Members of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) voted today to add new climate change commitments to its planning process and also removed the proposed I-270/I-495 express toll lanes project from an air quality analysis that the TPB is required to undertake as it updates the region’s long-range transportation plan, Visualize 2045. This action effectively removes the Maryland project from the June 2022 update of the regional plan.
In order to meet federal requirements and advance to the construction phase, regional projects must be included in the long-range plan. Inclusion in the plan affirms that projects collectively meet federal air quality standards and have financing in place to build, operate, and maintain the regional transportation system. Following the action to remove the lanes from the project list for the air quality analysis, the TPB voted to study the remaining projects, including a new 4-lane road, the US-50 North Collector Road in Virginia, which is the next step in the process of updating the plan.
Members in support of removing the express toll lanes project questioned the effectiveness of the lanes, cited community concerns, and noted that the project did not appear to enjoy regional consensus. Opponents of removing the lanes argued that the project, which included reconstruction of the American Legion Bridge and would connect with the Virginia express lanes network, would provide major economic and quality of life benefits to residents in Maryland and the entire region.
As part of the approved air quality analysis resolution, the board also added language to increase its commitment to addressing climate change within the transportation sector. The resolution calls for the TPB to initiate another full update of the plan in 2024, two years earlier than required by federal authorities. The 2024 version will consider multiple scenarios, including a planning scenario focused primarily on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“This resolution lays the foundation for the next transportation plan while recognizing the climate crisis we are in,” said Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass, a TPB member that advocated for the new climate commitments, noting these are “steps in the right direction for TPB to show our commitment to addressing the climate crisis.”
“Even though it is a bit contentious, I think we have collectively taken a significant step and a meaningful one” in our transportation planning process, said TPB Chair Charles Allen, a District of Columbia Councilmember.
MORE: TPB Resolution R19-2021: Air Quality Conformity Analysis