Actual picture of the ICC under construction.

The InterCounty Connector is going to be built. Whether the decision was wise or foolish, get used to the idea, ’cause it’s gonna happen. Environmentally speaking, about the only positive thing that can be said about the ICC is that maybe it will divert some growth that would have been leap-frog sprawl in the upper I-270 corridor towards parts of Burtonsville that are already suburban. Overall, the ICC will still increase Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), which is a step in the wrong direction. It will contribute to the problem of induced demand, will take money away from transit projects like the Purple Line, will encourage more auto-oriented land use, and will disrupt watersheds in eastern Montgomery County. It is, overwhelmingly, an environmental loser.

The fact that planners cancelled the ICC’s bike trail was salt in the wound. That they did it for ostensibly environmental reasons was just insulting.

So, having learned that this thing will happen no matter what, and that project planners do not have a big-picture understanding of environmentalism, the Environmental Defense Fund probably made the right decision in settling its lawsuit and getting something in return as a concession, instead of nothing at all. That $2 million will be spent on cleaner school buses doesn’t exactly free the ICC of environmental guilt, not even close, but at least it’s something.

Small victories are better than no victories.