Connecting Communities

As a candidate for Gaithersburg City Council, I believe that truly connected communities start right here at home. Montgomery County certainly provides a framework with its transit options connecting us to jobs and the Metro for D.C. commutes. However, we need to talk about connectivity within our own city.

It's clear that getting around Gaithersburg, or even to our immediate neighbors, shouldn't be a frustrating ordeal. Consider the example of trying to get from Old Town to Kentlands:

• A drive is just 15 minutes.

• Taking a bus can easily take over 45 minutes, often requiring a transfer.

This isn't just inconvenient; it actively encourages our residents to rely on personal vehicles, leading to:

• More traffic

• A greater need for parking lots

• Frustrating crowding at places we all love to visit, especially on the weekends.

Furthermore, our relationship with neighboring cities like Rockville is crucial. Gaithersburg residents frequently visit Rockville's points of interest, and they come here too. We need to be proactive in establishing strong, convenient transit connections with our neighbors. As your representative on the City Council, I will advocate for these vital links, making it easier for our residents to access opportunities and amenities just beyond our city limits, strengthening our local economy and community ties in the process.

Building a cleaner, more equitable, and accessible future for Gaithersburg absolutely depends on robust public transit. It's disappointing, then, to see decisions made at the county level that contradict these goals. The current county council's support for managed toll lanes on I-270 and I-495 is a perfect example.

The plan on the table has significant issues:

• It doesn't even add new lanes.

• It proposes taking away existing lanes, including the HOV lane, that we, the public, already paid for through our taxes for the I-270 expansion.

Gaithersburg residents deserve to have continued access to these public assets without being charged again.

While we all experience the frustration of congestion, particularly during rush hour on major arteries that impact our commutes in and out of Gaithersburg, the solution isn't to simply toll our publicly funded highways without meaningful expansion. As your representative, I could never support a plan that removes a public good and then makes us pay for it. Instead, I will work tirelessly to:

• Partner with the county government and MCDOT.

• Bring Gaithersburg's voice to the table.

• Demand transit solutions that are reliable, convenient, and establish routes that directly address the critical needs and travel patterns of our residents.

This will truly connect all parts of Gaithersburg and improve our quality of life.