Special Budget Edition

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan presented his fiscal year 2005 operating budget on Monday, increasing overall spending for Public Works and Transportation to $315.2 million. The proposed budget for the Go Montgomery! Program will:

• Expand Transit
• Improve Traffic Flow and Transportation Infrastructure
• Continue Initiatives

Expand Transit — back to top

• Increase bus service to accommodate 195,000 new passengers next year.
• Expand the Call ‘N Ride program for low-income elderly and disabled residents to accommodate an estimated nine percent growth in clients.
• Purchase 15 more compressed natural gas (CNG), five hybrid- electric buses, and 12 smaller buses for neighborhood routes.
• Operate a new fast-fill CNG fueling station for the growing fleet of CNG buses.
• Add a new Ride On bus route between Germantown and Shady Grove.

Improve Traffic Flow and Transportation Infrastructure — back to top

• Institute an Incident Management Team to patrol during rush hours and provide rapid assistance to re-open travel lanes blocked by disabled vehicles or minor accidents.
• Increase major asphalt repair on arterial roadways.
• Increase funding for bridge renovations.
• Enhance the County’s traffic signal system.
• Improve the intersection on Mid-County Highway at Shady Grove Middle School.
• Ease parking in Downtown Silver Spring with two new garages — Silver Circle (at Wayne and Georgia Avenues) and Town Square Garage on Ellsworth Drive by City Place.
• Resurface more residential roads and improve intersections.
• Replace curbs and repair road shoulders.
• Retrofit traffic signals with LED lights to conserve energy.
• Increase maintenance for traffic signal and control devices.

Continue Initiatives

• Enhance pedestrian safety by continuing outreach and education, including translated materials and the safe schools program; conducting focused community activities and materials that promote a consistent safety message; and improving engineering, including restriped crosswalks and pavement markings, and new signs and raised pavement markers.
• Increase funding for employer outreach and continue the Fare Share/Super Fare Share transit subsidy partnerships to reduce the number of cars on the road during rush hours.
• Maintain the Kids Ride Free program on Ride On and Metrobus from 2 to 7 p.m.
• Continue tree pruning to maintain healthy trees and provide adequate road clearance, as well as improve the visibility of signs, signals and streetlights.

Over the next two months, the County Council will hold public hearings and work sessions on the budget. The final budget must be approved by June 1.

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