The Intercounty Connector

A Great Deal for Developers and Highway Builders, A Lousy Deal for the Rest of Us

The proposed Intercounty Connector toll road (ICC) would be a terrible deal for Montgomery County and Maryland, but fortunately it is not a done deal. Governor O’Malley can still stop the ICC, and work with the General Assembly to invest Maryland’s resource in community-friendly, climate-friendly mass transportation. The Montgomery County Council still can and should speak out against the ICC. Now is the time for the Governor and the County Council to hear loud and clear from the progressive grassroots.

Three major transportation studies in 10 years have shown that the ICC would not even dent congestion on the Beltway, I-270, I-95 and most local roads. Instead, the ICC would increase traffic on numerous heavily congested commuter routes, trigger new sprawl, increase automobile use, increase oil consumption and emissions of global warming pollution, and increase toxic air pollution in the midst of dozens of residential communities.

This 18-mile, $3+ billion interstate would also consume a huge percentage of Maryland’s state and federal transportation funds, saddle state tax payers with more than $2.5 billion of new debt, drain more than a quarter-billion dollars from Maryland’s General Fund, and make it far more difficult for Maryland to invest in urgently needed transit projects like the Purple Line in the DC area and the Red Line in Baltimore City. Tolls on the ICC are projected to run more than $7 for a full round trip to begin with. Few families could afford to pay more than $1500 in tolls annually, especially in this era of ever-rising fuel prices.

The ICC would be six to eight lanes wide where it slashes through parks and communities and 10 to 12 lanes wide near interchanges with other roads. It would directly destroy hundreds of acres of parks, wetlands and mature forests, and damage headwater tributaries of Rock Creek and the Anacostia River, including some of the healthiest streams in the region, all of which are vital to restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

The ICC is at a tipping point. Grassroots opposition to and official concern about the ICC is growing. This March, more than three dozen legislators wrote Governor O’Malley urging him to take a serious time out on the ICC in light of legal challenges and the State’s massive budget deficit. Environmental and community organizations have filed two suits in federal courts and one in Maryland court alleging that the Bush and Ehrlich administrations violated numerous state and federal laws as they wasted $30 million ramming the ICC through a deeply flawed, fast-tracked environmental review.

Now is the time for Governor O’Malley and the County Council to hear from you and other progressives.

For further information about the ICC, contact Greg Smith at stoptheicc@igc.org

Here are four simple, but effective actions that you can take to help kill the ICC and promote just, sustainable transportation.

1. Call and write Governor O’Malley. Urge him to drop the ICC, stop taking people’s homes and land, and invest Maryland’s resources in improved community planning and community-friendly, climate-friendly transportation, including urgently needed transit projects.

Phone: 800-811-8336
Fax: 410-974-3275
E-mail: governor@gov.state.md.us

Mail: Governor O'Malley
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401

2. Call and write your Montgomery Council member, your four at-large council members, and County Executive Ike Leggett. Urge them to take a firm, clear stand against the ICC. Council Member Valerie Ervin (D-District 5) is the Council’s environmental lead and needs to hear very clearly that she must oppose the ICC.

3. Share this alert with friends and neighbors.

4. Join the grassroots campaign to stop the ICC and promote just, sustainable transportation in our county, state and region. Whatever your interest or skill, chances are, you can help! Contact Greg Smith at stoptheicc@igc.org for more info.

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Call and Write Governor O’Malley

Personal letters have more impact than form letters. Short, concise letters citing a few key reasons Governor O’Malley should stop the ICC often are more effective than long letters that throw in the kitchen sink. Contacting the Governor by even one mode is better than not at all. But using all three modes increases your own influence on behalf of the cause we all share – stopping global warming and building comprehensive mass transit system for our region.

Please take a few minutes to write your own personal letter or to personalize the letter below.

Sample Letter (Please also email a copy of your email or letter to Progressive Neighbors.)

The Honorable Martin O’Malley
Governor, State of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401

Dear Governor O’Malley,

As a Maryland resident, I strongly oppose the Intercounty Connector (ICC), and I urge you to drop this destructive, $3 billion highway immediately. I am deeply concerned about the ICC’s damaging impacts on Maryland, the region, and the Chesapeake Bay. I am also concerned that it would degrade the region’s air quality, increase the region’s global warming pollution, and undermine much-needed efforts to build a comprehensive mass transit system for our region.

Stopping global warming is one of the greatest and most urgent challenges facingMaryland and the nation, and it challenges us all to rethink our priorities. It’s clear we must do all we can to reduce our emissions deeply and soon. You have already taken important steps by signing the Clean Cars Act, and by creating a Climate Change Commission. But these first steps clearly are not enough, and I believe that building ICC would undermine the work we all must do in Maryland and the region.

Federal environmental agencies rightly rejected the ICC in the 1980s and 1990s because it would severely damage communities, parks and some of the region’s healthiest forests, wetlands, streams. With our growing understanding of global warming’s causes and impacts, of what it will take to restore the Bay, and of air pollution’s impacts on people who live, work or attend school near highways, youhave even more reason to reject the ICC.

Three major transportation studies in 10 years have shown that the ICC would provide little or no real relief to congestion on local roads and highways. In fact, the 2006 Environmental Impact Statement published by Maryland and the Federal Highway Administration, shows that the ICC would actually boost traffic on parts of I-95, I-495, I-270, I-370, and other heavily traveled commuter roads. Instead of spending several billions of dollars on the ICC, we need to build an effective mass transportation system that would reduce traffic congestion and thereby improve the quality our life in our area.

Do you really want to embrace an environmental review that was fast-tracked bythe Bush and Ehrlich administrations – who refused even to assess the ICC’s impact on global warming or public health? Do you really think it would be wise to spend billions on a highway that would do so little to good, cause so much damage, and increase oil consumption, air pollution and global warming emissions and undermine mass transits initiatives?

Governor, the ICC would be a $3 billion step in the wrong direction. I urge you to drop the ICC and to stop taking people’s homes and land. Please invest Maryland’s resources instead in urgently needed public transit, better community planning, and improved bicycle and pedestrian access. These alternatives would reduce, not boost global warming pollution.

Thank you for your consideration. Please let me know your intentions.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS

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County Council, County Executive Sample Letter (Please also email a copy of your letter or email to Progressive Neighbors.) List of Council Members.

The Honorable COUNCIL MEMBER’S NAME
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Dear Councilmember _________________: (or County Executive Leggett, Executive Office Building,101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850)

As a Montgomery County resident, I urge you to oppose the Intercounty Connector (ICC). I am deeply concerned about this destructive, $3 billion highway’s damaging impacts on our county, on Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay, and on our chances of building a comprehensive mass transportation system in our area. I am also concerned that it would degrade the region’s air quality and increase the region’s emissions of global warming pollution.

Stopping global warming is one of the greatest and most urgent challenges facing Montgomery County, the state of Maryland and the nation, and it challenges us all to rethink our priorities. It is clear that we must do all we can to reduce our emissions deeply and soon. While the County and State have already taken important steps, and while the Council is contemplating additional steps, it is also clear that building the ICC would deeply undermine the vital work we all must do in Maryland and the region. Simply supporting transit is not enough; we must also rethink projects that are likely to increase emissions.

I am also deeply concerned that the ICC would slash through dozens of residential communities, passing very close to schools, public parks, religious centers, day care centers, and thousands of homes – so close that the State Highway Administration is seizing the homes and backyards of hundreds of families. It is outrageous that no agency has ever assessed the potential impact of toxic air pollution from the ICC and other local roads on people who would be forced to live, work, recreate and worship in the shadow of an interstate highway.

Federal environmental agencies rightly rejected the ICC in the 1980s and 1990s because it would severely damage communities, parks and some of the region’s healthiest forests, wetlands, streams. Preserving those forest, wetlands and streams is vital to restoring the Anacostia River, Rock Creek, the lower Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay. With our growing understanding of global warming’s causes and impacts, of what it will take to restore the Bay, and of air pollution’s impacts on people who live, work or attend school near highways, you have even more reason to oppose the ICC.

Three major transportation studies in 10 years have shown that the ICC would provide little or no real relief to congestion on local roads and highways. In fact, the 2006 Environmental Impact Statement published by Maryland and the Federal Highway Administration, shows that the ICC would actually boost traffic on parts of I-95, I-495, I-270, I-370, and other heavily traveled commuter roads.

Do you really want to embrace an environmental review that was fast-tracked by the Bush and Ehrlich administrations – who refused even to assess the ICC’s impact on global warming or public health? Do you really think it would be wise to spend billions on a highway that would do so little to good, cause so much damage, and increase oil consumption, air pollution and global warming emissions? How many families could afford to pay the tolls on the ICC on top of rising fuel prices?

The ICC would be a $3 billion step in the wrong direction. Instead of spending billions on the ICC, I believe we need to build an effective mass transportation system that would reduce congestion and improve the quality of life in the County.

For all these reasons, I urge you to oppose the ICC. I encourage you to ask Governor O’Malley to drop the ICC and to stop taking people’s homes and land. Please work to invest Maryland’s resources instead in urgently needed public transit, better community planning, and improved bicycle and pedestrian access. These alternatives would reduce, not boost global warming pollution.

Thank you for your consideration. Please let me know your intentions.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS