WMATA (Metro) is facing a $750 million annual operating budget shortfall in Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), starting July 1, 2024, just 10 months away. If our state and local governments in Maryland, Virginia and DC don’t step up to address the ongoing funding need, our region’s mass transit would suffer from catastrophic cuts.
At the same time, we’ve seen a lot of press attention to potential public subsidies for a new football stadium for the Washington Commanders. So, the Coalition for Smarter Growth compared the cost of closing the WMATA budget gap to recent Maryland and Virginia stadium subsidy proposals.
Category: News
RELEASE: Advocates Call for Alternatives to Governor’s Toll Lane Plan
Today the Moore Administration announced it will seek a federal grant to advance former Gov. Hogan’s defective plan for toll lanes on I-495 across the American Legion Bridge to the I-270 spur, and the I-270 west spur.
Our partners and policy makers have proposed a range of toll-lane alternatives that can provide congestion relief alone or in combination. These include bus rapid transit networks on parallel roads; incentives for telework and flexible work hours; converting a lane on I-495 for bus, vanpools and HOV; reversible lanes during rush hour; metered ramps and other features included in the successful Innovation Congestion Management Program on I-270; addressing the East-West economic, racial and commuting divide through transit-oriented development; quickly completing the Purple Line and planning for Metrorail or light rail over the American Legion and Woodrow Wilson Bridges.
CSG in the News: Supporters and opponents make their case on county’s off-street parking overhaul
Sonya Breehey, Northern Virginia advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said the proposal will benefit housing and climate.
“The proposed zoning amendment offers to better balance future parking demand with other communities like equity, affordability, environmental sustainability and effective land use,” she said.
CSG in the News: Parking reimagined as a fix for housing, climate woes in Fairfax County
Now, “there are vast acres upon acres of paved-over surfaces that are wholly underutilized,” Breehey said. “This is an opportunity to sort of fix the wrongs of the past as we try to create a different future for the county.”
CSG in the News: Opinion: Wider roads fail and the public knows this
“CSG’s Induced Demand fact sheet for local, regional, and state officials – released today – makes clear the failures of road expansion,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
RELEASE: Wider Roads Fail and the Public Knows This
In short, the public understands that “induced demand” is real, even if they are not aware of the term itself. Today, when officials in the DC region are planning for at least 900 more lane miles of highway and arterial road expansion and amid the ongoing debate over high-occupancy toll lanes for 495/270 in Maryland and 495 through Alexandria, the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) urged officials to reconsider these plans.
RELEASE: Prince George’s County Safer Streets Legislation Hailed by Community Advocates
The Walkable Urban Streets Act will require county officials to apply its own urban street design standards and update the standards to keep abreast with national best practices. Better street designs will make urban centers safer and foster transit-oriented economic development.
CSG in the News: West Falls Church Metro mixed-use development approved, but parking decision still to come
Sonya Breehey, an area resident and Northern Virginia advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, praised the inclusion of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, green spaces and workforce and affordable housing.
CSG RELEASE: Failure cannot be an option for Metro funding
Metro’s projected $750 million fiscal cliff for FY25 would dramatically reduce service: no service after 9:30pm, only 37 (out of 135) bus lines, and 20- to 30-minute wait times. We are calling on elected officials to take immediate action and come up with a long-term and dedicated funding solution for operating needs.
RELEASE: CODE RED/PURPLE – Time to slash region’s transportation emissions
“The CODE RED and now CODE PURPLE air quality alerts for our region must be a wake up call for our region’s elected officials,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of CSG. “Increased forest fires fueled by climate change are putting human health at risk on top of increases in severe floods, sea level rise affecting our region, more frequent drought affecting food production, and increases in insect-borne diseases.”