Transportation

Silver Spring residents oppose MoCo plans for bus rapid transit lanes on Colesville Road

Proposed Colesville Road project spans 5 miles from Sligo Creek Parkway to Tech Road

By

Elia Griffin

April 27, 2026 11:42 a.m.

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Dozens of residents who live in Silver Spring’s Four Corners, Northwood and Burnt Mills neighborhoods say they are strongly opposed to Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) plans to construct 5 miles of bus rapid transit (BRT) lanes in the median of U.S. Route 29, also called Colesville Road, according to testimony provided to the Planning Board.

The county’s Flash BRT service already runs two lines along the roadway, connecting downtown Silver Spring to Burtonsville. The proposed project – dubbed US-29 Flash BRT Phase 2 – would designate a dedicated middle lane on Colesville Road for the Flash BRT buses. In some areas of the project, creation of the median bus-lane would remove at least two travel lanes and expand the roadway into the public right-of-way, according to planning documents.

According to planning documents, the project includes one-lane and two-lane BRT lanes that run on the median of U.S. Route 29, as well as the relocation of four BRT stations and transit signal priority at 16 intersections. County transportation planners have proposed relocating two existing BRT stations at Four Corners and two at Burnt Mills.

On Thursday, the Planning Board reviewed a Montgomery County Department of Transportation mandatory referral for the project and heard testimony from nine people, many of whom said they lived in the area surrounding the proposed project. Nearly all who testified in person and via video livestream urged the board to reject the proposed project.

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“This design is unfair and inequitable, as it doesn’t reduce driver time — drive time for Metro or Ride On buses, [Montgomery County Public Schools] buses from the White Oak depot or commuter buses, cars, commercial vehicles and commuters who must drive,” Sharon Canavan, president of the Northwood-Four Corners Civic Association, told the board Thursday.

Despite some concerns expressed by commissioners Shawn Bartley and Mitra Pedoeem, the board voted unanimously, 5-0, to approve MCDOT’s mandatory referral and transmit commissioners’ comments to the transportation department. Mandatory referrals are projects submitted by government agencies that can only be reviewed by the board on an advisory basis.

Canavan also noted she was concerned that the median-running bus lanes would decrease pedestrian safety and comfort by moving some stations to the center of a high-traffic roadway. She also noted concerns that the lanes might close access points to the neighborhoods along U.S. Route 29 and increase cut-through traffic.

Howard Feldman, director of public relations at the Southeast Hebrew Congregation at 10900 Lockwood Drive in Burnt Mills, criticized the plan to eliminate traffic lanes to make space for the median lanes. He also was concerned that the placement of BRT stops in the middle of the roadway would be unsafe for pedestrians.

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“The relocation of the bus stops to the median will undoubtedly lead pedestrians crossing lanes of moving traffic to catch a bus and thereby are unacceptable pedestrian safety risks as they dash out to the median,” Feldman said.

Feldman noted that many congregants who attend services at the synagogue multiple times per day walk there exclusively on the Sabbath and holidays, and urged officials to focus resources on safety improvement at existing intersections along U.S. Route 29.

Canavan, Feldman and others who testified Thursday were among dozens of other residents and civic association groups who submitted testimony opposing the project to the board before its meeting.

The only person who testified Thursday in support of the project was Bill Pugh, transportation director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that advocates for transit-oriented, walkable, bikeable communities.

“This is one of the county’s most important bus corridors, serving over 8,000 trips per day,” Pugh said.

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He noted the BRT system is a “critical component” of the county’s Thrive 2050 Master Plan and would serve the new housing and developments that are coming to the U.S. Route 29 area, including the Viva White Oak project, a long-awaited planned mixed-use project.

“We know that we simply can’t serve the needed new homes and development without providing other transportation options that give people an alternative to sitting in congestion,” Pugh said.

Before the board’s vote, Chair Artie Harris said Thursday that MCDOT’s plan was complicated, but he supported the project because it reduced travel times for the BRT riders on U.S. Route 29. His biggest question surrounded the project’s implementation.

“How [can MCDOT] implement it in a way that causes the least disruption to businesses … to the community?” he asked.

Harris recommended that MCDOT explore methods to support small businesses in the Four Corners and Burnt Mills neighborhoods that may be impacted by the project’s estimated two-year construction timeline, such as setting aside grant money for the businesses.

Board Vice Chair Josh Linden and Commissioner James Hedrick also expressed support for the project. Linden said the project would help facilitate more growth along the county’s transportation corridors and help realize the goals of Thrive 2050.

“This kind of growth can’t happen without transit like this and without more transit,” he said. “So, no project is perfect, and this is no exception. The tradeoffs have been mentioned. I would prefer this to continue down into downtown Silver Spring and get more time savings there.”

Linden also emphasized the project’s importance in improving the experience of transit riders and people who cannot travel by car.

“This project is not only for them, but it also is for everyone else,” Linden said. “It doesn’t take a lot of moving cars off the road and shifting modes to transit to make a difference for everyone.”

Eli Glazier, a transportation planner at Montgomery Planning, told the board that the project is “one of the county’s most significant efforts to create high-quality, high-capacity transit options in the East County” and “has been a long time coming.”

Glazier noted the county has envisioned dedicated transit facilities along U.S. Route 29 in the corridor since at least 1996.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine