Corridor Forward: The I-270 Transit Plan

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View the Planning Board Draft View Draft Appendices View Interactive Map of Recommendations Plan Explainer

After several decades of population and employment growth along the I-270 corridor, leaders are calling for sustainable transit opportunities to move people between home and work and leisure activities and back again. But the county cannot realistically fund and operate all of the proposed transit opportunities. At present, there is no holistic assessment of transit options or clear strategy to ensure resources are directed to the most efficient and valuable transit projects for the community. Through Corridor Forward: The I-270 Transit Plan, Montgomery Planning has developed recommendations for priority transit projects.

Background

Montgomery Planning’s first transit focus plan for the I-270 Corridor will help the County understand which potential transit investments will best support equitable access and sustainable growth. The Corridor extends through and beyond the County between the City of Frederick and points in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. The Plan will involve outreach and a detailed evaluation of potential projects. The main deliverables will include a recommended list of priority projects.

I-270 Commute Patterns Map

View an interactive web map that displays information on where people live and work, how they travel to work and the travel options available to them along the I-270 corridor.

View The Map

Check out our series of short videos below that explain the Corridor Forward Plan concepts related to transit.

Introducing the Corridor Forward Plan

What is Transit?

Why is Transit Important?

How is Transit Funded?

How Do We Plan For Transit?

Plan Timeline

Phase One: Determine Six Key Options

-September: Compare Characteristics of Transit Vehicle Modes
-November: Develop Up to 15 Initial Transit Options (Route Alignments with Associated Modes)
-December 2020: Develop Evaluation Methodology & Criteria
-January 2021: Identify Six Key Options from Initial 15
Phase Two: Prioritize Six Key Options

-Winter/Spring 2021: Prioritize Six Options based on their Strategic Mobility, Economic, Environmental, and Equity Benefits
Phase Three: Solicit Feedback and Solidify Priorities

-Spring/Summer 2021: Solicit Feedback from Key Stakeholders and the General Public on Identified Priorities
Phase Four: Understand Milestones to Realize Priorities

-Fall 2021: Develop an Implementation Plan Detailing the Milestones and Resources Necessary to Achieve Identified Priority/Priorities
Phase 5: Planning Board and Council Review

Winter/Spring 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the I-270 Corridor, exactly?

The Corridor Forward Plan defines the I-270 corridor as the transportation network extending through Montgomery County between the points north in the City of Frederick in Frederick County, MD and points south in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. It is not limited to the physical confines of the interstate and encompasses 46 communities and employment centers in the region, including Montgomery County activity centers like Germantown, the Life Sciences Center, White Flint and Bethesda.
Why now?

The Corridor Forward Plan is a long-range plan that will prioritize transit solutions for the present and for future. The global pandemic has reaffirmed our values and demonstrated that transit will be increasingly important as we recover and move forward. The three values of a resilient environment, equity and economic health were important before the pandemic and are even more urgent now.

Environment: In the midst of the pandemic, we have also witnessed extreme weather, wildfires and the growing impacts of climate change. We must continue to work towards more sustainable transportation options to reduce our carbon footprint. (Supporting Data Point: Forty percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Montgomery County are related to the transportation sector. To reduce the transportation sector’s impact and address climate change, we improve alternatives to driving.)

Equity: Transit is vital not only for commuting to work, but for transporting people who are looking for work. We must continue to serve our transit-dependent populations and plan network improvements for efficient, reliable service.

Economy: Many industries have been hard hit by the pandemic. Transit construction and transit-oriented development can create jobs today that will keep Montgomery County’s economy competitive in the future.
Why not just add more lanes?
There are 46 major employment centers and communities along the I-270 corridor, including nine in Washington DC. These 46 corridor activity centers generate just over 1.38 million morning commute trips every day. Of the commute trips starting in Montgomery County, 71% are made by vehicles and 29% are made by transit. At present, most trips made by transit begin in southern Montgomery County in the areas served by Metro.

Adding more lanes to I-270 will simply allow more cars into the County, bringing environmental degradation and local congestion.

Various master and sector plans — and the in-process Thrive Montgomery 2050 General Plan update — call for transit to support sustainable growth and equitable access. The Corridor Forward Plan project intends to advance four core project values:
1. Make strategic connections: Serve high-demand trip origin and destination pairs, balancing the costs of transit implementation with projected benefits.
2. Promote economic health: Enable existing development and master-planned communities to realize their potential as livable and economically vibrant places.
3. Advance community equity: Align with the county’s social equity goals and principles.
4. Support environment resilience: Operate transit sustainably and reduce the negative environmental impacts of an auto-dominated transportation network.
What transit opportunities will the plan study?
Public transportation — or transit — includes all publicly accessible transportation services that move people in shared vehicles from one place to another. Transit vehicle types, often referred to as “modes,” differ in many ways: the size and capacity of the transit vehicle, the speed of the transit vehicle, the distance between transit stops, whether the transit vehicle operates in the street or in its own right-of-way, and whether fares are paid before boarding or when boarding the vehicle.

Many options are being explored, including options originating from Montgomery County Council-approved plans, options considered in ongoing work by the State of Maryland, and options that have not been formally studied, but have captured the public’s imagination. These include
- Transit service along I-270, including express bus, Bus Rapid Transit, rail and monorail;
- Transit service from Bethesda to Tysons, including a potential extension of the Purple Line, the North Bethesda Transitway, and/or other BRT alignments;
- Transit service serving the Corridor Cities Transitway communities;
- Enhanced transit service along the existing MARC rail line; and
- Extending WMATA’s Red Line to Gaithersburg or Germantown.
Montgomery Planning will use these options to create up to 15 different transit concepts. Six transit concepts will advance to be subject to a scenario planning exercise, which will explore how each option supports accessibility within the region as well as the County’s economic, environmental and equity values. This project will inform decisionmakers about which corridor transit projects best advance these values.
How can transit improve quality of life in Montgomery County?
Reducing auto dependency and promoting transit has a many benefits including:
- Protecting and improving the environment: Montgomery County aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2027 and 100% by 2035. Transportation plays a critical role in achieving this environmental goal with transportation-related emissions currently accounting for over 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Montgomery County. All things being equal (i.e., assuming energy is generated by the same source and transit and personal vehicles are serving the same number of passengers), transit is a more sustainable, less energy-intensive transportation mode that can help the county meet its environmental goals.
- Transit’s space and energy use compared to future autonomous vehicles: While technology has the potential to improve mobility for all, transit remains a compelling option because it generally uses less space and energy per capita compared to a personal vehicle. This fact will remain true despite the technological advancement of personal autonomous vehicles—there’s no reason to assume that energy sourcing and technology advancements for transit will not keep pace with personal vehicles.
- Promoting community equity: Transit remains compelling for the region’s future because it provides mobility options for those who may not be able to afford a personal vehicle, ride-hailing services, or anticipated autonomous subscription-based mobility services. Transit can serve all populations—not just the privileged.
- Strengthening the economy: Our regional neighbors in Virginia have advanced major transportation infrastructure projects such as the Metroway Bus Rapid Transit line and are in the process of advancing further major transportation improvements such as the Long Bridge Project. While the Purple Line has advanced, in order to stay economically competitive, Montgomery County needs to ensure it provides accessible, high-quality transit to all residents and to people commuting to and through Montgomery County.
Many of the benefits are further discussed in a project infographic.
How will the plan prioritize the different transit opportunities?

Ridership projections are important to compare the merits of various transit options. However, ridership alone is not indicative of whether a particular transit project should be a high priority. Each of the transit opportunities being evaluated addresses a different set of mobility challenges, with each opportunity potentially serving different geographies, users and needs.

During the planning process, Montgomery Planning will develop a series of metrics to prioritize transit options based on the county’s strategic, economic, environmental, equity and social values. We will apply these community-sourced metrics to create a comprehensive picture of each transit option’s merits. Examples of potential metrics include operating costs per rider served, the intensity of energy use and how well the options serve transit-dependent populations.
How does the Plan relate to the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes projects?

Corridor Forward is not part of and is not proposing an alternative to the State of Maryland’s I-495 and I-270 Managed Lanes projects. If these projects are constructed, they should generate toll revenue that could support regional transit projects by providing a direct subsidy to the impacted jurisdictions or through an agreement on projects to construct.

The Corridor Forward Plan recommendations will likely be complete prior to the construction of the State’s toll lanes and may inform conversations about how future revenue generated by the Managed Lanes project could potentially be directed. As directed by the Board of Public Works, the State intends to negotiate tolling revenue shares with impacted jurisdictions, including Montgomery County. These negotiations could end with agreements to construct transit facilities or to provide jurisdictions with lump sum payments. The plan will not compare the potential of transit against the State’s highway projects and will not evaluate roadway capacity projects. Highway projects are currently under study by the State through separate processes.
Do any of the options under study cross the Potomac River? How would that relate to the reconstruction of the American Legion Bridge?
There is demand for transportation between communities and employment centers in Montgomery County and Northern Virginia, but there are no efficient high-quality transit options linking the two jurisdictions today. The first Phase of the Corridor Forward Plan has advanced six transit options for additional study and two of these options cross over the American Legion Bridge. The second Phase of the Corridor Forward Plan, which is currently underway, will study the respective costs and benefits of these two options. These options are:
1. I-270 Corridor Bus Rapid Transit
2. An Extension of the Purple Line
If implemented, either of these options would cross the Potomac River at the American Legion Bridge. The Corridor Forward Plan will not evaluate other crossing locations. The Corridor Forward Plan has not yet developed preliminary recommendations and the options listed above may or may not be found to be high-priority projects.

Regardless of the ultimate recommendations of the Corridor Forward Plan, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is a cooperating agency to the State’s Managed Lanes NEPA work and the Commission’s position is that the American Legion Bridge should be constructed to support transit. Even if the options listed above are not identified as high-priority projects, the Commission maintains that it is critical to factor the capacity and structural needs of transit into the bridge’s engineering to ensure possible connections in the future. This approach is consistent with how the Woodrow Wilson Bridge was constructed between Northern Virginia and Prince George’s County.
Didn’t Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration already study transit over the American Legion Bridge?

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) partnered on the “I-495/American Legion Bridge Transit and TDM Study.” This study, finalized in winter of 2021, developed recommendations for commuter bus service between locations across the American Legion Bridge, as well as a series of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies, such as carpooling and real-time parking information. The study resulted in three different investment packages for the near, mid, and long term. The Planning Department participated in the DRPT/MTA working group, but has not endorsed the study’s recommendations.

The DRPT/MTA study did not assess the potential of a light rail or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) connection to Northern Virginia from Maryland, which the Corridor Forward Plan is studying. The light rail option includes dedicated tracks, which provide more reliability than the commuter bus service studied by DRPT and MTA. Likewise, the BRT option studied by the Corridor Forward Plan uses strategically located dedicated guideway links off the highway, such as MD 355, to improve reliable access to community centers.
Who is the Planning Department coordinating with?

Montgomery Planning is coordinating directly with other jurisdictions and state and regional agencies to ensure their input is captured in the planning process. While these jurisdictions and agencies are assisting Montgomery Planning’s effort, their participation is not indicative of support for the Plan’s ultimate recommendations. Montgomery Planning will also coordinate with non-governmental stakeholders, including local economic interests and transit advocates.
How can I be involved?

Montgomery Planning will be conducting a series of informal and formal outreach events. Meeting times and dates will be posted to the Department’s website, and the general public is encouraged to attend these events. Additionally, Montgomery Planning will “meet people where they are” by conducting informal pop-up events, including jurisdictions within and beyond Montgomery County. These “pop-ups” will also be advertised at MontgomeryPlanning.org.