Hogan should slow down toll plan for D.C. suburbs

Gov. Larry Hogan’s flawed thinking on his proposed highway expansion plan is based on conclusions drawn without following the necessary steps (“Maryland Gov. Hogan wins key approval for toll lanes project in D.C. suburbs,” June 5). Widening the Capital Beltway and I-270 with toll lanes encourages people to drive rather than taking cleaner and more affordable public transit. The expensive rush hour rates only serve affluent professionals who are willing to pay exorbitant fees. As documented by Josh Tulkin of the Sierra Club, the increased traffic will result in more greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere, fueling climate change. Governor Hogan should not have dismissed transit as part of the solution to congestion.

Another mistake is conducting the environmental impact study while soliciting a private company for a partnership. Mr. Hogan follows the required steps without concern for the environmental impact. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich complains that the governor has not consulted with local officials whose counties are directly impacted by the interstate expansion plan. As a Gaithersburg resident, I urge Governor Hogan to slow down and listen to constituents concerns before continuing to pursue the $11 billion plan that we must pay for if it fails.

Road expansions needed as long as population grows

In your story on Gov. Larry Hogan’s plans to build toll lanes with a public-private partnership to help relieve severe traffic congestion in parts of Maryland near the District of Columbia (“Maryland lawmakers, advocacy groups urge rejection of Gov. Hogan’s toll lanes plan in D.C. suburbs,” June 3), the organization Citizens Against Beltway Expansion noted that: “when you widen roads, congestion catches up. It doesn’t provide a long term solution.”

Of course it doesn’t. No infrastructure expansion to sustain our growing population is ever a “long-term” solution, not as long as the population keeps growing. Business as well as government leaders across the United States want population growth to sustain the economy, and with that population growth comes infrastructure expansion. Do the Citizens Against Beltway Expansion want to stop population growth? Then maybe stop having babies and stop allowing any immigration into the US.

The United States is a motorized environment. Cars and trucks are an absolute necessity. Public transportation simply does not cover even a fraction of outlying areas and does not come even close to meeting the transportation needs of a sprawling urban/suburban environment.

Get real, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion. The U.S. population is growing faster than ever, and with that comes infrastructure expansion such as roads. It is needed now and will continue to be needed in the future. Governor Hogan clearly has the right view of this.

We can protect ourselves against cyber attacks

Baltimore’s leaders are right to be concerned about the recent ransomware attack that has affected the city (“A third of Baltimore employees have computer access restored after ransomware attack,” June 4). This unfortunate and costly event highlights the rise of cyber-attacks. However, they mustn’t let fear paralyze advancement and innovation. Organizations and companies must understand the potential threats and recognize their information collections as the critical assets they are, rather than potential liabilities. The wise management of information from source to destruction provides an opportunity to foster trust among constituents, customers, suppliers and employees.

Information security is now everyone’s concern. Organizations that implement a framework based on international best practices benefit by putting measures in place to mitigate risk and enable quick responses to any issues that surface. Diligent best practice makes a real difference to their success. We now live in a world where digital thefts exceed physical. It makes sense that government and business leaders should introduce and maintain excellent standards and practices to protect information in their custody and not allow fear to dampen their ambitions or impact day-today operations.