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FLASH service on MD 355 between Bethesda and Clarksburg will be designed to meet the needs of residents, businesses, and visitors along this busy route. This project is part of the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan.
There are several major existing and planned activity centers along the MD 355 corridor that have importance for the entire county and region. FLASH will improve frequent transit connections between the corridor and destinations within Montgomery County and other parts of the region.
Over the past decade, MCDOT and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, as well as the Cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville, have completed land use and transportation studies advancing the concept for the BRT, and supporting the vision of transforming the corridor into a series of walkable and prosperous nodes of commercial, residential, and civic land uses and activities.
From 2015 to 2017, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) conducted a study (“Phase 1”) to identify options for FLASH on MD 355. Through that study, MDOT identified several options, called Conceptual Alternatives, for the BRT. MCDOT is now leading Phase 2 of the study, which involves further study and evaluation of the Conceptual Alternatives from Phase 1 to identify one Recommended Alternative for the BRT.
To identify the Recommended Alternative in Phase 2, MCDOT will be looking at various alternatives, addressing whether and where the BRT should run in a dedicated median or curb lane or in mixed traffic, which route it should take, and which stations should be included in the Recommended Alternative. The alternatives will be evaluated according to a set of criteria that address considerations such as travel times and reliability, ridership, accessibility to jobs and other destinations, support for redevelopment, costs, and impacts to the environment and properties. MCDOT is also developing a preliminary service plan for the BRT and complementary local bus routes.
Click here to download a PDF of the map.
FLASH features and amenities include:
Additional project information:
Corridor Advisory Committees (CACs) were created in 2015 as part of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) planning project for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on the MD 355 corridor from Bethesda to Clarksburg. The MD 355 Central CAC includes the area north of Rockville Metro Station. The committee is made up of residents, business owners, and other stakeholders along the corridor. CAC meetings allow MCDOT to both give updates on the project to members of the community and to gather feedback from stakeholders along this portion of the corridor.
For more information on this corridor, see the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan.
CAC Meeting #13 (Wednesday, June 5th 2019)
CAC Meeting #6 (Thursday, March 16, 2016)
*March 3 meeting was postponed to March 16 due to snow.
CAC Meeting #13 (Tuesday, June 4th 2019)
(The following items make reference to the MD355 South CAC. But they also apply to the MD355 Central CAC given that, until December 7th, 2017, MD355 South CAC used to cover what is today covered by MD355 Central CAC.)
CAC Meeting #13 (Monday, June 3rd 2019)
CAC Meeting #6 (Monday, March 7th 2016)