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.
Category: District of Columbia
Mayor Vincent Gray kicks off moveDC plan
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Tuesday released an ambitious long-range transportation plan that he said would expand the city’s 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, looks ahead to 2040 and 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 facilities.
To ensure the plan is implemented, Gray launched an action plan Tuesday that lays out 36 key steps the city will take over the next two years to advance the vision. The two-year action plan includes some capital investments in infrastructure, the advance of several transportation studies and some policy changes.
“MoveDC is about being able to expand choices for all modes or methods of getting around the city,” said Gray, whose term ends in January. He said he has every confidence that the 25-year plan will be carried out. “I don’t know what changes future mayors will make, but the fundamental direction in this plan will be made.”
Some of the key steps over the next two years are:
- Begin construction of a new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge over the Anacostia River. Transportation officials project construction will begin next year. A new bridge would provide wide sidewalks and bike facilities and serve as an important gateway for people east of the river into downtown.
- Complete DDOT’s traffic signal optimization project to enhance the District’s traffic signal network. The city plans to finish optimizing each of the 1,600 signals by 2016.
- Add sidewalks where they are missing, with priority to areas near schools, parks, and transit.
- Improve pedestrian safety at 20 or more intersections.
- Complete the Klingle and Kenilworth Anacostia Riverwalk Trail projects and advance the Rock Creek and Metropolitan Branch Trail projects
- Continue the expansion of the bike network by installing or upgrading 15 miles of on-street bicycle facilities
- Complete bus priority improvements: DDOT plans to install dedicated bus lanes on Georgia Avenue from Florida Avenue to Barry Place, transit signal priority on 16th Street, and real-time arrival information in 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 the bus service.
- Reduce by half the number of structurally deficient bridges. DDOT officials say in the pipeline are investments for improvements at several of the city’s most used bridges including the 16th Street Bridge and the Key Bridge.
DDOT Director Matthew Brown said the short-term action plan will keep DDOT and other agencies on track to advance the vision. Officials say a discussion and a plan about how to pay for the $54 billion moveDC plan have yet to be addressed. Gray said 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 system, something that he says imperils the system before it even begins service.
“This funding needs to be restored,” Gray said. “It is going to cost the city more money to not have the streetcar program fully in the city.”
As part of the 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.
Cheryl Cort, policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said the plan provides a big vision for how the city will move in the future and welcomed the two-year action plan as a good strategy to advance the vision.
“We can check and keep track and see how we are going to move forward,” she said.
Read the original article here.
Letter to Muriel Bowser in Support of DCHA’s Affordable Housing Proposal
We support DCHA’s proposal for 1125 Spring Road to create 200 rental homes, 90% of which would be affordable. We support the proposed wide range of affordability, including deeply affordable units at 30% AMI that are so desperately needed as market pressure continues to eliminate more and more of the city’s most affordable stock. We also ask that some of the units be use for permanently supportive housing.
Testimony for the Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Amendment Act of 2014
We are submitting comments in support of the Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Amendment Act of 2014 and for Council member Grosso’s amendment to cover pedestrians in addition to cyclists with this bill. The District of Columbia’s continued use of contributory negligence presents major barriers for cyclists and pedestrians alike to recover damages in the event of a collision, and widespread misunderstanding and uneven enforcement of bicycle and pedestrian laws only compounds the problem.
Age-friendly report calls for better sidewalk maintenance, transportation improvements
By 2017, officials want D.C. to be a World Health Organization-defined “age-friendly” city for older adults. A report released by the Coalition for Smarter Growth today finds that, while the city has policies in place that work toward this goal, there are many improvements to pedestrian and transportation infrastructure needed.
DC can do more to help seniors age in place
DC is doing a lot to be a more age-friendly place, but there are still many ways the city could do more. In particular, local policymakers and planners can focus on three areas to help DC’s older adults get around more easily: pedestrian safety, public transit, and alternative transit options. All of these, along with better mobility management options, will make it possible for seniors to have better choices and feel more comfortable in their communities as they age.
Why Growing Older in DC Doesn’t Have to Mean Moving Out
Of course, there is no place like home. But when you’re an elderly resident of the District, sometimes it seems that there is no place to go without significant barriers. Senior citizens make up 11% of Washington DC’s population. And living in a city that requires mobility to take advantage of brings more challenges with advanced age. To keep the capital amenable to the elderly while on the go, it seems necessary to focus on three things: pedestrian safety, public transit, and alternative transit options.
Testimony: DC Zoning Update on alternative language September 2014
We support most of the proposed changes in the hearing notice for subtitle C, but specifically want to express opposition to the DC Office of Planning proposal to: “Remove the Priority Bus Corridor from the areas within which required parking may be reduced by up to 50% as a matter of right as originally advertised.” Instead, we support the alternative language: “In the Alternative: Retain the Priority Bus Corridor as an area within which required parking may be reduced by up to 50% as a matter of right, as originally setdown on September 9, 2013.”
Moving an Age-Friendly DC: Transportation for All Ages
Moving an Age-Friendly DC: Transportation for All Ages encourages local decision-makers and advocates to respond to the needs of an increasing population of older adults by focusing on age-friendly transportation options. Following national best practices in three areas – the pedestrian environment, fixed-route public transit, and alternative specialized transportation – CSG assessed the District’s progress towards becoming an age-friendly city.
CSG testimony to DC Zoning Commission on “alternative language”
around in our city’s long decline and current rapid growth, this zoning update is urgently needed. We wish to reiterate our overall support for the ZRR. In particular, we wish to address some of the proposed changes to the language set down last year on September 9, 2013 contained in the hearing notice for September 8-11, 2014 hearings.