Washington Post Express, Oct. 22, 2018

Alex Baca, an activist with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said her jaw was broken when she was hit by a car while riding her bike. A third of the people in her office have been hit by cars, she said.

Many vented that the city isn’t putting in bike lanes fast enough or taking other measures to make biking or walking safer.

“Frankly, right now no one believes Vision Zero is a serious undertaking,” City Councilman Charles Allen, D-Ward 6, said at the hearing.

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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.

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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.”

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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.”

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