State BRAC subcabinet meets in Rockville
Mark N Posted Wed 10-24-07
Both the Washington Post and Bethesda Gazette filed reports on the recent Maryland Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) subcabinet meeting in Rockville, which was chaired by Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown.
State and local officials warned yesterday that without increases in money for road projects, the planned expansion of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda will result in “nightmare” congestion near the hospital.
Montgomery County officials hope the state will undertake millions in major road improvements, including widening Wisconsin Avenue and improving intersections at Connecticut Avenue, Jones Bridge Road and Cedar Lane.
County Executive Ike Leggett said the roads near Navy Med could face a 25% increase in traffic unless funds are pumped into local road and transit improvements, but state officials say they don’t have the money. Among the changes being considered are: a pedestrian bridge/tunnel at Medical Center metro, another Beltway ramp, par and ride lots, and larger sidewalks.
The Gazette writer may need a Bethesda geography lesson:
County officials also listed priorities they said would make the expansion of the hospital work for businesses and residents in the surrounding community. They include:
*Improving pedestrian and bicycle safety by constructing larger sidewalks on heavily traveled streets, such as Cedar Lane, Jones Bridge Road and Old Georgetown Road;
*Building either a new entrance at the Medical Center Metro Station or a pedestrian bridge to get pedestrians across Old Georgetown Road, one of the county’s busiest…
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The US Navy recently released its draft environmental impact study (DEIS) for the consolidation of the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) and Walter Reed Medical Center.
Unfortunately, the DEIS suffers from flaws that understate the expansion’s likely environmental impacts. Two related findings are noteworthy:- First, adding ~500,000 patient visits per year is predicted to increase the number of congested intersections during peak PM commutes near NNMC. In other words, the area will go from 5 failing intersections to 5. The number of failing intersections in the area doubles if one counts those beyond Montgomery County’s “acceptable” range (i.e., >1450 vehicles/hour). The report obscures both of these points.
- Second, despite the likely worsening of many roads due to NNMC expansion, the U.S. Navy may have no obligation to fund or manage improvements outside of the base’s perimeter.
County and state leaders must act now to address these issues. We need rigorous traffic surveys and effective solutions to all adverse expansion-related environmental impacts.
Most importantly, our leaders must obtain sufficient funding from federal sources for infrastructural improvements. Otherwise, remedying the impacts caused by an unfunded federal mandate will burden county and state governments to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.