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      suburban and rural areas that recognize their distinct needs and ensure
      mobility into the next century.

      Regional Transportation Policies

        MDOT will selectively expand its highway and transit systems to
        improve mobility and respond to the diverse needs of various
        transportation users.
        MDOT will maximize the use of the existing transportation network and
        manage the demand for new facilities by providing market-based
        incentives to encourage economic revitalization and job growth.
        MDOT will provide transportation improvements and services that
        address travel between and within the Baltimore and Washington
        regions.
        MDOT will connect major employment and activity centers with multiple
        transportation options, including transit and bike and pedestrian
        facilities where appropriate.
        MDOT will make use of available technology for highway incident
        management to increase the efficiency and capacity of the
        transportation system.
        MDOT will increase the efficiency and attractiveness of transit with
        programs such as "universal" farecards, transit vehicle locator
        systems and, where they are more efficient, by using smaller buses.

        In urban areas MDOT will:
        favor transit alternatives.
        strive to increase transit ridership on existing systems.
        provide a level of maintenance that responds to heavy automobile and
        pedestrian volumes.
        In suburban areas MDOT will:
        provide a network of high occupancy vehicle lanes and busways with
        access to park and ride facilities.
        manage travel demand by providing or supporting programs and services
        to encourage use of transit, carpool, walk, or bike to work.
        provide high capacity transit in corridors where it is feasible.
        In urban and suburban areas, MDOT will:
        integrate highway and transit planning as a way to preserve
        transportation options for future needs.
        support innovative transit service options such as flexible route and
        suburb-to-suburb bus service, as well as coordinate transit service to
        increase the mobility options available to transportation system users.

        In rural areas MDOT will:
        ensure the safety and accessibility of the highway network to support
        the economy.
        support demand responsive transit and paratransit services.

      Smart Growth, Smart Transportation Element

      Sprawl development, a byproduct of the automobile age, consists of
      widely scattered and discontiguous pockets of residential and business
      development. Over time that has led to the expansion of urbanized areas
      into the outer edges of suburban and rural areas. Factors such as lower
      priced land, a popular preference for the quality of life that
      accompanies new suburban and rural life, and the lure of potential tax
      revenues from development to local areas fueled the growth of sprawl.
      Maryland's Smart Growth initiative targets this problem. Among other
      things, Smart Growth directs infrastructure investments to "Smart Growth
      Areas" as a way to encourage development in these areas rather than
      undeveloped areas.

      Over time Maryland residents are paying the costs of sprawl, including
      the loss of open space; deterioration of air and water quality;
      disinvestment in older urban communities that are already served with
      infrastructure; and the direct costs of providing the roads, schools and
      utilities to new developments. Most notably from a transportation
      perspective are the economic opportunity costs and aggravation
      associated with overused and chronically congested State highways. The
      combination of deliberately dispersed homes, offices, shops and the
      design standards that assume access by personal vehicle have created a
      situation where meeting basic needs requires the use of a personal
      vehicle. Additionally, the efficiency of the existing transportation
      network is reduced when travel patterns change from the traditional
      radial suburb-to-central city trip to a circumferential suburb-to-suburb
      trip. These changing trip patterns reflect the movement of jobs and
      people from Maryland's cities to suburban residential developments and
      office parks.

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