Category: CSG in the News

CSG in the News: Route 7 BRT planners welcome feedback at recent Culmore open house

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

October 20, 2025 | Scott McCaffrey | FFXNow

Among the open house attendees was Sonya Breehey, a Falls Church resident who was viewing proposals both as a prospective rider and as a staff member of the pro-transit group Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“This is really important — BRT is really an opportunity,” she said. “So many people ride the bus.”

Breehey also voiced hope that transit improvements would be complemented by pedestrian safety initiatives. A study conducted by the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the immigrant advocacy nonprofit CASA in 2022 found that much of the Route 7 corridor is decidedly unfriendly to those trying to walk or cross.

Read the full story!

CSG in the News: Moore plans to ‘supercharge’ affordable housing. The crisis will still take years to resolve.

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

September 15, 2025 | Sam Janesch | The Baltimore Sun

“What people need to understand, what our legislators and decisionmakers need to understand, is we’re already years behind on making these changes,” said Carrie Kisicki, the Maryland advocacy director for the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition for Smarter Growth. “As fast as they can go into effect, it doesn’t mean our housing market or our housing crisis is going to be fixed in a year or two.” […]

“The problem is actually probably even more acute than we see in the state-level numbers,” Kisicki said, adding that some adults like her who live in the Washington area might consider less expensive options in northern Virginia rather than Montgomery or Prince George’s counties.

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CSG in the News: The W&OD Trail is a Northern Virginia treasure at risk

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

September 11, 2025 | Sonya Breehey, Kevin O’Brien | Greater Greater Washington

The W&OD is a popular 45-mile linear park and trail, providing communities from Arlington to Purcellville a vital connection to active transportation, recreation, and conservation. Yet Dominion’s clear-cutting and a potential long-shot commuter rail proposal could significantly change this important corridor.

As we enjoy and celebrate the W&OD, let’s not be complacent or take it for granted.

Together with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, CSG co-authored an op-ed for Greater Greater Washington explaining why we must act now to protect the trail.

The op-ed has been supported by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Friends of Holmes Run, FairfaxForward, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, Nature Forward, and Bike Loudoun.

Read the full story!

Get Involved: Sign the petition demanding that Dominion halt its clear-cutting plan and return to the negotiating table with NOVA Parks, and stay informed about the campaign.

CSG in the News: Rally Against Widespread Tree Removal On W&OD Trail Planned In Vienna

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

August 28, 2025 | Emily Leayman| Patch

The Rally for W&OD will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the Vienna Town Green (144 Maple Avenue E), which the trail runs through. The rally seeks to stop tree cutting along the trail and get elected officials and decision makers to negotiate a new agreement on the tree maintenance policies. Event sponsors include the Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Nature Forward and Fairfax Families for Safe Streets.

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CSG in the News: County Council votes to abandon M-83 highway plan

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 29, 2025 | Ginny Bixby | Bethesda Magazine

An advocacy group that lobbied against the highway plan praised the council’s decision Tuesday in a press release.

“Plans for M-83 were based on obsolete planning assumptions that are out of sync with what we know today about effectively meeting transportation demand and protecting community and environmental health,” said Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery advocacy manager for the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition for Smarter Growth. “With their vote to remove M-83, the County Council showed we are ready to offer upcounty residents transportation solutions that will offer real relief—not a costly and environmentally harmful false promise.” 

Read the full story here.

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.

CSG in the News: In raucous session, County Council votes 8-3 to approve controversial housing zoning change

Posted on by Carrie Kisicki

July 23, 2025 | Ginny Bixby | Bethesda Today

The Coalition for Smarter Growth released a statement prior to Tuesday’s vote voicing support for the zoning change. The nonprofit advocates for “walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities” in the Washington, D.C. area, according to its website.

“By making it easier to build more duplexes, triplexes, and small apartments near transit and jobs, [the] ZTA is an important step toward more sustainable housing options in Montgomery County,” the statement said. “Measures like this that take on the structural problems feeding our housing shortage are a necessary step to achieve our shared vision of a sustainable, inclusive county for all.”

Read the full story here.

CSG in the News: Critics press their concerns as vote on I-495 Southside Express toll lanes plan looms

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 30, 2025 | Scott McCaffrey | FFXnow

“From the beginning, VDOT’s study has been fatally flawed,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Without more analysis, there is no logical reason for the proposal to move forward, he said.

“The project is not ready,” Schwartz said.

Read the full story here.

CSG in the News: Montgomery County Council to vote on ‘missing middle’ housing plan

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 22, 2025 | Maureen Umeh | FOX 5 DC 

“Montgomery’s economy, the economy of Maryland, is in some trouble right now. If we cannot provide housing, that’s affordable to the workforce, they can’t come to the county and provide their talents and services to the county,” said Stewart Schwartz with the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “Companies will not come to the D.C. region and to Montgomery County if they don’t believe housing is affordable for their workers, they’ll go to places where it is more affordable.”

Read the full story here.