It's all about the Growth Machine...

Today's Post also has this article, "Rural Life vs. the Road: Md. Residents Fear Connector Will Invite Growth," about development impacts of the Inter-County Connector in upper Montgomery County.

From the article: "Georgia Avenue from Norbeck Road to just south of Olney's town center is one of Montgomery's rural gateways, a place where the downcounty ends and the upcounty begins. The blocks of apartment complexes, punctuated by fast-food places and convenience stores, south of Norbeck give way in these three miles to a driving range, a produce stand and tree-shaded single-family homes set comfortably back from the road.

But Lyons and others in Olney fear that the rural gateway will become a floodgate if the $2.4 billion intercounty connector from Gaithersburg to Laurel becomes a reality. They say a planned overpass on Georgia north of Norbeck will bring more traffic to an already congested intersection. "I think the whole area will look and feel more suburban and less semirural," said Lyons, president of the Greater Olney Civic Association. "There will be pressures and arguments to say, 'The ICC is here -- let's take advantage of it.' "

Development defines the downcounty. Luxury condominiums and high-end retail dominate Bethesda, and places such as Silver Spring and Wheaton are well on their way to being revitalized. County planners say that the north is meant to be different. But residents see a horizon filled with threats. Megachurches, taking advantage of county policy, are buying land in the 93,000-acre agricultural reserve, mostly in northwestern Montgomery. (...) and

"It really opens that area up, and as a result, makes the upcounty more attractive to larger corporate entities," said County Council member Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty).

Roads such as these are about enabling development. There just isn't that much money in building roads to merely aid movement.

Yesterday's Montgomery County Extra has good articles about the Montgomery County Agricultural Preserve and the difficulty of maintaining the line against development "upcounty."

See "A Not-So-Happy Anniversary: Pressure From Builders Mounts as Ag Reserve Reaches Its 25th Year," and "Celebrating the Agricultural Preserve," which is a list of events over the course of the next couple months. Map of the Agricultural Preserve.