The Elrich Plan, Part Five (Updated)

County Council Member Marc Elrich’s ambitious Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Where on Earth can we get that kind of money?

First of all, no new money is coming from the state. State money was difficult enough to get for Montgomery transportation projects even prior to the O’Malley Administration’s $1.1 billion cut, a decision forced by declining revenues. Second, Montgomery County’s revenue problems will probably prevent the county from spending more than its current $900 million on local transportation projects. The county’s spending also does not apply to state roads, although it has made an exception to this rule recently. The county could apply development impact taxes to transportation, but those amounts are currently less than $10 million per year. And the ongoing tax revolt will likely prevent any increase in the gas tax until at least the next term. The Obama Administration may spend more money on public works, but it remains to be seen how much (or whether) any of that money would be available for Elrich’s BRT plan.

In short, sufficient new resources will probably not be there, certainly not in the short term. Given that fact, perhaps the only way to finance Elrich’s BRT network is to reallocate some existing transportation spending from road projects to transit. That is going to meet resistance. Far more people currently drive than use transit. And transit projects have traditionally benefitted Downcounty residents while Upcounty residents have needed road improvements. But two factors make at least some reallocation potentially beneficial for both groups.

1. Elrich’s BRT routes would service Upcounty and East County destinations that would otherwise lack transit such as Burtonsville, Colesville, Norbeck and Olney.

2. The traditional method of relieving road congestion is to build more lanes and/or widen intersections – an approach which some believe is ineffective. Another approach is to build parallel transit options, as the Elrich proposal would do. If the real objective is to reduce congestion, isn’t taking cars off the road at least as legitimate as adding auto capacity?

Steady population and employment growth. Rising CO2 emissions. Limited transportation funding. Different locations of jobs and housing. Congested Central Business Districts. And expensive costs for rail. Marc Elrich’s plan is an honest attempt to deal with all of these problems at once. It’s expensive, ambitious and maybe even utopian. It would take a very long time to implement even with broad support.

But if there are any better ideas out there, I’d sure like to hear them.

Update: Delegate Al Carr (D-18) recently rode the BRT line in Cleveland and posted about his experience here.

Update 2: Miranda Spivack of the Post is now up with an article on the Elrich Plan. We hope Ms. Spivack appreciated our research, which is of course provided free of charge!