The reality is the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration is implementing a plan to relieve congestion and enhance reliability.
Governor Hogan has recommended a $17.8 billion multi-modal congestion relief plan designed to accommodate growth and improve economic development.
- The $17.8 billion multi-modal, congestion relief plan includes widening of approximately 70 miles of interstates in Maryland with funding provided through public/private partnerships (P3) including I-495 from south of the American Legion Bridge to east of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and along I-270 from I-495 to I-70 including the east and west I-270 spurs from the Beltway.
- The average daily commute for state of Maryland residents is 32.7 minutes, which is the second longest average commute in the nation behind only the state of New York at 33 minutes. The difference between 32.7 minutes and 33 minutes, in my opinion, is negligible. Maryland is as bad as New York!
- The average driver in Maryland loses 50 hours to congestion each year at an annual cost of $1,220 per driver in lost time and wasted fuel. Congestion on Maryland’s state highways, freeways, and major arterial roads costs the public $3.4 billion annually in the value of lost time and wasted fuel.
- Traffic congestion impacts the number of jobs available to residents. While approximately 1.9 million jobs are accessible within a one-hour drive to residents of the Baltimore metro area, only 30% are accessible within a 30-minute drive which is less time than the average daily commute. The number of jobs in the Baltimore Metro area that are accessible within a 40-minute drive was reduced to 38% because of traffic congestion, according to the TRIP.
We cannot do just one thing, increase public transportation. We are also going to have to build new roads or deal with congestion issues and congestion management as proposed by the Maryland Department of Transportation.
We simply cannot afford to build transit systems where all the residents exist, trying to get to new jobs.