The Montgomery County Planning Board is recommending a dedicated bus lane for most of New Hampshire Avenue as the County Council prepares to hold a public hearing on the corridor's proposed Flash BRT line Sept. 22.

The recommendation, reported by GGWash on Aug. 12, would make the Route 650 line the county's third rapid bus corridor. Montgomery County's transportation department evaluated five design options for the stretch, and the board, chaired by Artie Harris, endorsed the version that gives buses their own lane for much of the route.

The proposed line would run from the Fort Totten Metro station in Washington, D.C., north through Langley Park and the Food and Drug Administration campus in White Oak, ending at Randolph Road in Colesville. New Hampshire Avenue carries roughly 80,000 vehicles per day where it crosses the Capital Beltway and stretches up to eight lanes wide in some sections.

The corridor lost bus service in 2025 when WMATA's Better Bus network redesign cut routes along the avenue. The Flash BRT project would restore rapid transit connections there.

The dedicated lane is the key change. In some places it could mean converting a general traffic lane, but GGWash Maryland policy director Dan Reed noted Aug. 12 that the road's width leaves room, and that speeding and pedestrian deaths on the corridor make a new approach necessary.

The city of Takoma Park is proposing protected bike lanes for the southern segment, between University Boulevard and the D.C. line at Eastern Avenue. A Purple Line station planned for Langley Park would create a transit hub where the two systems meet.

Safety work is already underway on the avenue. The State Highway Administration is constructing pedestrian safety improvements near the Beltway interchange, according to the county's FY27 Vision Zero Work Plan released Aug. 11. MCDOT Director Chris Conklin said in that Aug. 11 announcement that "the upcoming year is all about safe connections," adding that the department is working on several major corridors to improve safety through Flash BRT projects and stand-alone safety upgrades.

If funded and built, the New Hampshire Avenue line would follow the Route 29 Flash BRT, which launched in 2020, and the Veirs Mill Road line expected to open in late 2028. The county has invested approximately $580 million in the Flash network overall, according to a December 2025 report by The Wash. About 12% of households within a half-mile of a Flash station do not own a vehicle.

As we reported Aug. 7, the county recently adjusted 20 Ride On bus routes as Flash BRT service expanded.

The county's project page lists Justin Willits as project manager. Residents can submit comments to [email protected]. The County Council hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22; a sign-up deadline has not been confirmed in available records.