The City of Gaithersburg will host the next interagency meeting on bus rapid transit planning for MD 355, following two open houses held by the state to hear from the public on alternatives for the proposed transportation system.
Elected officials from Rockville, Gaithersburg and Montgomery County will gather at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 9, at the Casey Community Center, 506 Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg.
Bus rapid transit, or BRT, is a transit system that uses buses that travel primarily in dedicated lanes, with fewer stops than traditional bus service.
The primary discussion will center on BRT planning, for about 21 miles of MD 355, being coordinated by the Maryland Transit Administration. That section runs from Bethesda to Clarksburg. The state intends to narrow down alternatives developed thus far.
Three sections of seven under consideration lie within Rockville, from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station to Summit Avenue in Gaithersburg, through Rockville Town Center, past Montgomery College and past the Shady Grove Metro station.
This is the third interagency meeting on BRT. The first was hosted by Rockville’s Mayor and Council in December 2014; the second by the Montgomery County Council in December 2015.