Rockville is the Montgomery County seat and sits at the heart of the I-270 corridor, between Bethesda and Gaithersburg. I-270 runs north-south along the west side of the city, with local and express lanes that split and merge near the Montrose Road and Shady Grove interchanges. Rockville Pike, part of MD 355, runs north-south through the middle of town and is lined with shopping, offices and apartments. MD 28 crosses east-west, Veirs Mill Road heads southeast toward Wheaton, and Falls Road runs south toward Potomac. The Intercounty Connector, a toll road, runs east from the Shady Grove area toward Olney and Laurel.
Inside the city, Rockville Pike and Hungerford Drive carry heavy traffic all day, and Gude Drive, First Street and Montrose Parkway serve as crosstown routes. Rockville Town Square, the county government center and the courthouse sit downtown near the Metro station. I-270 and Rockville Pike back up every rush hour, and the local-express lane splits on I-270 make breakdowns tricky. Older neighborhoods like Twinbrook and the West End have driveways and quiet streets, while King Farm and Fallsgrove are planned communities with townhouses and garages. Parking in the newer town centers is mostly garages and metered streets.
The Metro Red Line stops at Twinbrook, Rockville and Shady Grove, and MARC and Amtrak trains stop at the Rockville station. Ride On buses cover the county. Plenty of people commute by train, but most still drive, many to the biotech and government offices along the I-270 corridor. The Universities at Shady Grove and the Montgomery College campus add student traffic, and the county government center draws heavy weekday parking downtown.