Colesville Road/Route 29 Dedicated Bus Lane Proposal Heads Back To Planning Board

The Montgomery County Planning Board will decide Thursday whether to advance a into the public hearing stage.

As a part of the proposal, Montgomery County planners are recommending that that one or more travel lanes of Colesville Road/Route 29 in Silver Spring be re-purposed as dedicated rapid transit bus lanes. 

Recommendations for corridors across the county vary from buses driving in mixed traffic to developing new busways separated from traffic. Planners are also recommending taking out travel lanes to make way for the buses along certain sections of roadways in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Germantown, Gaithersburg, Rockville and Takoma Park.

Planners say the system will help Montgomery County meet an increasing transit demand as population and employment grows, though critics have worried losing travel lanes on Rockville Pike and other congested county corridors could add to commuting woes for drivers.

The Planning Board initially took up a staff draft of the plan last month, and asked for several revisions, including more explanation of the decision-making process behind the recommendations.

Along with lane re-purposing, planning staff are expected to discuss transit station locations and phasing for implementation.

A public hearing is planned for May 16 and additional work sessions are expected in June and July before the proposal is submitted to the Montgomery County Council July 25.

The creators of a new master plan for the White Oak and Hillandale neighborhoods strongly urge the creation of a Bus Rapid Transit program with a line servicing the Route 29 corridor, from the Silver Spring Transit Center to Burtonsville. 

Public testimony won't be taken at Thursday's work session, which is expected to begin around 9:25 a.m. Check the Montgomery County Planning Board's website to view the public hearing draft [PDF] and to watch online.