"I'LL TAKE

NATIONAL

LAUGHINGSTOCKS

FOR $400,

ALEX."

"These 2 'solutions' will fail to reduce gridlock in Montgomery County."

"What are the County Council's 270 Reversible HOT Lanes Plan, and the Corridor Cities Transitway?"

"CORRECT!"

It was back in 2006, as a candidate for the state House, that I referred to our area's status as a "national laughingstock" in terms of our gridlocked commute. That's because people are literally laughing at us, the 2nd-worst commute in the entire nation. More gas wasted, more hours on the road, and, as we're hearing this week, no credible solutions on the horizon.

The plan to add 2 reversible HOT lanes proposed by the County Council won't solve the 270 traffic jam - the proof is in the plan's name: HOT is DOA.

We currently have one HOV lane, and it has no meaningful effect on traffic movement; it's just a politically-correct fad that makes a few people feel good about themselves during each rush hour.

But HOT lanes are worse: these are the fabled "Lexus Lanes" that our elected officials want, and that those extragovernmental entities such as COG and the "Board of Trade" and other non-elected bodies representing the Powers-that-Be are working overtime to install everywhere.

Users of these roads pay again and again for roads they have already paid for. While that's morally-wrong, and downright unAmerican, that's hardly the main issue. That's because the hardworking citizens like you and me who can't afford to use these lanes just won't use them. But the wealthy Powers-that-Be, who control COG, etc., need these HOT lanes so that they can cruise about town with ease, while allowing unlimited development.

Translation: with the full endorsement of the County Council and Planning Board, your commute is going to get worse. Development will be allowed to continue without regard to housing demand, school capacity, nor traffic volume.

I wouldn't want to toss out the reversible lane concept entirely; should 2 reversible, toll-free lanes be added between Shady Grove and Frederick, it could have a significant impact on 270 gridlock. Express buses could use those lanes as well. This is not just a Montgomery County problem; it requires a two-county solution, and our elected officials are in a COG fog.

They want to use your wallet to solve the problem.

I have another 270 concept, but we're going to wait until next year to talk about that, because somebody will steal my ideas.

Finally, the Corridor Cities Transitway - as bus or rail - won't make a difference in its current form. The CCT should certainly be rail if it is built; we've already witnessed the council slash away vital bus links that offered an alternative to driving, and scare off riders of surviving lines with huge fare increases. It also, like the widening of 270, needs to be a two-county solution. A CCT without huge, free or low-cost garages or extension to Urbana and Frederick would be a waste of the taxpayers' money. And a simple tool to allow more development that would further crowd schools and roads in the 270 corridor.

Who operates the CCT, anyway? Metro is in a shambles, and nearly broke. We need to reset the whole model of mass transit in the area, and not in the vein proposed by COG and other elites.

And the county council cannot be allowed to continue to put the cart before the horse. We have a structural deficit, and the nation's second worst gridlock. And eight years of failed leadership.

"I'll take a new County Council for 2010, Alex."