This statement is submitted on behalf of the Campaign for Inclusionary Zoning regarding Zoning Case 04-33G. We want to thank the Commission for its interest in this case. The District is experiencing an affordable housing crisis of historic significance. As DC’s economy and population grows, housing prices rise, and low-income DC residents with stagnant wages are left struggling to pay for housing. In this environment, the District must take action to sharpen each tool in the city’s affordable housing toolbox, especially inclusionary zoning, the only tool that by design creates affordable homes in high-cost neighborhoods.
Author: acustis
JOINT STATEMENT on I-66 agreement between Governor McAuliffe and Virginia legislators by Coalition for Smarter Growth, Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club – Virginia Chapter, Piedmont Environmental Council, and Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2016
CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth, (703) 599-6437
Trip Pollard, Southern Environmental Law Center, (804) 318-7484
RICHMOND, VA — Three leading smart growth, conservation, and transportation reform advocacy groups released the following joint statement on the announced agreement between Governor McAuliffe and state legislators on I-66 inside the Beltway:
Our organizations have supported the Governor’s package of transit, HOV, and tolls for I-66 inside the Beltway as a far more effective approach than widening. This package of solutions will move 40,000 more people through the corridor in the peak hours faster and more reliably, and it won the support of Fairfax, Arlington, Falls Church, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.
Therefore, we are deeply disappointed by legislators of both parties who have pressed to undo this effective demand-management and people-moving package in favor of a widen-first approach. In doing so, the legislators have failed to understand the settled science of induced traffic where widened roads in metropolitan areas quickly fill up again. They also failed to understand the benefits of funding transit through the toll revenues, and the effectiveness of the package in moving more people through the corridor during peak hours.
We’re grateful to the Governor for fighting for the package of solutions he has championed for I-66 inside the Beltway. Although we are very disappointed that the widening is being accelerated before more effective solutions are given the opportunity to work, the agreement reflects a political compromise. That said, we urge the Governor and local governments to accelerate the funding and implementation of transit and supportive ride-matching and transit marketing necessary to ensure we maximize the number of people using transit and carpooling before the widening takes effect in 2019.
We urge legislators to understand that an economically successful region like ours cannot build our way out of congestion through highway expansion. That widening is just a band-aid with an increasing cost to people’s homes, neighborhoods, schools, parks, and health.
We have long made the case that investment in transit and smart growth, which can be coupled with road and parking pricing, is the most effective approach to addressing traffic congestion in the near, medium, and long term. Creating a network of walkable, transit-oriented centers and communities allows us to maximize walking, biking, and transit trips, while minimizing driving. It reduces the sprawling development which is the chief contributor to our traffic congestion, and creates the types of communities so in demand today.
Finally, it is important to recognize that Arlington County’s internationally recognized success in coupling transit-oriented development (TOD) with transit investment has done more to reduce regional traffic congestion than any other jurisdiction or any highway expansion in Northern Virginia, while increasing the region’s economic competitiveness. Arlington’s success is a compelling case for why we should continue to maximize our investment in transit and TOD across Northern Virginia rather than widen highways all the way to DC.
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies needed to make those communities flourish. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of over 60 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use. Learn more at SouthernEnvironment.org.
The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club is 15,000 members strong. We are your friends and neighbors working to build healthy, livable communities, and to conserve and restore our natural environment. Learn more at sierraclub.org/virginia.
Since 1972, the Piedmont Environmental Council has proudly promoted and protected the natural resources, rural economy, history and beauty of the Virginia Piedmont. Learn more about the Piedmont Environmental Council at pecva.org.
The Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation has campaigned for a ‘wiser, not wider’ I-66 inside the Beltway since 1999. Learn more at acstnet.blogspot.com.
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RELEASE: Groups Respond to Legislators – Urging Support for the I-66 Inside the Beltway Package of Solutions
Coalition for Smarter Growth, Southern Environmental Law Center, Piedmont Environmental Council, Sierra Club – Virginia Chapter, Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2016
CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth, (703) 599-6437
Trip Pollard, Southern Environmental Law Center, (804) 318-7484
RICHMOND, VA — Today, several smart growth, transportation reform, and conservation groups reemphasized their support for the McAuliffe administration’s proposal to improve traffic flow along I-66 inside the Beltway, in response to a letter a group of state legislators recently sent Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation voicing their opposition to the plan.
“We understand the concerns of legislators and constituents about the tolls, but the Governor’s package of solutions is many times more effective than the widening those legislators are pressing, and it represents both a progressive and a fiscally conservative approach to a major transportation problem,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
“VDOT’s analysis of the congestion reduction benefits of various projects found that the administration’s proposal to open the HOV lanes to all drivers while charging a toll for single-occupant vehicles, and using the toll revenue to fund transit, strategic widening, and carpooling improvements along I-66 would be six times more effective than widening alone. It would move 40,000 more people through the corridor faster and more reliably,” said Trip Pollard, Director of the Land and Community Program of the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Under the current multi-jurisdictional agreement, widening would be considered after the tolling, carpools and transit are given an opportunity to work and their effectiveness is fully evaluated.
“The problem with widening as the default response to every traffic problem, is that induced demand causes newly widened roads to fill up again in as little as five years,” said Schwartz. “I expect that to happen even more quickly on I-66, as the bottleneck gets pushed to a new location. Besides, where do additional cars go as they try to exit onto local streets in Arlington or Constitution Avenue in DC? We need a demand management solution, and that’s what the Governor’s package provides.” Studies in 2005, 2009, and 2012 built toward the 2015 proposal. All determined that a widening-only approach wouldn’t work very well.
Tolls on I-66 will make it possible for single-occupant drivers to use the lanes, and dynamic congestion-pricing will ensure that carpools, transit, and single-occupant vehicles are guaranteed a minimum speed of 45 mph through the corridor, ensuring trips are faster and more reliable.
“The revenues from the tolls will also provide as much as $10 million per year to provide increased commuter bus service and rail cars needed for 8-car trains on Metro’s orange line, helping even more people to move through the corridor to get to jobs,” said Douglas Stewart, Transportation Chair for the Sierra Club – Virginia Chapter. “It’s important for the legislators to recognize that increased transit service represents capacity expansion that is more efficient, effective and sustainable over the long-term.”
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of over 60 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use. Learn more at SouthernEnvironment.org.
Since 1972, the Piedmont Environmental Council has proudly promoted and protected the natural resources, rural economy, history and beauty of the Virginia Piedmont. Learn more about the Piedmont Environmental Council at pecva.org.
The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club is 15,000 members strong. We are your friends and neighbors working to build healthy, livable communities, and to conserve and restore our natural environment. Learn more at sierraclub.org/virginia.
The Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation has campaigned for a ‘wiser, not wider’ I-66 inside the Beltway since 1999. Learn more at acstnet.blogspot.com.
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RELEASE: Coalition for Smarter Growth voices support for rapid transit funding in Montgomery County CIP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2015
CONTACT
Pete Tomao
Montgomery County Advocacy Manager
Coalition for Smarter Growth
516-318-0605
pete@smartergrowth.net
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD— A coalition of business leaders and transit advocates is endorsing a council initiative to jump start Montgomery County’s plan for a Rapid Transit System (RTS).
Yesterday, the County Council transmitted a letter to County Executive Leggett advocating a six-pronged approach for getting RTS back on track, which included funding study money in the CIP FY17-FY22, a quicker timeline for RTS implementation, and the development of a viable financing plan. Seven of the nine councilmembers are in support. “It is great to see the council take action and work toward next steps for RTS. The council letter makes clear that the RTS needs to be on a quicker path toward implementation,” said Pete Tomao, representing Communities for Transit and the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) as CSG’s Montgomery County Advocacy Manager.
“A strong majority of the council recognize the importance of prioritizing RTS in the current CIP, while building consensus on how to move forward with this vital project. We must keep momentum moving forward for an RTS” said Tomao.
“The current timeline for RTS does not have service starting until the middle of the next decade, that is simply too long. The RTS needs to be branded and marketed correctly and put on a path toward completion. It is essential that the Council and County Executive work together and follow through on the points laid out in the Council letter” said Tomao.
The six-pronged approach includes the following:
- Marketing and branding
- Fund planning and preliminary engineering studies in the FY17-22 CIP
- Develop a real and viable financing plan
- Push MTA to develop a more rapid timeline and to work with partners
- Ensure that MTA does not “over engineer” RTS
- Continue to dedicate high level staff to effort
Additionally, Communities for Transit and the Coalition for Smarter Growth are supportive of ongoing efforts to create more cost effective plans for Phase 1 of Montgomery’s RTS Network: the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), MD355, US29, and Veirs Mill Road. As some of the largest transit projects in the state, it is important that funds become available for Phase 1 of the RTS Network, and that cost-effective financing options are developed.
With companies like Marriott demanding transit accessibility, Montgomery County needs to prioritize transit and transit-oriented development utilizing Metrorail, the Purple Line, and RTS if the county wants to enhance its economic competitiveness. The RTS is predicted to provide $871 million in net fiscal revenue to Montgomery County over 25 years. Building this system is crucial to keeping Montgomery competitive with Northern Virginia.
“Not only is rapid transit a must for enticing and retaining businesses, it is a must for social mobility. Recent reports have shown that access to transit is the greatest indicator of one’s odds of escaping poverty. Shifting funds from roads to transit not only helps business, it connects residents to jobs, and supports upward economic mobility,” said Tomao. “By 2040, Montgomery County will have 20% more people, 40% more jobs, and 70% more congestion. As the Council letter makes clear, we need RTS and we need it now.”
Background: Every two years the Montgomery County Executive submits a plan for capital improvements. The improvement plan encompasses six fiscal years. It takes a vote of at least five council members to approve or modify a proposed improvement plan, and six votes to amend a previously approved capital program. The capital budget provides an important opportunity to shift funds from roads to transit.
About the Coalition for Smarter Growth
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies needed to make those communities flourish. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.
About Communities for Transit
Communities for Transit (CFT) educates the public on the planned and unanimously-approved Rapid Transit System for Montgomery County, MD. CFT focuses on community outreach to build awareness of the compelling case for rapid transit as an effective response to our unsustainable traffic problems. Learn more at communitiesfortransit.org.
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STATEMENT: New “Roadmap” Report on Regional Economy has Key Omissions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2015
CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz
(703) 599-6437
stewart@smartergrowth.net
WASHINGTON DC — Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz today issued the following statement in response to the release of a new report on the DC region’s economy, “Roadmap for the Washington Region’s Future Economy.”
“The report has many good ideas including the need for more housing and especially more affordable housing, but it fails to bring all of sectors to the table. In particular, the non-profit community, which is particularly strong in the Washington DC region and includes many working on the housing issue, wasn’t a part of the process.
“Groups like the Coalition for Smarter Growth, affordable housing providers, Casa de Maryland, the Urban Institute, and others, who have much to offer, were not a part of the conversation in contrast to their inclusion in the Council of Government’s Region Forward vision planning. As a result, the report didn’t address issues that might be identified by non-profit organizations working in the community. For example, the significant challenges presented by the east-west economic divide in the region, and the significant number of jobs not accessible by transit, are not addressed.
“The report makes some mention of the benefits of urban development but doesn’t adequately emphasize the importance of creating walkable, transit-accessible urban centers for attracting next generation workers and companies. At a time when knowledge workers can move anywhere and are increasingly attracted to regions with easy access to nature and outdoor recreation, the report doesn’t address the economic benefits of protection of parks, open space, and recreational areas. The combination of vibrant walkable urban centers and nearby open space and recreation has become critical for attracting the next generation workforce.
“The Coalition for Smarter Growth has longstanding concerns about the intentions of the 2030 Group which pressed for this ‘Roadmap‘ effort. The 2030 Group was formed in the wake of and to a significant extent in opposition to Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments‘ Region Forward compact among all 21 COG jurisdictions. Region Forward established a framework for regional growth, sustainability and equity, with a particular emphasis on transit and transit-oriented development.
“Bob Buchanan, leader of the 2030 Group, has failed to give credit to Region Forward and other significant areas of regional cooperation. In forum after forum in the suburbs, Buchanan and the 2030 Group have focused on advocating for the Outer Beltway with new upriver Potomac bridges, and pressing for an appointed regional transportation authority to select projects like an Outer Beltway.
“The Coalition for Smarter Growth strongly opposes a regional authority of appointed officials who would be unaccountable to the voters and more focused on picking mega-projects than on the comprehensive approach to land use and transportation adopted by Region Forward. We oppose the Outer Beltway, because it would worsen the east-west economic divide, undermine sustainable transit-oriented development, and increase sprawling development.
“Where the 2030 Group is focused on an Outer Beltway, the Coalition for Smarter Growth and most elected officials are focused on investing in transit and the vibrant, urban transit-oriented centers that are so much in demand by the new generation workforce and companies.
“We’d like to see the non-profit community at the table and the discussion brought back under the umbrella of the Council of Governments. There are some big regional growth, housing, equity and transportation issues to discuss – as the report makes clear, but we need everyone at the table.”
About the Coalition for Smarter Growth
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.
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Coalition for Smarter Growth President “tired of the Arlington bashing,” says proponents of widening I-66 “apparently don’t believe in the science of induced traffic”
Check out the video of Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, speaking in Alexandria at the December 9 meeting of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), and the partial transcript below. Schwartz does a great job, in a short amount of time, of explaining why we need smart growth solutions in the I-66 corridor, and throughout Northern Virginia, NOT more roads and more roads-inducing sprawl development.
The CTB meeting at which Stewart Schwartz spoke covered a number of transportation-related topics, including this mouthful: “Authorization to Impose Tolls on I-66 Inside the Beltway, Advancement/Allocation of Toll Facilities Revolving Account Funds, and Approval of a Memorandum of Agreement with the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission Relating to the Transform66: Inside the Beltway Project.” What on earth is that? Well, if you followed the closing weeks of the 2016 Virginia General Assembly elections, or if you simply turned on your TV in those closing weeks, you’re almost certainly aware that the issue of I-66 tolling came up, over and over again, in the most demagogic and misleading fashion. I’d note that, in the end, despite Republicans spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on these ads, none of the candidates they attacked (Jennifer Boysko, Kathleen Murphy, etc.) lost. In fact, it’s arguable that the ads backfired, if anything, as candidates like Kathy Smith won by far larger margins than had been expected. So, not sure about the political potency of this line of attack, but it certainly didn’t work in 2015.
Anyway, the bottom line is that the McAuliffe administration is generally on the right course with regard to addressing traffic congestion on I-66 inside and outside the Beltway. As the Coalition for Smarter Growth and many others understand, the LAST thing we should want is pouring more pavement, for a wide variety of reasons, including: a) increasing road capacity simply encourages more sprawl and more traffic (“induced demand”); b) locking in, and even adding to, fossil-fuel-powered transportation infrastructure is the 180-degree wrong way to go, at a time when we need to be rapidly phasing out greenhouse gas emissions if we want to avoid frying our planet; c) building new roads is a ridiculously expensive proposition, and for no good reason (see points “a”and “b”), other than to line the pocket of the road-building folks.
As for the McAuliffe administration’s plan for the I-66 corridor, what it does is basically harness Free Market Economics 101 to address/ameliorate a problem in a cost-effective, market-oriented fashion. Why Republicans of all people would oppose this is kind of mind boggling, until you consider that they also have flip-flopped and now oppose other conservative ideas, such as the “individual mandate,” “cap-and-trade,” etc.
The bottom line, with regard to widening I-66 inside the Beltway, is that Arlington County is absolutely correct: this should be a last-ditch option, after all other options have been tried and ONLY if those other options fail. Frankly, widening I-66 is just as misguided and short-sighted as building new fossil-fuel-fired infrastructure, before we’ve maxed out on energy efficiency. Not smart at all.
With that, here are Stewart Schwartz’s comments at the Dec. 9 meeting of the CTB. Enjoy.
Regarding the previous speakers, they apparently don’t believe in the science of induced traffic, that it is a very real problem. They apparently think we can widen Constitution Avenue in DC. There is no place for these cars to go. If you build it, they WILL come on a wider road. That’s why your combined transportation demand management, transit, HOV solution is the best solution for that corridor.
And I get a little tired of the Arlington bashing. Arlington has probably done more to relieve traffic congestion in Northern Virginia than any other jurisdiction…Their transit-oriented development has sited millions of square feet of development, tens of thousands of housing units, in locations where their vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled are lower than anywhere else in Northern Virginia. And they have, in the process, maximized transit, walking and biking. That IS a regional transit-oriented development…not what I’m hearing, which is a 1950s, can-we-please-build-rings-of-outer-beltways-and-widen-every-road.
We have to change our land use to do so in a more sustainable way…We DO care about the regional economy, we DO care about being competitive. That means we should maximize great placemaking and transit-oriented development to attract these companies, to retain the Millenials and the next-generation creative employees. And we should do our transportation smart, in a demand-management way like we’re talking about…
RELEASE: Politics are Frustrating Good Planning and Long-term Solutions for I-66
NORTHERN VIRGINIA — “The swirling and politicized debate over what to do with I-66 is frustrating good planning and long-term solutions,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “On one hand, many are seeking to derail a good demand management solution for inside the Beltway; on the other hand, planning for expansion of I-66 outside the Beltway is sailing along even though it takes us further away from the long-term solution we need to address the underlying cause of high traffic volumes.”
TESTIMONY to DC Council RE: Support for PR21-307 (McMillan Sand Filtration Site)
We wish to express our support for the resolution to extend the Land Development Agreement given the scale and difficulty of this undertaking. It’s not uncommon for complex projects to take more time to walk through the process. Of course we wish that the whole process could be expedited, but we recognize that a significant project like this is large and complex.
Metro to Mosaic: A Fairfax transformation
walking tour – October 24, 2015