County council adopts 2025 highways and transit technical update, removes M‑83 northern extension

The Montgomery County Council on July 29 adopted the 2025 technical update to the Master Plan on Highways and Transitways, approving committee recommendations that remove several small street segments, reclassify selected parkways and delete the northern extension of the Mid County Highway (M‑83) from the plan.

The Transportation and Environment Committee had forwarded its recommendations after public hearings and additional outreach; Chair Glass said the changes were largely technical but that M‑83 has become a “phantom project” that is no longer being considered in planning and is not funded. Planning project manager Sofia Aldrich briefed the council on key elements of the update, including full incorporation of the Complete Streets design guide, a new "growth corridor boulevard" street type and revised target speeds intended to make streets safer for all users.

Councilmember Balcom proposed language to expand a corridor study and to ensure the county evaluates the feasibility and implementation timeline for improvements from Clarksburg to Germantown rather than relying on unbuilt projects. That amendment passed unanimously. Balcom also pressed for study funding and told colleagues she could not support the master plan absent concrete near‑term projects for her district; she later indicated she would press to accelerate a study of up‑county needs.

Councilmember Glass moved the adoption of the plan as amended; Councilmember Lukey seconded. The final vote to adopt the technical update was 10 in favor, 1 opposed. The single recorded opposition came from Councilmember Balcom, who had argued the plan does not yet deliver the highways or transit Up County residents need and urged swift study and follow‑through.

The update concurs with the Planning Board on removing small street segments (DuPont Avenue, Elton Road, Rosedale Avenue and Walsh Street), recommends reclassifying segments of several parkways pending MCDOT review, and includes selected transitway additions and removals in consultation with the county's BRT planning. The plan also adopts previously approved countywide transit ideas—such as third‑track heavy rail on the MARC Brunswick line and aspirational metro expansion in the master plan text—but council members noted those remain long‑term, unfunded objectives.

Councilmembers debating the measure emphasized two competing priorities: the need to be honest about projects that are not feasible or funded, and the need to deliver realistic, funded alternatives for Up County residents who face long commutes. Several members said the practical effect of removing M‑83 is to focus planning on near‑term, fundable solutions such as improved bus service, targeted roadway improvements and an accelerated feasibility study for the corridor between Clarksburg and Germantown.

The council adopted an amendment (co‑sponsored by Balcom and others) to add clarity in the adoption resolution that aspirational projects should not be relied upon for current land‑use capacity decisions, and included language expanding the scope of an implementation and feasibility study. Councilmember Balcom said she will introduce a special appropriation in the fall to accelerate that study.

What happens next: staff will incorporate the committee's amendments into the adopted resolution and the planning documents. The council directed staff to move forward with the expanded study language; Councilmember Balcom said she will seek funding in the FY‑26 special appropriations process to speed that work. The council also announced related technical corrections identified by planning staff would be addressed in the final adoption package.