The county wants more tourists. I would settle for visiting Grandma without budgeting for a roadside photo shoot.
Montgomery County wants to improve its tourism strategy. That’s a great idea, Wunnerful, wunnerful!l Before commissioning another brand assessment, could officials explain why visiting my grandparents feels like signing up for a roadside payment plan?
The September 28 committee agenda included Visit Montgomery’s five-year strategic plan, a branding assessment, possible funding changes, and the Sports Tourism Task Force. Housing policy got an afternoon session. That is quite a day of government. Somewhere, a conference-room coffee pot filed a workers’ compensation claim.[1]
I have a tourism slogan ready: “Montgomery County: We Photograph Every Visitor,” then we send you a thank-you note when you get home in the mail.
No consultant required. Send the check to Grandma.
My grandparents live off Connecticut Avenue. Every trip feels like it comes with a potential tourist tax, courtesy of all those speed cameras. I arrive hoping for lunch and leave wondering whether the county has already selected my commemorative license-plate portrait.
And if I am not careful going home, there is the exit tax. Two opportunities to contribute. Such hospitality. Most destinations make you walk through the gift shop; Montgomery County can mail it to you.
Yes, these are speeding fines, not actual tourist taxes. The regular camera schedule starts at $40 for driving 12 to 15 mph over the limit. That is real speeding, and I am responsible for my own right foot. I would still prefer a souvenir magnet.[2]
Then there are the lower speed limits. By July, the county had reduced limits on 33 streets over the preceding year, mostly in residential neighborhoods. WTOP reported that most neighborhood reductions followed residents’ requests.[3]
Nobody wants a drag race outside the kitchen window. However, when officials announce another reduction, I start wondering whether the next tourism campaign will advertise Connecticut Avenue as a walking tour with optional automobiles. Grandma’s leftovers may qualify as antiques by the time I get home. Or Montgomery County will have deployed speed cameras, now called souvenirs of your trip to Montgomery County. You can include that in your Holiday Letter; include that photo. I can just see it. Dear friends and family, this past summer we went to Montgomery County Maryland. The county was so kind; they sent a photo of our car when we got home. The letter said send us the money in thirty days, or it doubles.
Here is where the comedy runs out: people are still dying. Vision Zero has failed Montgomery County.
Montgomery County recorded 44 traffic deaths in 2025, according to state figures reported by The Washington Post.[4]
News flash, MoCo: Vision Zero is not working well enough. The name describes a destination; it does not certify the results.
That deserves precision, too. The county says its safety-corridor programs have reduced serious and fatal collisions on those corridors by 29 percent. That is encouraging. A countywide death total cannot, by itself, prove a particular camera or lower limit failed.[5]
Residents deserve a clear accounting of what works, where it works, and what still needs fixing. Show the before-and-after crash figures alongside the spending. Explain the remaining dangerous intersections. Give engineering improvements, impaired-driving enforcement, and pedestrian crossings the same public attention as the next camera announcement.
The FY27 plan even includes using eligible red-light cameras to enforce speeding during green lights.[5] Excellent. The traffic signal has taken a second job. In this economy, who can blame it?
Meanwhile, the housing discussion deserves more than a ceremonial nod. The county’s oversight report says Montgomery reported building 1,614 affordable units for households at or below 80 percent of area median income during 2021–2024. It also says the Council had not adopted specific affordable-housing targets when the report was published.[6]
We can develop a five-year visitor strategy, but the housing scorecard still needs clearer goals. Apparently, welcoming you for a weekend is easier than figuring out whether you can afford to stay. Perhaps if the county lowered property taxes and gave back the homestead tax credit, itt, it might go toward making the county more affordable.
A sensible Republican response would ask practical questions. How much visitor spending does tourism promotion generate? What does each publicly assisted housing unit cost? Which permitting delays can be shortened? Which road projects actually prevent serious crashes? If you treally want to see real changes, not lip service, you’ll be voting for Esther Wells for County Executive. (https://voteforesther.com/)
Those questions should survive a committee meeting without requiring their own consultant.
I want local restaurants busy, families able to buy homes, and my grandparents safe crossing the street. Make those things easier, and the county will have something worth advertising.
Until then, I will watch my speed, bring Grandma flowers, and leave room in the budget for Montgomery County’s most personalized keepsake.
A picture of my car enjoying its visit.
Endnotes
- The MoCo Show “Montgomery County to Examine Tourism Strategy and Federal Housing Landscape.” September 26, 2026.
https://mocoshow.com/2026/09/26/montgomery-county-to-examine-tourism-strategy-and-federal-housing-landscape/ - Montgomery County Government “County and State Leaders Highlight New Automated Speed Enforcement Laws Effective October 1 to Curb Excessive Speeding.” September 30, 2025.
https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=47686 - WTOP “Montgomery County lowers speed limit on dozens of streets.” July 20, 2026.
https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2026/07/montgomery-county-expands-lowered-speed-limits-in-residential-neighborhoods/ - The Washington Post “Mother, daughter killed in interstate crash with wrong-way driver, police say.” August 31, 2026.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/08/31/mother-daughter-killed-crash-with-wrong-way-driver-i-270-police-say/ - Montgomery County Government “Montgomery County Announces FY27 Vision Zero Work Plan with New Initiatives to Make Roads Safer.” August 11, 2026.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDMONTGOMERY/bulletins/42444d6 - Montgomery County Office of Legislative Oversight. “Local Affordable Housing Production and Preservation Programs Across the Washington Metropolitan Region,” Report 2026-8. May 12, 2026, executive summary.
https://assets.montgomerycountymd.gov/files/2026-05/OLOReport2026-8-LocalAffordableHousingProductionandPreservationProgramsAcrosstheRegion.pdf
Ian Schwartz writes on infrastructure and government accountability for Direct Line News.
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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