Northwood News ♦ April 2017

Open House for BRT on Route 29

By David Rotenstein

MCDOT staff in green BRT t-shirts (their right hands held up) explain the BRT project at “stations” set up in the cafeteria.

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation scheduled three open houses in March to allow residents in Silver Spring learn about the BRT project on Route 29/Colesville Road. The open house closest to our neighborhood was held in the Montgomery Blair High School cafeteria March 13.

One of the open house “stations” explained how the proposed stations and bus stops would be designed.

MCDOT set up stations throughout the room where visitors could learn about bus shelter design, service projections, and how the county believes the new bus service will improve transportation in the U.S. Route 29 corridor.

Open house visitors could take home some branded BRT swag if they got stickers at all four of the “stops.”

The open house included a “kid’s stop” where children could color buses and navigate a paper maze as well as a swag table where visitors who got stickers at all four of the “stations” could get a BRT water bottle, tote bag, or t-shirt emblazoned with the county’s “Get On Board BRT” logo. There also were two videos playing in a continuous loop explaining what BRT is and how the system works.

Visitors use tablets to sign into the open house and to register to receive email updates about the BRT project for Route 29.

As of this writing, the Montgomery County Council is evaluating a request from the County Executive for $30 million in next year’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget. More information about the proposed Route 29 BRT project is available on the MCDOT website. ■