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Greenbelt urges more outreach, raises routing concerns in response to Prince George’s County transit vision plan
Summary
City staff briefed council on the county’s draft Transit Vision Plan and agreed to submit a comment letter requesting more municipal consultation and clarifying impacts to local bus service and bike-share infrastructure.
Greenbelt city staff told the City Council they will send formal comments to Prince George’s County seeking clearer municipal consultation, fuller technical reports and better local outreach after reviewing the county’s draft Transit Vision Plan.
Jamie Spear of the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation briefed council and described the plan as a five‑year roadmap for transit service, funding, workforce and infrastructure. Staff said the county released the high‑level plan on May 9 and extended public comments to June 13; many of the technical background reports were not available to municipalities at the time of the briefing.
City staff raised several specific concerns: the plan’s short public comment window, lack of technical reports available for municipal review, and routing changes tied to WMATA’s Better Bus Network that could discontinue parts of existing service on Crescent, Green Hill and Hillside Road. “Parts of [route 11] will be discontinued, particularly along Crescent, Green Hill, and Hillside Road,” a staff briefing noted.
The council also highlighted local priorities the plan should address: ensuring the planned bike‑share station at the Metro is installed to create a connected network; explicit municipal coordination on transit‑oriented development; and exploration of bus rapid transit (BRT) or bus priority on Kenilworth Avenue (MD 201) and Greenbelt Road (MD 193).
Councilmembers and residents urged a more proactive schedule. Resident Bill Orleans suggested the council request an immediate work session with county staff before the June 13 comment deadline so residents could speak directly about service changes. Council agreed to authorize staff to draft and circulate a comment letter that incorporated the memo’s analysis and points raised at the meeting.
City staff said they would prepare the draft letter for council circulation and possible online poll if timing required. The council voted in favor of submitting comments to the county; staff said they would attempt to schedule further coordination sessions, including municipal briefings or local outreach events in Greenbelt.
The council also asked the county to publish the technical reports that underpin route recommendations so municipalities and riders can assess impacts in more detail before changes are implemented. City staff noted some bus route transitions to WMATA take effect in late June under the Better Bus Network and urged better signage and rider notification for discontinued stops.
