Montgomery County group Action Committee for Transit forwards us the following list of recommended improvements to Montgomery’s bus system that could be implemented immediately. The list is part of a letter sent to Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, advocating for rail on trunk lines such as the Purple, and for use of “bus rapid transit concepts as a means of upgrading bus service” elsewhere in the county.

1. Rockville: At Church St./Hungerford Drive intersection, move stop line for cars approaching intersection on westbound Church Street to the east, beyond the driveway used by buses exiting the Metro station, so that buses leaving Metro station are not blocked by automobiles backed up at signal.
2. Rockville:Reduce period of signal cycle at Church St./Hungerford Drive intersection to one-half of current duration (so that average wait until next green light is cut in half).
3. Bethesda: Reduce period of signal cycle from 100 to 50 seconds at Woodmont/Edgemoor and Old Georgetown/Commerce intersections where buses exit Metro station.
4. Bethesda:Adjust signal synchronization so that buses leaving Bethesda Metro and turning left onto Woodmont Ave. hit green lights when turning left onto Montgomery Ave. and at subsequent signals on Montgomery Ave.
5. Medical Center: Allow left turns by buses from northbound Rockville Pike onto Cedar Lane at all hours.
6. Glenmont: Increase the duration of the green signal for buses leaving the Metro station onto Georgia Avenue.
7. Glenmont:Adjust signal synchronization so that buses leaving Metro station and turning left onto Georgia Ave. hit green lights at subsequent intersections (Georgia/Layhill, Layhill/Glenallen, and Georgia/Randolph intersections).
8. Glenmont:Increase the duration of the green signal for left turns from southbound Georgia Ave. onto Randolph Road.
9. Silver Spring: Allow westbound buses on East-West Highway to use existing right-turn lanes to bypass queuing at Jones Mill Road and 16th Street. (This is an element of the TSM alternative in the Purple Line DEIS but can be implemented independently.)
10. Montgomery College: Move bus stops at Montgomery College’s Germantown and Rockville campuses from beyond parking lots to directly in front of the academic buildings.