Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page A22
IF THERE WAS any aspect of the proposed intercounty connector project in Maryland that its fiercest opponents liked, it was a provision for a bike trail to parallel the highway in some sections and take different routes in others. But now Maryland transportation officials are backpedaling. They have dropped plans to include a trail in the fast-track connector project because costs for the highway have gone up and -- now they tell us -- the environmental impact of a bike path linking Montgomery and Prince George's counties would make too big a “footprint on the environment.”
Why bikers would want to tool alongside the whooshing highway traffic is not clear; neither is the environmental threat that state officials cite but environmental groups don't seem to mind. Brian Henry of the Audubon Naturalist Society said it's “one more example [of what] the state has promised about this highway that hasn't come true.” Fair enough; as reported by The Post's Steven Ginsberg, even some supporters of the highway project say they are baffled by the decision.
Montgomery County Council member Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty), a strong supporter of the connector, is concerned that at times the zeal to get the road built overrides other aspects of the project. And he knows better than to accept any explanation from officialdom that a bike trail would be built at some other time. Sure; once the pressure is off, forget it. "We get one bite at this apple," Mr. Knapp said.
Like almost any large, necessary road project, the connector is an expensive undertaking that grows costlier with every delay. The estimated cost of the 18-mile toll highway connecting Interstate 270 in Montgomery and Interstate 95 in Prince George's rose in November to as much as $2.1 billion. Officials peg the cost of the bike trail at about $100 million. How much do Marylanders care about biking this route? Public comment can be lodged at www.iccstudy.org, by phone at 866-462-0020, or in person at hearings scheduled for this month in Greenbelt, Gaithersburg and Silver Spring. Whatever the sentiment on the bike trail may be, it need not -- and must not -- delay the connector another day.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company