Washington Post, Oct. 6, 2018

Some advocates and transportation officials say they expect Metro’s Bus Transformation Project to be a guide for such an overhaul. It will be difficult however, because bus service in the region is provided by as many as a dozen transit agencies, in addition to Metrobus. The multi-jurisdictional nature of the region also complicates any kind of regional approach.

The region needs commitments from the jurisdictions as much as from the service providers, said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. The jurisdictions control the roadways and are responsible for accessibility of bus stops, curbsides and traffic operation improvements that can contribute to better performance of buses. They decide whether to give up general traffic lanes for bus lanes and facilitate the implementation of a signal priority system that gives buses the right of way at traffic lights.

Read more here.

Washington Post, Oct. 3, 2018:

A pro-transit coalition that backed Metro’s effort to secure $500 million a year dedicated funding from the region is calling out Metro leaders for their perceived inaction on the system’s lagging ridership.

In a lengthy missive Tuesday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth singled out the Metro board for its “failure” to commit to additional service, despite analysts and transit experts’ contention that ridership is largely responsive to train frequency. A story in Sunday’s Washington Post detailed how board members were not convinced that adding service was the best course for the system, which faces falling revenue and rising wages, along with a stated need for cutbacks to address decades of deferred maintenance.

“In Sunday’s Post story, the elected and appointed officials charged with the stewardship of our region’s rail and bus system refused to say that they would unite as a body to run more trains, more often, in order to increase ridership,” the Coalition wrote. “Such a move would follow the demands of riders, the recommendations of consultants, and well-known industry best practices.”

Read more here.

Washington Post, Sept. 30, 2018:

Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the pro-transit Coalition for Smarter Growth, said that while the region rallied around Metro’s SafeTrack program and understood the need for drastic measures, such as a preventive maintenance program, the time has come for Metro to restore some service — this coming year.

“There appears to be a very clear tie to less frequent service,” Schwartz said of the ridership problems. “Therefore, if I were on the board I would direct analysis of this, and ‘what would it take to restore more frequent service?’ and then to make the case to the localities and the states.”

Read more here.

Greater Greater Washington, Sept. 13, 2018:

On a recent waterfront walking tour hosted by Coalition for Smarter Growth, Executive Director Stewart Schwartz and Development Division chief at the Alexandria Department of Zoning Robert Kerns both stressed that revitalizing inaccessible public spaces and smarter growth go hand in hand. They say that while other stormwater control measures such as green roofs, rain gardens, and bioretention should be taken when possible, they aren’t sufficient to deal with the amount of water that floods Alexandria’s below-grade river pier.

Read more here.

CSG’s Engagement Director Alex Baca, with Nick Finio, in Greater Greater Washington, Sept. 6, 2018:

Most conventional debates over gentrification in DC position the process as one that replaces long-time black residents with newer, wealthier white residents. Given the context, this framing makes sense: DC has a well-established black middle class and a wealth of black history. And, the most prominent visual signifiers of change — new buildings — are in neighborhoods like Shaw, which had been nearly entirely black in the postwar era.

We don’t suggest that those narratives should cease. Rather, we’d like to emphasize that this cursory look at demographics does no justice to the burdens, primarily born by minority groups, of the dramatic increase in housing prices over the last 20 years.

Read more here.