Dear Dr. Gridlock:To call this “secret” and a “vehicular tunnel” implies that the county was trying to pull a fast one over the community, and that just isn’t true.
…
Because the conceptual renderings are the company’s proprietary intellectual property and cannot be made public at this time
If I am reading this right there are two plan sources being discussed.
[1}Metro produced a report in July 2009 that analyzed five designs to address pedestrian access between the Naval Medical Center and the Metro station. All plans excluded consideration for bicyclists and integration of the needs of the surrounding communities. After the Metro report was published, [2]a local builder [Clark Construction Group] submitted an unsolicited proposal that was far superior to any of the Metro designs. The builder’s concept would serve every rider arriving at the station — rail, bus, car/vanpool and cyclists. The concept took into account concerns from the community.
But
That proposal [the one that included cyclists???] wasn’t included in the TIGER grant application. In fact, under the new process, the proprietary concept cannot be considered as part of the alternatives to be developed and evaluated.
I’m not sure if I am reading that right or not but it sounds to me that the plan that did not include cyclists (which is against MD State Law) is seeking a TIGER grant and the “far superior” plan has been put on the back burner.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013101465.htmloldId.20100201125324707
I’m also wondering if this can be used as a confession that Metro is in noncompliance with state law.
§ 2-602. Public policy.
The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest for the State to include enhanced transportation facilities for pedestrians and bicycle riders as an essential component of the State’s transportation system, and declares that it is the policy of the State that:
(1) Access to and use of transportation facilities by pedestrians and bicycle riders shall be considered and best engineering practices regarding the needs of bicycle riders and pedestrians shall be employed in all phases of transportation planning, including highway design, construction, reconstruction, and repair as well as expansion and improvement of other transportation facilities;
(2) The modal administrations in the Department shall ensure that the State maintains an integrated transportation system by working cooperatively to remove barriers, including restrictions on bicycle access to mass transit, that impede the free movement of individuals from one mode of transportation to another; and
(3) As to any new transportation project or improvement to an existing transportation facility, the Department shall work to ensure that transportation options for pedestrians and bicycle riders will be enhanced and that pedestrian and bicycle access to transportation facilities will not be negatively impacted by the project or improvement.