Montgomery County lawmakers want answers from Metro leaders about the system’s safety and financial woes, plus the suspended search for its next general manager.
County Council member Roger Berliner announced Thursday that his Transportation Committee will host a Metro forum July 22 in Rockville with the goal of “exploring both short-term and long-term solutions for addressing” Metro issues.
Berliner referenced recent reports from federal oversight agencies that faulted Metro for moving too slowly to fix various safety issues.
“Our community depends on the Red Line. However, as the tragic loss of life at L’Enfant Plaza underscored, and the subsequent investigations by the Federal Transit Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed, the fundamentals for safety are not in place,” Berliner announced, referring to the January incident in which a woman died and dozens were injured when smoke filled a Metro tunnel at the L’Enfant Plaza station in Washington, D.C.
Berliner also said he expects council members and members of the public who submit questions to ask about the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s “serious financial issues,” and disagreements among WMATA board members representing Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., over “what qualities we need in the next general manager."
Former Metro GM Richard Sarles stepped down in January.
In March, the WMATA board suspended its search for a new general manager amid disagreements between board members and news that Metro hadn't submitted the required paperwork to the federal government for $400 million in reimbursements for system upgrades.
Many local leaders, including Berliner, are calling for the board to hire someone who can manage both safety and fiscal improvements.
“Understandably, our residents are looking for answers, not only to what is wrong with Metro at present, but how Metro can ‘right the ship’ now and into the future,” Berliner said. “The forum will ask three fundamental questions: What are the challenges for Metro today? What are the short-term improvements that Metro can make and is making? What is the long-term vision for strengthening Metro?”
The forum is set for 6 to 9 p.m. July 22 in the Third Floor Hearing Room at the Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville.
Panelists at the forum will include District 16 state Del. Marc Korman, WMATA Acting General Manager and CEO Jack Requa, WMATA Deputy General Manager for Operations Rob Troup, WMATA board member Kathy Porter, county Fire Chief Scott Goldstein and other regional transit experts.
Residents can submit questions for the forum by emailing Berliner at councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov.
