Here We Go Again (Again).... Press Release Here
MCA and our partners are pushing back yet again against this misguided project but we need your support. We are the boots on the ground protecting Montgomery County's Ag Reserve and this local focus requires local support.
Please make a tax deductible gift today.
Please make a tax deductible gift today.
Loudoun Supervisors released this map of potential corridors (in green highlighter)
1988, 2001, 2004, 2015 and 2017- all years that a Potomac bridge and highway crossing have been studied and found to not be a good solution. And yet- the Supervisors in Loudoun County have funded yet another study to identify crossing points. Loudoun's study even parrots the negative findings of the 2017 Regional Transportation Planning Board:
Based on the results of the November 2017 study, a new Potomac River bridge would have “low” benefits to road congestion, incidents and safety, bottlenecks and reliable access to intercity hubs when compared to the current 2040 Constrained Long-Range Plan (CLRP). A new Potomac River bridge would have neutral impacts to transit crowding, inadequate bus services, and access to bike/pedestrian options, development around Metrorail, housing and job location, Metrorail repair needs and pedestrian and bicyclist safety when compared to the current 2040 CLRP. A new Potomac River bridge would have negative impacts to roadway repair needs, environmental
quality and open space development when compared to the current 2040 CLRP.
So... why are we studying it again, again?
MCA joins with our partners at Coalition for Smarter Growth and Piedmont Environmental Council, collectively representing our hundreds of thousands of supporters on both sides of the River in calling for Loudoun County to drop this campaign and instead focus on proven solutions that will actually get traffic moving - among them, fixing the American Legion Bridge and better planning land use patterns. As proven for the 5th time in 20 years, this project does not offer traffic relief and would do great harm.
The Maryland side of the map above makes it looks like the Ag Reserve has no obstacles to these proposed crossing points. MCA has made the case time and again - farms are not holding ground for future development, they are small businesses that supply our basic needs for food and fiber. “The bridge would directly impact the drinking water intakes for most of the region’s population; potentially impair the Piedmont groundwater aquifer, which serves as the sole source of drinking water in rural Montgomery County; create development pressure in the nationally recognized Agricultural Reserve; and increase vehicle miles traveled,” says Taylor.
Montgomery Countryside Alliance is the small (but mighty!) organization founded around Ag Reserve kitchen tables to battle back plans for the bridge in 2001. Since then, we have grown to a full fledged watchdog organization for Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve. Our focus on local farms relies on local support. Please make a tax-deductible donation to keep us engaging tenaciously on the issues that matter to you.
