At the Montgomery County Council Session

Montgomery Council to Address I-270 Transportation Issues, ICC Tolls

Also Drug Enforcement Fund, Nutritional Labeling, Health Impact Assessment for Road Projects

ROCKVILLE, Md., November 16, 2009—The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, Nov. 17, will make recommendations to the Maryland State Highway Administration and the State Department of Transportation concerning the scope of possible expansion for I-270 and the mode of transportation that should be used for the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway that would extend from the Shady Grove Metro Station to Clarksburg. The Council also is expected to make recommendations in regard to the range of toll charges for the Intercounty Connector that is being built to link I-270 to I-95 in Laurel.

The Council’s day will start at 9:30 a.m. with the dedication of a mural in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The mural, “Building Strong Communities,” was created by Project Youth ArtReach, a program with youthful offenders at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. The regular session will begin at 9:40 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room.

The morning and afternoon sessions of the Council’s day will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The live broadcast also can be viewed via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The broadcast will be repeated at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.

During the morning session, the Council will discuss and take positions on several key issues concerning transportation in the I-270 corridor. In regard to the Corridor Cities Transitway, the Council will either recommend light rail or bus rapid transit over a dedicated line as the mode of transportation. The Council also will make a recommendation concerning expansion of I-270. Options include building two new lanes in each direction or building a total of two lanes that would be reversible depending upon the time of day.

The Council is expected to take action on Expedited Bill 35-09 would expand the possible uses for money seized from drug dealers and held in the County’s Drug Forfeiture Fund. The bill, whose chief sponsor is Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, would allow the funds to be used for drug treatment programs and to help fund the County’s innovative drug court.

The Council also is scheduled to take action on Bill 19-07 that would require certain County restaurants to post nutritional information on menus and menu boards. The legislation, whose chief sponsor was Councilmember George Leventhal, has recently been amended recently to reflect provisions being discussed in a similar bill now being considered in Congress.

At 1:30 p.m., the Council will hold a public hearing on a proposed resolution that would require a health impact assessment before major road projects are allowed to proceed.