The county’s Shared Streets program, a pandemic initiative allowing residents and businesses to use public spaces for in-street activities such as biking, walking, outdoor dining and retail activity, will continue through the summer.
All Maryland residents aged 16 and older are eligible as of today (April 6) for a COVID-19 vaccination at the state’s mass vaccination sites, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced yesterday. In addition, the governor said that all residents 16 and older will be eligible to receive a vaccine from all providers, such as pharmacies and hospitals, as of Monday, April 12.
Ride On and Flash bus service will remain free until at least the end of the fiscal year on June 30, County Executive Marc Elrich announced yesterday evening. The change reverses a Department of Transportation decision released earlier this week to start charging $2 fares again on Monday, April 5. Fare collections had been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county’s Department of Transportation will begin collecting fares and changing boarding procedures on all Ride On, Ride On extRa and Flash buses beginning Monday, April 5. Passengers will now be able to board through the front doors and no longer forced to use the rear doors, though rear boarding will still be used for Flash buses.
Purple Line contractors plan to begin two additional utility relocation projects in Silver Spring on Monday, Dec. 21, weather permitting, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. The first involves relocating both underground and overhead utilities along a stretch of 16th Street. The project will start at Lyttonsville Road, just south of Second Avenue, and go to Spring Street.
Metro is temporarily sidelining its fleet of 6000-series railcars following a train-separation incident on the Red Line Tuesday afternoon. The separation is the second since October when 6000-series cars separated outside Union Station.
The county’s Department of Transportation launched a new bus rapid transit service yesterday with a media-only event that included County Executive Marc Elrich, Casey Anderson, chair of the Planning Board, and Council Vice President Tom Hucker (D-District 5). The BRT, known as Flash, will run in a 14-mile segment of U.S Route 29 from Burtonsville to the Silver Spring Transit Center, offering limited-stop service seven days a week.
The County Council yesterday approved a bill that would exempt 100% of the property tax for a project built on property leased from WMATA at a Metro station in the county. Bill 29-20, the “More Housing at Metrorail Stations Act,” would apply to construction of new high-rise development that includes at least 50% rental housing and be in effect for 15 years.
The bi-county Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission expressed major concerns about a Draft Environmental Impact Statement during a briefing last week with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. The DEIS is part of the state’s Managed Lanes Study to evaluate alternatives to improve traffic congestion along I-495 (Capital Beltway) in Maryland, and on I-270 from I-495 to I-370.