommend rights-of-way for individual transit corridors to accommodate bus lanes and station locations for the proposed transit network. The plan will inform planning efforts and provide policy guidance to the Planning Board and County Council on the BRT network. The plan also will recommend the addition of a third track on a segment of the MARC Brunswick Line, as well as the designation of a Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Area around transit stations. This functional plan amendment will not include any changes to land use plans or zoning.
Background
View the project Scope of Work (3.8 MB), which the Planning Board reviewed on September 22, 2011. The starting point for this effort was the 16 corridors recommended in the Countywide Bus Rapid Transit Study performed by MCDOT. The County Executive's Rapid Transit Task Force subsequently recommended (1.4 MB) studying additional corridors in the BRT network.
Jarrett Walker, an author and international consultant on public transit planning and policy, participated in the Planning Department's speaker series on February 7, 2012, making the case for focusing on network design and maximizing the usefulness and reach of quality transit service. View Walker's presentation.
Transit Corridor Network Map
This map shows the 12 corridors that will continue to be evaluated for inclusion in the Countywide Transit Corridor Functional Master Plan. The network reflects the following changes:
Click for larger view.
| Corridor Number |
Corridor |
From |
To |
Route Length (miles) |
Number of Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended Corridors |
|||||
| 1 | Georgia Avenue North | Montgomery General Hospital | Wheaton Metrorail station | 9.6 | 13 |
| 2 | Georgia Avenue South | Wheaton Metrorail Station | District of Columbia line | 3.9 | 8 |
| 3 | MD 355 North | Corridor Cities Transitway | Rockville Metrorail station | 10.6 | 13 |
| 4 | MD 355 South | Rockville Metrorail Station | District of Columbia line | 9.3 | 14 |
| 5 | New Hampshire Avenue | Colesville Park & Ride | District of Columbia line | 8.5 | 12 |
| 6 | North Bethesda Transitway | White Flint Metrorail Station | Montgomery Mall Transit Center | 2.7 | 7 |
| 7 | Randolph Road | White Flint Metrorail Station | US 29 | 10.1 | 10 |
| 8 | University Boulevard | Wheaton Metrorail Station | Takoma/Langley Transit Center | 5.5 | 9 |
| 9 | US 29 | Burtonsville Park & Ride | District of Columbia line | 12.6 | 11 |
| 10 | Veirs Mill Road | Rockville Metrorail Station | Wheaton Metrorail Station | 6.2 | 11 |
| Overall System Total | 79 | 94* | |||
Transportation Modeling
The travel forecasting effort performed for the Functional Plan provided estimated ridership for various scenarios on up to 17 corridors for the purposes of determining potential transit ridership for the 2040 forecast year. These results were used to identify right-of-way needs along recommended corridor segments.
The Maryland Alternative Analysis II (MDAAII) Model used in the modeling was the same as that used for the Purple Line and Corridor Cities Transitway projects. It uses a transit mode choice routine and a complete four-step model process to develop ridership estimates for those transit modes. In consultation with local bus service providers -WMATA and Ride-On, an updated local bus network was developed to reflect how local bus service would be altered to coordinate with BRT service.
Highway network and demographics data are based on a version of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) model that used the same 2,191-zone structure as the MDAAII model. MWCOG's land use Round 8.1 was used for the forecasts and summarized to the 2,191-zone structure.
Recommendations
The BRT plan will include:
- Changing the name of the Master Plan of Highways to the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways
- Determining which corridors recommended by the Countywide BRT Studyshould be included in the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways
- Refining the corridors and station locations recommended by the Countywide BRT Study
- Developing typical sections that illustrate how the proposed transitway and stations are accommodated in the corridors, and determine the preferred and minimum rights-of-way
- Identifying where additional right-of-way or repurposing of travel lanes is required for the bus rapid transit corridors and stations
- Recommending an approach to network phasing
- Establishing Bicycle-Pedestrian Priority Areas around BRT stations
- Displaying all BRT corridors, BRT stations, and other master planned transit centers on the map and create standardized transitway map symbols to be used for both the Master Plan of Highways and new master and sector plans
- Recommending a third track on a segment of the MARC Brunswick Line
Transportation planner Larry Cole sheds light on the draft Countywide Transit Corridors plan in this excerpt from the Montgomery Plans cable show.
Project schedule
The Planning Board Draft is to be approved by summer 2013. Key milestones in the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan include:
| September 22, 2011 | Planning Board approves draft Scope of Work |
| February 2012 | Planning Board approves revised Network and Methodology Report |
| November 2012 | Planners release preliminary recommendations and discuss them with the Planning Board |
| November 2012 | Planners hold public information meetings |
| March-April 2013 | Planners complete public hearing draft |
| May 2013 | Planning Board holds public hearing |
| Spring 2013 | Planning Board holds worksessions |
| July 2013 | Planning Board transmits final draft plan to County Council |
Upcoming events
- June 13, 18 and July 11, 2013: Planning Board worksessions
- July 22, 2013: Planning Board to transmit draft plan to County Council
Past events
More ▼
Weigh in
Let us know what you think using our comment tool. Planners will consider comments as they develop plan recommendations.
blog comments powered by DisqusM-NCPPC Staff Contact
Larry Cole, Functional Planning & Policy Division
301-495-4528
Larry.Cole@montgomeryplanning.org
David Anspacher, Functional Planning & Policy Division
301-495-2191
David.Anspacher@montgomeryplanning.org
Date of last update: May 17, 2013
Montgomery County Planning Department