Tell the Montgomery County Council: Remove Proposed Mid-county M83 Highway

On April 10, 2025 the Montgomery County Planning Board voted unanimously 5-0, to recommend that the proposed M83 highway “northern segment” be removed from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways. The Montgomery County Council will make the final decision this summer on whether to approve the Planning Board’s recommendation to remove M83 from the master plan. It is urgent that M83 be removed, since as long as it remains in the master plan it can be built at any time.

The transportation sector is the single largest contributor of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Electric vehicles are part of the solution, but this alone will not be enough. We must also reduce Vehicles Miles Traveled, and that means stopping highway expansion like M83 and investing instead in rapid transit and walkable communities for people of all abilities and income levels.

M83 would destroy or degrade carbon-sequestering forests, streams and wetlands in Germantown, Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village. It would damage five public parks, 100 acres of bio-diverse interior forest, and the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail.

There are better ways to meet the transportation needs of upcounty communities, and promote the shift away from cars to a system centered on people, including: improved Ride-On bus service; Bus Rapid Transit on Route 355; enhancing use of existing roadways; extending the Red Line Metrorail to Germantown; expanding service on the MARC Brunswick Line; and increasing affordable housing in neighborhoods served by rapid transit.

The time is now for the Montgomery County Council to vote to remove proposed M83 highway from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways!

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Remove Proposed M83 Highway from Montgomery County's Master Plan of Highways and Transitways

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I am a concerned citizen of Montgomery County Maryland asking you to vote to remove the proposed M83 highway from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways, as recommended by the Planning Board for the 5-mile M83 northern segment, in their unanimous vote on April 10, 2025.
Our county relies upon our forests, streams, and parks for recreation, clean air and clean water, and we need to protect these precious resources for all to enjoy, now and for future residents. The proposed M83 highway would fragment and degrade six public parks and destroy over 100 acres of interior forest along its five-mile length. Its pavement would intensify heat emergencies and pollute our clean streams.
Removing the proposed M83 highway from our master plans is urgent, because as long as it’s kept in our master plans, it can be funded and built at any time. It would destroy forested parks in Germantown, Gaithersburg, and Montgomery Village used by thousands of residents. We need our forests now more than ever for climate resilience and public health protection.
The time is now – 2025 – for the Montgomery County Council to remove the proposed M83 from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways. This action will clear the path forward for sound transportation alternatives, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), expanded MARC train service, and full dedicated funding for WMATA (Washington Metro Area Transit Authority).
The proposed M83 highway is not an active project, but its presence in our Master Plans blocks progress - because it keeps elected officials from fully funding bus and rail transit systems. If built, M83 highway would intensify summer heat emergencies, and worsen air and water pollution in the Upcounty.
I urge you to vote to fully cancel the proposed M83 highway by removing it from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.

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