Author: Cheryl Cort

Learn about Prince George’s Transit Vision Plan

Learn about Prince George’s Transit Vision Plan

Image by Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation

On May 22, 2025, RISE Prince George’s and CSG hosted a discussion on the county draft Transit Vision Plan (TVP), which seeks to create a more vibrant and connected county for all. The Transit Vision Plan is a five-year strategic framework for improving the county’s public transportation, developed through extensive public input. The county is seeking input from the public – go to an upcoming public meeting and check out the website.

Event materials – click here to view the presentation and video recording.

Transit Vision Plan video recording on CSG YouTube channel

Transit Vision Plan website

Event: Zoning for Positive Change in DC

Event: Zoning for Positive Change in DC

How can plans and zoning regulations shape vibrant, mixed-use, walkable communities? On April 23, 2025 we hosted a discussion with Code Studio, one of the national leaders on using innovative form-based approaches to zoning to guide change and protect what’s best about our neighborhoods. 

Speakers: Colin Scarff and Rene Biberstein, Code Studio; Moderated by Ellen McCarthy, Ward3Vision

This event is part of our informational series as the District kicks off DC 2050 — the Comprehensive Plan rewrite in spring of 2025.

Review the recording on YouTube here.

cover slide
Code Studio

Co-sponsored by Coalition for Smarter Growth and Ward3Vision

Take action: Support passage of MD transportation reforms!

Take action: Support passage of MD transportation reforms!

Thanks to you and other advocates, we have advanced a set of transportation reform bills through the Maryland House of Delegates. Now we need to do a final push to win adoption in the Maryland Senate so Governor Moore can sign them into law! 

This legislation to guide Maryland’s transportation priorities is especially important if the state adds new revenues and spending. Key bills in the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee that CSG supports are:

Transit-Oriented Development (HB 80) – MDOT’s amended bill relieves parking mandates and allows mixed use development in proximity to Metrorail, Purple Line, and most MARC stations. It also removes potential obstacles to transit-oriented development plans on state-owned land. 

Transportation and Climate Alignment Act (HB 84) – MDOT is supporting this bill that would require the agency to evaluate its transportation projects to ensure they help Maryland meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets and provide alternatives to driving. 

Metro Funding Modification Act (HB 467) – Maryland, DC and Virginia came together in 2018 to successfully fund Metro’s capital needs. As a result, Metro service today is faster, more frequent, and more reliable. However, the $500M in annual funding was not indexed to inflation, risking future funding shortfalls and declining reliability and safety. This bill would index the funding to inflation. 

Work Group on Reorganization of MTA (HB 517) – Creates a study group to separate the MARC, Purple Line, and Commuter Bus systems from MTA’s local Baltimore transit focus. This would better ensure a focus on modernization and improved operations for MARC and a successful Purple Line service.

More transportation funding – The just released joint Senate/House budget proposal would increase transportation funding by $500 million per year using an increase in the state tax on capital gains and other measures.

Thanks for helping build a better Maryland!

Downtown DC walking tour, March 18, 2025

Resources:

Here are some key Downtown DC revitalization documents for you to review. The latest edition of the State of Downtown Report, by DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), will be available April 22, 2025. 

DC’s downtown is vital to the success of the entire city and region. We’ll stay engaged and partner with DowntownDC BID, Golden Triangle BID, DC government, and the community to catalyze downtown’s transformation into a great place to be – to live, work, shop and visit.

Testimony: Support for the Flats at Glenridge Station, DSP-23008 & DDS-24002 (Prince George’s)

Testimony: Support for the Flats at Glenridge Station, DSP-23008 & DDS-24002 (Prince George’s)

March 10, 2025

Mr. Peter Shapiro, Chair

Prince George’s County Planning Board, M-NCPPC

1616 McCormick Drive, Largo MD

Via: pgcpb@mncppc.org

RE: Support for the Flats at Glenridge Station, DSP-23008 & DDS-24002

Dear Chair Shapiro and members of the Board:

Please accept this testimony on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG). CSG advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all. We work extensively in suburban Maryland, focused on Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. 

We would like to express our support for the Flats at Glenridge, DSP-23008 & DDS-24002. The proposed 245-apartment building, with a small amount of office space, offers families affordable homes right next to the Glenridge Purple Line station, along with close proximity to retail, including a supermarket. The site is less than a quarter mile from the station and MD 450, and by direct connection would be about 300 feet from the station.

This proposal is the first major step towards implementing the vision for a walkable Glenridge Transit Village outlined in the Annapolis Road Sector Plan. The apartment building offers amenities like a playground and a plaza with landscaping. Most importantly, these 245 homes give moderate and low income families the opportunity to live next to a rail transit station, and local-serving retail. 

This affordable transit-oriented development helps more people rely on sustainable transportation options and reduce the need to drive or own a car. We appreciate the unit mix offering a variety of unit sizes, including many 3-bedroom apartments. 

The project provides important contributions to county and community goals, including:

  • Affordability – the proposal will provide homes affordable at and below 60% of median family income. These are quality, new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom homes to address residents’ need for low-cost housing. Transit-accessible housing also reduces household transportation costs;
  • Environmentally-friendly location – allowing more families to live here in a compact, walkable environment reduces traffic, pollution and crashes by giving households options to walk and ride transit more, and drive less;
  • Better communities with transit-oriented development – more homes in this location, inside the Beltway and next to rail transit and existing retail, helps to transition this area to the envisioned Glendridge Transit Village where more homes and businesses can be focused in a walkable, transit-oriented environment. A vibrant, walkable Glenridge Transit Village will benefit nearby neighbors who can enjoy better retail options, a more human-scaled environment, and transportation choices.

We recognize that the site is currently wooded, but it is a fragment surrounded by development. Allowing more people to live here, steps away from frequent rail transit at this inside the Beltway location means less driving, traffic and pollution for households who otherwise might have to live elsewhere. Additionally, the project will fund offsite forest conservation to offset trees removed from the site, while providing modern stormwater management onsite to control runoff and water quality. 

We have two recommendations for improving this project:

  1. Securing a direct walk pathway from the building to the Purple Line station entrance. 
  2. Reducing parking and allocating that space and cost savings to other benefits for residents. The large amount of parking — 337 spaces for 245 units is a 1.37 ratio. Development standards reduce by half the required amount due to the site’s proximity to transit.

Conclusion

We urge the Planning Board to approve this application as a major step forward for the Glenridge Transit Village and the benefits it will provide to the larger community and county.

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely,

Cheryl Cort

Policy Director