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ONLY ON NEWSCHANNEL 8
PG County to Hold Public Hearing on Transportation Overhaul
posted 10/26/09
6:37 pm
The proposal aspires to change the lives of residents and face of the county.
The new master plan has been in the works for about two years, and it takes a whole new perspective on how the county ought to integrate transportation with residents' everyday lives.
Sometimes, Belinda Mitchell misses important doctor's appointments. But it's not because she doesn't want to go or because she has other engagements. It's because she doesn't have a car and so getting out to Fort Meade can sometimes seem impossible.
"My doctor's office is all the way out there," she said.
Fortunately for Mitchell, a new master plan for transportation in the county is in the works. One high point of the proposal is to extend the Green Line from Greenbelt through Beltsville and Laurel -- all the way to Fort Meade.
"It would be easier for a lot of people," she said.
But Mitchell isn't the only one who would benefit from the Green Line expansion. Harold Foster, project manager of the transportation plan, says the federal government's efforts to consolidate defense facilities, known as BRAC, require alternative ways to access Fort Meade.
"The key elements of the BRAC proposal is to concentrate somewhere between [20,000] and 40,000 jobs at Fort Meade," said Foster.
In addition to the Green Line, Foster has proposed extending the Purple Line all the way to National Harbor. The county would also like to increase the number of HOV lanes on planned roadways to reduce traffic.
But not everyone is thrilled with the idea. Asked Landover resident Nicholas Hewitt, "Why can't they make it two average lanes? You know, regular lanes?
Still, Foster insists something must be done for the county's commuters. "Residents of Prince George's County have about the longest commute of residents anywhere in the metropolitan Washington area," he said.
The council and planning board are holding a public hearing in the county administration building at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Anyone interested in voicing concerns is welcome to attend.
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