In the days following Vihstadt’s re-election victory, the Coalition for Smarter Growth – which supports the streetcar – said the election shouldn’t be taken as a de-facto referendum on the project. “We are confident that the streetcar will continue to stand up to scrutiny,” the organization said. Its executive director, Stewart Schwartz, said he couldn’t get into the politics of the matter because he worked for a non-profit that isn’t allowed to take political stances. But he said the organization would “join with Arlingtonians in making a substantive case for this as a critical long-term economic-development and transportation investment.”
Author: Claire Zippel
Analysis: Demise of Columbia Pike streetcar now possible, but not imminent
In the days following Vihstadt’s re-election victory, the Coalition for Smarter Growth – which supports the streetcar – said the election shouldn’t be taken as a de-facto referendum on the project.
“We are confident that the streetcar will continue to stand up to scrutiny,” the organization said.
Its executive director, Stewart Schwartz, said he couldn’t get into the politics of the matter because he worked for a non-profit that isn’t allowed to take political stances. But he said the organization would “join with Arlingtonians in making a substantive case for this as a critical long-term economic-development and transportation investment.”
Arlington election shouldn’t stop streetcar
But a hard look at the streetcar and the record of transit and transit-oriented development in the region demonstrates that new transit investments are a critical economic development tool for Northern Virginia, according to the coalition. A 2013 study for the U.S. calculated that the economic value of transit for a jurisdiction could be up to $1.5 to $1.8 billion.
Public meeting on high speed rail held in Richmond
Stewart Schwartz, who lives on Church Hill and works in Washington, believes that what’s important to businesspeople is not necessarily speed but reliability. “If you can know that you’re going to be 90, 100 percent reliable, then you can make your meetings in Washington or vice versa,” he said. “But you won’t take the train if the train is routinely late. We know now that (Interstate) 95 is completely unreliable from Fredericksburg north in terms of on-time performance. What would make the train competitive is reliable on-time performance.” Schwartz is executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth and commutes to Washington three times a week.
Purple Line advocates try to put a happy face on Hogan’s victory
The Coalition for Smarter Growth press release said that might not be the case, citing a Hogan radio interview in October in which he said he was “not really opposed to either project,” and that both the Purple Line and Red Line are “worth considering.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Hogan deflected questions about the fate of the Purple Line.
“No one would deny that Hogan is more skeptical about the project than Brown and has expressed that skepticism forcefully at times,” read the release. “But to declare the project terminated before the day-after-the-election is even over is, to say the least, wildly premature. It is important to remember that there is a big difference between campaigning and governing.”
D.C. commits to projects to advance the city’s long-range transportation plan
Over the next two years, cyclists in the District will have more bike lanes, pedestrians will have more sidewalks and bus riders will enjoy stops equipped with digital screens that show bus arrival times.
In addition, some of the city’s major bridges will begin undergoing repairs and several key studies of the city’s rail infrastructure and the transit needs of the growing 16th Street corridor will be completed or be well underway.
At least that’s the plan of the District Department of Transportation, which last week unveiled a list of projects and initiatives it aims to pursue over the next two years as the first steps in its long-range transportation priorities.
MoveDC, which looks ahead to 2040, envisions a wide transit network that includes a streetcar system, dedicated bus lanes in major commuter corridors, expanded Metrorail service in the downtown core, an active water taxi system and 200 miles of on-street bicycle lanes.
With the plan, the city aims to expand transit options while deterring driving through the use of toll lanes on the city’s gateways and charging a congestion fee to motorists entering downtown.
“MoveDC is about being able to expand choices for all modes or methods of getting around the city and making transportation increasingly safe and accessible,” Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) said in releasing the plan. “It continues to lead us down the path of being greener, healthier and more economically competitive as well as a safe city for everyone.”
To get there, DDOT plans on tackling 36 key steps over the next two years. These include capital investments in critical infrastructure, the advance of several transportation studies and policy changes.
Transportation officials say they plan a major undertaking in repairing critical infrastructure, with a goal to reduce by half the number of structurally deficient bridges. Work began last week on the replacement of the 16th Street Bridge over Military Road, and DDOT says it plans improvements at several other bridges, including the Key Bridge in Georgetown and the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge over the Anacostia River. That project will begin next year and includes a new bridge with wide sidewalks and space for bicycles, officials said.
Other key steps over the next two years include:
- Completion of DDOT’s traffic signal optimization project to improve timing and traffic flow and increase pedestrian safety. The city plans to finish optimizing its 1,600 signals by 2016.
- Adding sidewalks in at least 25 blocks where they are missing, with priority given to areas near schools, parks and transit.
- Improving pedestrian safety at 20 or more intersections.
- Completion of the Klingle and Kenilworth/Anacostia Riverwalk Trail projects and advancing the Rock Creek and Metropolitan Branch Trail projects.
- Expanding the bike network by installing or upgrading 15 miles of on-street bicycle facilities.
- Completion of bus priority improvements. DDOT plans to create dedicated bus lanes on Georgia Avenue from Florida Avenue to Barry Place, provide transit signal priority on 16th Street and offer real-time arrival information in bus shelters citywide. DDOT officials say they plan to work with Metro to implement signal improvements in at least 10 locations on high-ridership corridors to expedite bus service.
As part of its short-term goals, DDOT will proceed with several studies, including how to increase bus capacity in the 16th Street NW corridor, where some transit users and advocates have been calling for the implementation of dedicated bus lanes. The agency also plans to advance a study on bicycle infrastructure on the east side of downtown, the federal environmental review process for the streetcar system and a comprehensive rail plan for the city.
DDOT Director Matthew Brown said the short-term action plan will keep DDOT and other agencies on track to advance the big ideas in the plan. Officials say a discussion of the 25-year, $54 billion moveDC initiative and a plan for funding it are still needed. Gray said the plan also recognizes the need to create a reliable long-term revenue source for Metro. And among the most immediate concerns are restoring funding for the proposed 22-mile streetcar network. The D.C. Council voted to sharply roll back Gray’s proposed budget for the streetcar lines. Last week, Gray administration officials announced they will push to spend $800 million for a transit network with only about eight miles of streetcar line within the next decade.
Gray said he has every confidence that the moveDC plan will be carried out. “I don’t know what changes future mayors will make in this document, but I really think the fundamental direction in this plan will be sustained.”
Some transportation advocates say the plan sets reasonable goals and will serve as a strong framework for where the city wants to be in 25 years, and they expect future administrations to follow it.
The plan was crafted after a year-long public process to provide D.C. residents, and nonresidents who commute to the District, a guide to a variety of alternatives to driving.
“The moveDC vision plan sets out the right overall agenda for the city,”said Cheryl Cort, policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “It’s based on important sustainability goals, like how do we give people better transportation choices by making walking and bicycling safer and more appealing and how do we make transit work more efficient and more reliable.
“The two-year action plan shows us step by step how we are going to move forward,” she said. “We think that this plan is not really the possession of any one administration, but was created through a very thoughtful, inclusive process with the public and we certainly feel that we are owners of this plan and will be pushing on the decision-makers to speed up implementation.”
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D.C. Council passes weakened affordable housing law; tempers flare before election
Even an advisory opinion by the chief financial officer would be the first time the District would be required to give an outside party access to data on the disposition of public land. Cheryl Cort, policy director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said it was also important that the bill would make it District policy to first seek affordable housing whenever the development of public land is at issue. Whether the bill will be signed by Gray, however, is unclear.
Testimony to the DC Zoning Commission In Support of Portner Place on U Street NW
We applaud this innovative project led by the Portner Place Tenants Association as an outstanding contribution to the U Street neighborhood. Not only did the Portner Place Tenants manage to save their homes through a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) action, they doubled the affordable housing opportunities with family-oriented units and amenities. This proposal also restores the pedestrian-scale fabric of the V Street and U Street blocks with buildings that relate to their streets, provide front-facing entrances, and offer ground floor retail on U Street.
Purple Line: How to grow without leaving folks behind
“The discussion is about how to ensure that the Purple Line is doing what it should to bring people together with jobs and services and still protect those who might not earn a lot of money, but want to benefit from the transit without being unable to afford it,” adds Cheryl Cort, policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
Audio and Transcript: Policy Director Cheryl Cort on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show
CORT Well, we are really excited about this plan. I’ve been involved with transportation for many, many years in the region and in D.C. And this is really the first time that we have such a clear vision on how our city is — how we can shape the change of our city to really meet the challenges of today and the future and to really make sure that we’re creating a more walkable, bikeable and transit-accessible city.