“It comes down to whether we can have better planning in Jefferson County,” Schwartz said. “You should grow within your small town and gracefully expand those towns with greener streets and [greater] walkability.”
Category: News
CSG in the News: Loudoun County Breaks Ground On A New “Missing Link” Road
Schwartz says officials appear to be building an outer beltway link by link rather than drawing attention to it by calling it an outer beltway. “They’ve condemned Northern Virginia into a ceaseless cycle of road building. It is not enhancing the quality of life.”
CSG in the News: Billions Have Been Spent Trying to Solve NoVA’s Traffic Problem — Is it Enough?
While we’re seeing some progress, CSG’s Schwartz says federal and state funding programs still have a strong bias toward road expansion over transit spending.
RELEASE: TransAction Vote
Tonight, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) will vote on a proposed $75 billion transportation plan for the region. The “TransAction” plan provides a laundry list of projects through the year 2045 from which the agency can pick and choose for funding decisions.
New UN climate report points to compact cities, moving people not just electric cars, to cut emissions
This week, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres stated starkly “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.” The agency’s Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window is an alarming read, finding that the adopted policies of all the world’s nations would lead to global warming of 2.8°C over this century – an apocalyptic outcome.
LTE: Opinion: NVTA regional transportation plan unaffordable and ineffective
Prior to midnight Monday, September 19 comment deadline, twelve non-profit organizations submitted a joint letter urging the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to reject its proposed $76 Billion TransAction 2045 long-range transportation plan.
CSG in the News: Prince George’s council pulls ‘Machiavellian’ zoning bill after uproar
September 16, 2022 | Washington Post | Daniel Wu
“The inclusion of CB-91 with those bills was “an extra Machiavellian move,” Cheryl Cort, policy director for the nonprofit Coalition for Smarter Growth, wrote to The Washington Post. Had they all passed, CB-91′s supermajority requirement would have solidified the outgoing county council’s final zoning amendments, passed under a lower burden.”
RELEASE: Rock Creek Park Advocates Charge New Road Plan Is “Not Good Enough”
Recreation and conservation advocates today sharply admonished the National Park Service (NPS) for deciding to allow commuting auto traffic on upper Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park for nine months out of the year.
CSG in the News: Critics irked by long-term transportation proposal
“A plan that we could never afford is not a plan. And if we can’t afford it, and dozens of the projects can never be built, then the NVTA can’t claim that their plan would reduce congestion,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
RELEASE: Groups challenge bloated $75.7B NOVA transportation plan
Officials release bloated $75.7B transportation plan for NoVA is unlikely to “solve congestion”. Needed – a new approach: A plan that improves access to opportunity, reduces driving, saves families money, and fights climate change.