Councilmember Valerie Ervin has sent a letter (here as a pdf) to MCDOT to express her impatience with the progress of the MetBranch Trail in Montgomery County. Her letter references the strong support she sees for the trail among her constituents, the recommendation from the Planning Board that the project be accelerated, and the letter from the Silver Spring Advisory Board urging the Council to get the project moving forward. Valerie Ervin expresses her concern about the message that failure to move this project forward will send: “…I fear that this project’s lack of progress may signal to residents that the County is uncommitted to non-automotive modes of transportation. We need to get this project going.”
Councilmember Ervin is asking that MCDOT answer several specific questions about what, exactly, is holding up the MetBranch project:
- What information is needed from WMATA and CSX?- What is the rationale for the proposed timing of design and construction of the project?
- What is the rationale for the proposed route of the project?
- What is the Executive Branch response to the Planning Board’s comments on the project?
- Does DOT expect right-of-way acquisition to delay project implementation?