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News

The Potomac Bridge on the  Kojo Nnamdi Show

7/24/2017

 
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This afternoon the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU took up the topic of the Potomac bridge project.  (click here to listen) In attendance were Bob Buchanan, a developer and member of the 2030 group, one of the main backers of the bridge and Stewart Schwartz from our partner organization Coalition for Smarter Growth. Stewart revealed the lunacy of this project point by point and highlighted the immense personal financial stake Mr. Buchanan and his development partners have in building the sprawl that would come from this boondoggle. 

Right out of the gate, Mr. Buchanan casually brushed aside concerns about the sprawl and detriment to established communities and again cited a poll that has been discredited in the media. The 2030 group had a polling firm call up 800 residents and ask them if the bridge is a good idea - no budget figure, no location - as you might imagine, most traffic weary residents said yes. Stewart Schwartz rightly called the poll's validity into question.  What followed in the time remaining was a chorus of listeners (one being MoCo Council President Berliner who called in) on both sides of the river calling this project into question for its negative impact on communities, water, habitat, agriculture and its efficacy as a traffic solution in the first place. Our friends across the River at Piedmont Environmental Council have prepared a great list of 8 myths used to sell this zombie project yet again.  For those wondering why this project is called the "zombie" bridge and why it gets re-animated so often, this is a great summary. 

The bridge segment today was cut a bit short so the show could properly honor dearly departed DC broadcaster Jim Vance. There is much more discussion to be had  and much, much more work to do. Join us won't you?

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Read on for our favorite tweets and observations about the Kojo Show today:

@kojoshow Who's not concerned about sprawl? the person who has land interest in rural areas that seeks development #PotomacBridge

— MoCoAlliance (@MoCoAlliance) July 24, 2017
"It endangers several communities that plan to use and need clean water. That area has been designated as a Sole Source Aquifer:
The Potomac River, extending east almost as far as the Loudoun/Fairfax line, is included in the Poolesville Area Aquifer Extension of the Maryland Piedmont Aquifer. A sole source aquifer is an EPA designation that local community has applied for, and been granted."

Santa Claus and Tinker Bell poll well too. We need to back real solutions, not fantasy: https://t.co/GZLuNu72ff

— Roger Berliner (@RogerBerliner) July 24, 2017

This latest bridge proposal is not regionalism. It only serves to fracture us when we should be focusing on real congestion relief: https://t.co/9q6vOFEfhL

— Roger Berliner (@RogerBerliner) July 24, 2017

@kojoshow caller from #Loudoun - "the developers want this bridge not us" #PotomacBridge

— MoCoAlliance (@MoCoAlliance) July 24, 2017

Comments Needed ~the Nation's River: 2 miles subject to permanent closure

7/20/2017

 
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Susan Petro - Riley's Lock
Update: The Coast Guard is working with local paddling clubs to find ways for the MD side of the river to be open. Thanks to all for their comments on this issue to the Coast Guard. See Post Coverage here. 
The US Coast has issued a final interim rule that allows the full width of the Potomac River (and access at highly popular Riley's Lock in Montgomery County) and a length of two miles to be closed at any time due to use of Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, VA. See our comments below. As our partners at 
Canoe Cruisers Association have said, "This is clearly a case of overkill."

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Action Needed: A Terrible Idea Gets New Life: The Zombie Potomac Bridge Rises Again UPDATE

7/19/2017

 
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Update (8/28): What are the proposed routes for the highway? There are a whole, whole lot of them:
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click to see this map larger
Update: 
7/19 saw a meeting of the Transportation Planning Board (TBP) of the regional Council of Governments. One of the 10 items being considered for study between now and December when the board will make decisions based on said studies is ----yes --- a re-re-re-study of the Potomac Bridge. Along with our partner Stewart Schwartz from Coalition for Smarter Growth, our own ED Caroline Taylor was there to provide testimony cautioning the board to not look at transportation in a vacuum - this project would impact land use, the Ag Reserve and particularly water resources - the federally designated Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer and the fact that the proposed connection point would be just upstream from the WSSC intake. 

Board member and MoCo Councilmember Elrich attempted to float an amendment to remove the Bridge from the list of other reasonable projects the Board was voting to study - many of them transit oriented and proven to reduce gridlock. The amendment failed to get enough votes, the Bridge will be studied, for the 4th time. To be fair, a number of votes in favor of yet another bridge study are not in favor of the bridge being built. 

The bottom line:  The TBP has only until December to study and report on all of these 10 projects at which time they will vote to move ahead with some of them. We are concerned that there is not enough time to make this a comprehensive study, the kind of solid investigation that has shown time and again that this bridge will not objectively ease, and may even exacerbate current gridlock. See the map below for all the different routes that have been studied over the years. 


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There is much work to do on this, we give thanks to those who have written in comments so far. Please sharpen your pencils, stay tuned and if you have not already done so- please become a member of MCA with your tax deductible donation.
​​

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Montgomery Countryside Alliance
P.O Box 24, Poolesville, MD  20837
301-461-9831  •  ​info@mocoalliance.org
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MCA is proud to announce that we have been recognized for a third time as one of the best small charities in the D.C. region by Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. A panel of 110 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, and peer non-profit organizations evaluated 270 applications.

​MCA is known as an effective and innovative non-profit whose efforts to preserve and promote Montgomery County’s nationally recognized 93,000 acre Ag Reserve have brought increased public and governmental support of local food production and farmland and open space preservation. Most importantly, MCA’s efforts are putting more farmers on the ground and keeping them there.
COPYRIGHT © MONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE 2008