Bus Rapid Transit Plans May Cut Through Belward Farm

A major transit network could be proposed to run through , according to a report released Tuesday.

The Montgomery County Transit Task Force released a report Tuesday outlining and according to a graphic posted in The Washington Post, BRT network could cut through the farm.

Heirs to former Belward Farm owner Elizabeth Banks are trying to .

on the farm.

John Timothy Newell, lead plaintiff and Banks family spokesperson, stated the following in a press release Thursday:

"While I have no objection to the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), I think the County and the State are premature with their plans for the alignment of the CCT. They have it bisecting through the middle of Belward Farm. Johns Hopkins is prohibited under the deed restrictions from selling or donating any of the property, that would include to the county or the state. Belward was promised to be a Hopkins owned and operated college campus with a private campus road network, not a six lane state road bisecting the property with a State run mass transit system running along with it.

Ultimately, we trust the Montgomery County Courts will find that Johns Hopkins University has no right to proceed with their profiteering venture in conjunction with Montgomery County, and will instead force the University to honor the original intent of my Aunt Liz’s donation: that a low-rise suburban Johns Hopkins University campus be built on Belward Farm."

The Belward Farm lawsuit, John Timothy Newell et.al. v. Johns Hopkins University, was originally filed November 10, 2011 in Montgomery County (MD) Circuit Court.

The case regarding Belward Farm and what Johns Hopkins University can do with the property will begin July 6 with a scheduling hearing before Judge Ronald B. Rubin.

Do you think a bus rapid transit network is needed for the development on Belward Farm to be a success? Tell us in the comments.