October 22, 2009
Press Release
CBF Analysis: Highway Likely Won't Make Billingsley Safer
New Information Also Refutes County Claim that Mattawoman Creek Would be Protected from Pollution
(WALDORF) – Records and documents reviewed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) contradict claims by Charles County officials that the proposed Cross-County Connector (CCC) highway will make local roads safer and less congested, and that Mattawoman Creek will be protected from the highway's environmental impacts.
The records indicate the majority of accidents on dangerous Billingsley Road occur on a four-mile stretch that will not be replaced or improved at all if the CCC is built. Those accidents likely will continue.
Also, Charles County has the worst record in the state for protecting forests from development, and county officials estimate developers will clear at least another 1,550 acres of woods to make way for houses and other development near the highway. County forests are critical filters of rainwater running into the Mattawoman.
"The facts speak clearly: the county has not justified the construction of this expensive and destructive highway which will cut through the heart of the Mattawoman Creek watershed," said Kim Coble, Maryland executive director for CBF.
County commissioners and other officials have said the proposed six-mile CCC is needed to reduce traffic accidents on Billingsley Road, to alleviate traffic congestion and to support future development in the area. They have tried to assure the public the four-lane highway and the new development it will help spawn will not further pollute the Mattawoman, which features "as near to ideal conditions as can be found in the northern Chesapeake," state biologists say.
CBF reviewed a traffic analysis conducted by a county consultant, as well as sheriff's department accident data, and correspondences between the county and state and federal permitting agencies. The records indicate, among other things:
- About 60 percent of accidents on Billingsley Road occur on a stretch that will not be replaced or improved if the CCC is built.
- Traffic congestion and volume in the general area of Billingsley Road will not decrease if the CCC is built, and real relief will require more new roads at an additional cost to taxpayers of perhaps tens of millions of dollars.
- Over 90 percent of accidents on Billingsley are caused by motorists driving too fast or other human errors. Billingsley also becomes especially slick in wet weather compared to the average rural road. To make the road safer, the county should explore rumble strips, reduced speed limits and other improvements along the whole road rather than building a parallel new highway.
CBF also reviewed building permits data, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Conservation Act reports. That information indicates:
- Historically, the county has not been a good steward of forests which serve as the best protection for water quality in streams. Over the past 15 years Charles County has cleared a greater percentage of forests subject to Maryland's Forest Conservation Act than any other county in the state, cutting about 7,785 acres.
- The county has given preliminary approval to an additional 3,261 building lots in the area around the proposed highway. Development along the roadway corridor is expected to clear at least another 1,550 acres of forests.
- The highway and new housing it brings could produce an estimated 11,000 pounds of nitrogen pollution a year, with the majority of the pollution stemming from forest loss. If realized, this extra nitrogen could exceed the limit for new pollution under the adopted "pollution budget" for cleaning up Mattawoman Creek.
On July 1, CBF and other organizations in the Smarter Growth Alliance for Charles County presented Trouble Ahead, an alternative plan for Charles County's growth. Instead of using county tax dollars to support sprawl development that ultimately costs taxpayers more money and destroys the county's quality of life, the report suggested resources would be better spent on a light rail system connected to the Metro system, revitalization within existing communities such as Waldorf, and planning and zoning changes to better manage growth. The 2008 Southern Maryland Transportation Needs Assessment made a similar suggestion.
Smarter Growth Alliance will hold a Public Forum Nov. 4 at the College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. to give the public a chance to learn more about the cost and impacts of the highway, and the county's growth plans.
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