CSG strongly opposes this bill, in particular the content of section 21-08. Transportation, land use, and housing decisions are intertwined. Decisions about transportation greatly affect our quality of life, shape how we move through our communities, and carry major equity and climate implications.
Category: Montgomery County
CSG in the News: Montgomery County Council bill would loosen parking requirements for new housing developments
“Removing mandatory parking minimums in locations with great access to transit is a common-sense fix,” said Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery Advocacy Manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “It complements our county’s investments in more frequent transit, protected bike lanes and bike sharing, and safer walking throughout the county.”
CSG in the News: Montgomery County leaders want to change parking rules, reduce driving
“Parking can be a shockingly large expense, and that expense gets passed on to residents in higher rents,” said Carrie Kisicki, the Montgomery advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, an advocacy group that pushes for affordable housing, better public transit and safe streets in the greater Washington region.
CSG comments on Ride On Reimagined
A majority of riders also specifically identified more frequent service as a higher priority for them than shorter distances to bus stops: “When given the choice, most prefer shorter waits between buses more than they want shorter walks to the bus stop.”
For this reason and according to Ride On Reimagined’s own survey data we believe that frequent bus service should be a higher priority than on-demand (Flex) service. Plans for future bus service should reflect the fact that a majority of riders have identified frequency as their top priority.
CSG in the News: “Ride On Reimagined” will bring Montgomery County’s buses into the 21st century — if it’s funded
“And this is something that we’ve been working with WMATA on.” Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery Advocacy Manager, at the Coalition for Smarter Growth, mentioned two important routes in the draft plan, 170a from Bethesda to Germantown, and 102a from Silver Spring to Germantown, with connections to White Oak and Aspen Hill. “The Express routes will be run 7 days a week at high enough frequencies to provide truly useful upcounty-downcounty connections,” she explained, providing service to areas with great need.
Event Materials: Ride On Reimagined Virtual Open House with MCDOT (Nov 2023)
The Ride On Reimagined study is a comprehensive, forward-looking assessment of our county’s bus network intended to guide the future development of our transit system.
Action Alert: Support More Frequent Bus Service for Montgomery County
Weigh in to tell Ride On that frequency must be a priority for high-quality bus service that gets people where they want to go, and share your thoughts on other proposed changes!
Event Materials: The problem with parking mandates: what does Montgomery County have to gain from reform?
Thank you for joining the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Montgomery for All on August 28, 2023 for a conversation about how reforming minimum parking mandates can help us achieve our climate, housing, and equity goals.
CSG Comments: Montgomery County Pedestrian Master Plan
The Coalition for Smarter Growth strongly supports the Planning Board draft of the Pedestrian Master Plan. Its comprehensive approach to pedestrian safety and accessibility will advance our county’s climate and equity goals, help us reach Vision Zero, and establish Montgomery County as a model for other jurisdictions to follow.
The actions recommended in the Pedestrian Master Plan are visionary and ambitious—as we must be when tackling issues with the weight and urgency of climate change and increasing pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
We urge the Transportation & Environment Committee to support the Pedestrian Master Plan in full, and advance this visionary plan for a safer and more equitable Montgomery County.
Montgomery County: Great smart growth events tonight, tomorrow, all month!
Here’s news of a great event tonight and tomorrow. And the next weeks are full of exciting opportunities to support an equitable, climate-resilient future—which is certainly feeling urgent as our region experiences another round of Code Red air quality.