Category: District of Columbia

CSG primer: Visualize 2050, our region’s 25-year transportation plan

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

The draft Visualize 2050 plan, our region’s long-range transportation plan, has too many highway and arterial road expansions that will increase driving and climate emissions. We will miss our region’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 – even if there’s a rapid switch to electric vehicles.

Get informed so you can take action on key decisions this fall: 

  • Upcoming key vote on flawed 495 Southside Express Lanes project 
  • Comment period on failing status quo Visualize plan

Source: TPB, with annotations by the Coalition for Smarter Growth

Background on Visualize 2050

  • Visualize 2050 is our region’s long-range transportation plan, prepared by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), a regional body overseen by our local and state officials and transportation agencies. 
  • CSG background article
    • From March 2024, on draft project list that is now being presented for final approval this fall along with its performance results. 
  • 48 organizations criticized the previous plan, Visualize 2045 with very similar projects Letter by 48 regional organizations on Visualize 2045 (May 2022)

495 Southside Express Lanes Project

  • The TPB board will vote in October on whether or not to include the Virginia Department of Transportation’s flawed highway expansion project in the final plan.
  • Background on the project’s flaws, questions that VDOT has not answered, and better alternatives that need to be studied and advanced.

Stay tuned for actions you can take this fall!

  • Be on the lookout for CSG action alerts in September and October ahead of the TPB vote on the 495 Southside Express Lanes project.
  • Formal public comment on the entire draft Visualize 2050 plan will take place in late October through mid-November. CSG will provide a more in-depth overview of the draft plan – stay tuned.

CSG in the News: Does D.C. have the worst traffic? Not so fast.

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 26, 2025 | Rachel Weiner and John D. Harden | The Washington Post

“It’s not news that a successful metropolitan region like the D.C. region has a lot of traffic,” said Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a nonprofit that advocates denser urban areas with less need to drive. Concentrating future growth near transit, he said, “is the best way for our region to grow without choking on traffic.”

Read the full story here.

RELEASE: We know we have traffic congestion. The real news is that we have more solutions to congestion than most regions of the country – and can do better.

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Consumer Affairs released its ranking of the cities with the worst congestion and DC ranked #1. “These rankings routinely show DC in the top four, so it’s not news that our region has congestion. For one thing, it’s a sign of a healthy economy, and in our case, the return to office requirement,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Testimony: Support for Z.C. Case No. 13-14E, modification to Parcels 2 and 4 (Reservoir District formerly known as McMillan) (DC)

Testimony: Support for Z.C. Case No. 13-14E, modification to Parcels 2 and 4 (Reservoir District formerly known as McMillan) (DC)

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

We wish to express our support for the proposed modifications to this PUD (13-14E) for the Reservoir District to allow for greater flexibility given changing conditions over the decade that this proposal has been waiting to move forward.