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ABOUT CABE

Citizens Against Beltway Expansion (CABE) is a coalition of civic associations, environmental groups, and concerned citizens in Montgomery County, MD who oppose widening the Beltway and I-270 by hundreds of feet for four privately-owned, for-profit toll lanes (aka "Lexus Lanes"). 

 

CABE promotes a combination of operational road changes, affordable mass transit options, and other approaches focused on helping people travel more effiently to and from home, work, shopping and recreation.

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Here's why CABE opposes Lexus Lanes

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  • Lexus Lanes will have a catastrophic effect on existing businesses and neighborhoods while doing nothing to make traveling easier for the vast majority of commuters in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties.

 

  • Lexus Lanes are an expensive boondoggle benefiting a handful of investors and very rich commuters willing to pay daily tolls on roads that in other states have ranged as high as $44 per trip in rush hour. (States like Virginia)

 

  • Lexus Lanes require very high tolls for reasons other than simple demand. Since few drivers are likely to pay tolls when the free lanes are clear, very high tolls are needed during rush hour to cover operational costs, debt service, and investor returns.

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  • Lexus Lanes don’t pay for themselves and need ongoing taxpayer subsidies to cover costs, pay for repairs, or provide an investor return.

 

  • The Lexus Lane is a flawed model that promises more relief than it delivers while pulling scarce taxpayer dollars away from important programs.

 

  • More state transportation officials are saying highways are not the answer to long commutes caused by a lack of good jobs, affordable housing, and transportation solutions.

 

  • We can do better than Lexus Lanes. Operational road changes, more reliable mass transit, and other approaches can put more people in fewer cars.

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WE HAVE TO ACT NOW.

 

Maryland is moving fast. Surveyors are reportedly conducting soil samples and eyeing homes, businesses, and parks for demolition starting in 2020 (or sooner).  Here's what you can do.

 

  • Tell Your Elected Officials to Stop Lexus Lanes Now!

 

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