ICC Facts and Polls

Question: Should the state work hard to protect the environment, even if it might
cost some jobs, or is it more important to grow the economy, even if it hurts the environment?

	MD	BC	B	M	PG	AAH	WM	ES
Protect Environment:	68%	56%	69%	77%	66%	73%	61%	69%
Grow Economy:	16%	21%	14%	8%	17%	13%	22%	18%
Do both:	7%	5%	6%	7%	6%	6%	8%	8%
Not Sure:	10%	19%	11%	8%	11%	7%	8%	6%

Transportation:

Question: To solve the Region's transportation problems, is it more important to build
new roads, or to fund new mass transit projects?

	MD	BC	B	M	PG	AAH	WM	ES
Roads:	3%	21%	29%	32%	29%	30%	43%	40%
Mass Transit:	53%	60%	54%	52%	58%	55%	47%	46%
Combination:	6%	8%	5%	10%	6%	6%	5%	5%
Not Sure:	8%	11%	12%	6%	6%	9%	5%	9%

KEY:

MD ---- Maryland
BC ----- Baltimore City
B ------- Baltimore County
M ------ Montgomery County
PG ----- Prince Georges's County
AAH -- Anne Arundel - Howard Counties
WM --- Western Maryland
ES ----- Eastern Shore - Southern Counties

Subj: Letter to the editor

I sent this letter to the Gazette - it would be good to get other letters to them on this topic. They completely ignored the transportation findings of their own poll.

Betsy Johnson

To: jjmurphy@gazette.net

Subject: Letter to the editor

To the Editor:

I noticed that in the January 17 editorial "What Does Maryland Want?" the Gazette editors omitted any reference to what Maryland wants in terms of transportation. Could this be because only 32% of Montgomery County respondents to the poll think it necessary to build new roads even though 47% think that congestion is a major problem? Oops &endash; maybe there's not as much support for roads such as the ICC and the "techway" as the Gazette editors think.

Another survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Conference of Mayors finds even higher levels of support for transportation alternatives. In Washington DC and surrounding suburbs 76% of the people polled favored the transit/land use solution over roads. And similar numbers were obtained in 6 other urban areas around the country. Clearly the public understands the causes of traffic congestion and wants to be provided with alternatives to the automobile for getting around. Perhaps it's time for the Gazette to stop listening to the Board of Trade and start fighting for choices favored by its readers.

Betsy Johnson

Chair, Montgomery County Group

Sierra Club

ICC FACTS DIFFER FROM
BOARD OF TRADE & MEDIA PROPAGANDA

CITIZENS MUST BE INFORMED

NOTE:

158 OF THE 179 CITIZENS
WHO TESTIFIED AT THE DEIS HEARINGS
WERE OPPOSED TO THE ICC.

THE FOLLOWING STUDIES SUPPORT
THE STATE HIGHWAY DEIS STUDY:

FACT:

C.O.G. POLL REVEALS PUBLIC PREFERS
ALTERNATIVES TO NEW ROADS

December 15, 1999: A survey was conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (C.O.G.) using a randomly selected sample of over 500 households in the Washington region. In the survey, 63% preferred alternatives to new roads (e.g., Metro), versus 25% who preferred new roads.

FACT:

STPP STUDY REVEALS NEW ROADS
DON'T RELIEVE CONGESTION:

The Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) group analyzed the Texas Transportation Institute's annual report on metropolitan congestion. Findings conclude cities that have built new roads do NOT fare better with congestion. The STPP Report says the problem may be partially explained by the phenomenon of "Induced Traffic."

FACT:

INDUCED TRAFFIC

According to a January 13^th Washington Post article, "More Lanes Better? Not Necessarily." Two new studies found adding more road capacity generates more traffic. The studies question whether highway construction can relieve the Washington area traffic congestion.
One author is Lewis M. Fulton, American policy analyst, whose analysis of 26 years of data from every county in Maryland and Virginia, concluded that new roads and road expansion cause "INDUCED TRAVEL."
The second study was done by Robert B. Noland, former transportation analyst at the EPA. He reviewed 15 years of data from major metropolitan areas. His analysis also found significant "Induced traffic" from new roads or road expansion.
Chris Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council, says these findings demonstrate new roads promote sprawl rather than ease traffic. This confirms that it doesn't solve the problem. It stimulates more of the problem.

FACT:

NO PLANNING BOARD STUDY WAS DONE
REGARDING NEED FOR ICC

In a July 28, 1997 letter to Mr. Frank Vrataric's "Freedom of Information Act" request, the Planning staff of the Montgomery County Planning Board advised: "There is no Planning Board study regarding the need for the ICC." This shows no study was done to put the ICC on the Master Plan.