Hogan proposes widening I-495, I-270, B/W Parkway (Baltimore, Bethesda: 2014, homes)

[bus man]

Gov. Hogan has proposed to widen three major area roadways, adding two lanes (each way) to I-495, I-270, and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and charging tolls to use those lanes.

Hogan announces $9B plan to widen 3 highways

All I can say is, it's about bloody time! These roads have been in serious need of added capacity for years now. Adding toll lanes means that the work can be done faster, and people will be able to choose for themselves how they value their time. Some will choose to pay for a faster ride, while others will choose to not pay the toll but endure congestion. I just hope that the E-Z Pass system that allows HOV-3 users to use the toll lanes for free (as in Virginia) will be employed here. And I hope that once he's done with these roads, he'll do the same with I-95 between the beltways (and preferably through Baltimore to link up with the existing HOT lanes north of the city).

Kudos, Gov. Hogan. Finally someone is doing something to address the horrible congestion here!

[North Beach Person]

"The proposal drew immediate criticism from Democrats."

[bus man]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

"The proposal drew immediate criticism from Democrats."

All the more reason for me to be in favor of it.

Of course, you know how Maryland Democrats are. They'd criticize a plan to cure cancer cost-free and declare next month as Cute Puppy Month if it came from a Republican.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by bus man

Gov. Hogan has proposed to widen three major area roadways, adding two lanes (each way) to I-495, I-270,
and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and charging tolls to use those lanes.

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

"The proposal drew immediate criticism from Democrats."

Perhaps if the Robert Ehrlich parkway was...

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by bus man

All the more reason for me to be in favor of it.

Of course, you know how Maryland Democrats are. They'd criticize a plan to cure cancer cost-free and declare next month as Cute Puppy Month if it came from a Republican.

Speak for yourself. I'm a democrat and I fully support this. I also support the purple line as well though.

This is much needed investment in infrastructure. It will be primarily funded by those that use it the most.

If you want to commute from Frederick, it should cost you more because people that want to live way out put much more strain on our highways and it cost more to support them. I mean it's fine if you want to live 40 plus miles from a city center, but you should also have to pay your share in the cost of the very in-efficient infrastructure needed to support such sprawl. Your homes are cheaper, but it cost three times as much per person to maintain the infrastructure needed to support you.

This should please many democrats if they are truly worried about the environment. For example, right now, traffic just sits on these freeways most of the day polluting the air. There are not many great options for car pools or express buses either. If the BW Parkway had HOV/HOT lanes, you would always have un-congested lane between Baltimore and dc to run public transit buses on. Right now, there is little benefit to run a bus down BW Parkway that will just sit in traffic with the cars. The lanes will also encourage car pooling.

Maryland needs to do this. They need to invest in transit and highway infrastructure. Maryland is getting blown away by NOVA in economic development and jobs as they do continue to invest in highways and transit. One of the reasons traffic is so bad on some of these routes is because so many are now commuting to NOVA.

For the record, Hogan is not your typical republican. He is right in the middle. He understands that we need both sides of the government to function. If only we had more people like him in congress etc.

The extremist on both sides (dems and conservatives) have royally screwed up this country.

[dkf747]

Absolutely agree with everything you said kcmo!

[G1..]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

"The proposal drew immediate criticism from Democrats."

Not from the ones I know who travel those roads.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by G1..

Not from the ones I know who travel those roads.

Madaleno was first out of the box. Kaminetz a couple days ago, a different criticism. One of those two, or Delaney will be the ones you know nominee for Governor.

[seanlax]

How many times must we revisit the topic of road widening and why it DOESN'T WORK...

It Took 51% More Time to Drive Out Katy Freeway in 2014 Than in 2011 - Houston Tomorrow

$2.8 billion spent, yet a 51% increase in travel time just 3 years later.

If you want to fix congestion, get people out of their cars, or get them traveling on new/different roads.

[DaveinMtAiry]

I remember the days when traveling from Bethesda to Gaithersburg was total gridlock all the way. Widening the road to six lanes totally changed all that.

I'd also like to point out that commuters with long commutes from Frederick are already paying their share of highway wear and tear in the form of gas taxes, Maryland's is one of the highest in the nation.

Oh yeah, I'm also a lifelong Democrat who loves our Governor and this idea.