FAIRFAX, VA — With the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line, news stories and social media are drawing attention to the unsafe conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists on many of the roadways surrounding the stations. While the number of people parking at the new Silver Line stations is much lower than expected, the number of bicyclists has been surprisingly high, with bike racks at the Wiehle-Reston East station filling up quickly, and cyclists voicing the need for more bike lanes to safely reach the stations.
Category: Press Releases
RELEASE: The Silver Line Will Transform Land Use in Northern Virginia – A Smart Growth Win Bringing Benefits for the Environment, Commuters, and Economy
For Immediate Release: July 24, 2014
Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, CSG, 703-599-6437 (cell)
Chris Miller, PEC, 540-347-2334
Stella Koch, ANS, 703-628-6983
FAIRFAX, VA — “The opening of the Silver Line on Saturday, July 26, is important for many reasons, but none more important than how it will transform land use in Northern Virginia,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “That transformation will be most prominent in Tysons where a traffic-choked suburban office park with two large malls is planned to become a walkable, urban center with 100,000 residents and 200,000 jobs, but it will also be seen in Reston, Herndon and Loudoun.”
Fairfax drew from the successful experience of Arlington County when creating the transit-oriented development plan for Tysons. As a result of Arlington County’s award-winning smart growth planning for their Metro corridors traffic has declined on surrounding arterial streets even as millions of square feet of development and thousands of housing units have been added. The TOD corridors also generate over 50 percent of Arlington’s tax base on just 11 percent of the county’s land area.
“Fairfax Chairman Bulova has said that transit-oriented development is the future of Fairfax. In addition, the region as a whole — in the Region Forward plan — has committed to TOD as the most sustainable way to grow,” said Rick Keller, Transportation Vice-Chair for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Investing in high-capacity transit like the Silver Line, along with walking and bicycling-friendly transit-oriented development will reduce regional air pollution and the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing increasingly destructive climate change.”
“Tysons is also a great water-quality story,” said Stella Koch, Northern Virginia Conservation Associate for the Audubon Naturalist Society and member of the Tysons Task Force which negotiated the initial Tysons plan. “Tysons today is dominated by buildings and parking lots with minimal control of stormwater and that stormwater gouges-out and pollutes area streams and the Potomac River. We achieved a win-win in Tysons where developers will construct millions of square feet of development while providing levels of stormwater management we’ve never had — controlling the first 1 inch of stormwater, representing 90% of the typical rain events.”
“We see great benefits for commuters and the opportunity for an economic win-win for Loudoun County and the region,” said Chris Miller, President of the Piedmont Environmental Council. “The limited east-west commuter roads in Loudoun require investment in high-capacity transit as an effective alternative to sitting in traffic. Moreover, by meeting the demand to live and work near transit, Fairfax and Loudoun will fuel economic growth while correspondingly allowing for the rural economy to be protected and flourish with new local food production, access to recreation, and protection of our water recharge areas.”
“Our organizations have worked for over 25 years to promote a regional vision of transit and transit-oriented development, so the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line and the accompanying redevelopment at these first five stations represents an important smart growth milestone,” said Schwartz. “Looking ahead, we will continue to campaign for well-designed mixed-use development at underutilized Metro stations in every jurisdiction and for smart new transit investments in key commercial corridors tied to walkable, mixed-used development. This is simply the most efficient way to grow and enhance our quality of life, by managing traffic, reducing air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting overwhelming market demand for walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods.”
Walkable, transit-oriented development is in demand from millenials, downsizing empty nesters, retirees and corporate leaders. Currently, developers can’t build enough residential units near transit to meet demand leading to affordability challenges. Meanwhile, 84% of new office development in the pipeline in the DC region is being built within 1/4 mile of a Metro station.
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RELEASE: Dangerous by Design – with 843 pedestrian fatalities in 10 years, still work to do for safe streets in DC region
Washington, D.C. – A new report, Dangerous by Design, released today by the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, provides information on pedestrian fatalities and injuries and ranks every state, metro region and county based upon the degree of danger faced by pedestrians. Comparatively, the Washington, DC region is safer for pedestrians than many other regions in the nation, ranking 35 out of the 51 largest metro areas (with 1 being the most dangerous). At the same time, the report found that 843 pedestrians were killed in the region from 2003 to 2012 — an unacceptable number no matter the DC region’s current ranking – and the dangers for pedestrians along suburban arterial roads is particularly high.
RELEASE: Strong majority of Montgomery voters support county’s plan for a Bus Rapid Transit Network, according to new poll
A poll commissioned by the regional advocacy organization Coalition for Smarter Growth found strong support among Montgomery County voters for investment in a new Bus Rapid Transit network (BRT). After listening to a list of positive and negative perspectives on Montgomery County’s planned BRT network, likely Montgomery voters expressed support for the system by a margin of 71 to 22 percent.
STATEMENT: Coalition for Smarter Growth on new commitments to long-term Metro funding
Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz issued the following statement today applauding DC Mayor Vincent Gray, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe for their announcement today committing $75 million toward Metro’s Momentum plan to significantly improve the Metro system in the coming decades: “The Coalition for Smarter Growth commends the Governors and Mayor for committing an initial $75 million to Metro’s Momentum – funding which will buy more rail cars to support more 8-car trains. While we would have liked to have seen more funding this year, we are pleased to hear of verbal commitments to draft and sign a multiyear agreement to fully fund Momentum. We urge completion of an agreement as soon as possible.”
RELEASE: Another Potomac River Bridge Study?
Coalition for Smarter Growth, Piedmont Environmental Council Sierra Club – Virginia Chapter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 6, 2014
Contact: Stewart Schwartz, CSG, 703-599-6437 (C)
Chris Miller, PEC, 540-347-2334
Another Potomac River Bridge Study?
Proposed Legislation Could Inject a Hot Potato into Congressional Race
Proposed legislation by Delegates Tom Rust and Randy Minchew threatens to throw a hot potato into the middle of the pending race to succeed Congressman Frank Wolf, igniting a repeat of the neighborhood outcry that followed past bridge proposals. Citing an in-house study quietly initiated by the former Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton, the bill (HB1244) would effectively endorse continuation of the Connaughton study and encourage VDOT to recommend a location or locations for new bridges, if needed.
The bill is currently before the House Appropriations Committee which could hear it Friday, February 7th.
The patrons are proposing that the state spend additional staff resources on the study even though the State of Maryland has reiterated its opposition to new bridge crossings in an October 2012 letter to former Secretary Connaughton. Moreover, in 2012, the House Rules committee rejected a similar bill, HJ131, after having confirmed that the State of Maryland remained strongly opposed to new Potomac River bridge crossings.
“Back in 2000 and 2001, after Congressman Wolf funded a federal study of new bridge crossings, the proposed alignments were found to have significant community impacts and generated a firestorm of community opposition,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. Congressman Wolf had the study discontinued, noting that because of existing land uses a new bridge and connecting highways could not be built without significant impact on neighborhoods in the path.
A subsequent “Origin/Destination Study” study in 2003-2004 by VDOT tracked every license plate crossing the American Legion Bridge and those entering and exiting the Beltway from every entrance/exit between Route 50 in Virginia to Georgia Avenue in Maryland. The results showed that very few vehicles were making the so-called “U-shaped” commute from Reston and beyond to the Rockville/Gaithersburg area and vice versa. The vast majority of commutes needed to use the American Legion Bridge and Beltway or were making strictly radial (in-out) trips.
“Based on past studies, we are convinced that these bridges would waste scarce transportation dollars, have no effect on congestion on the Beltway and other major highways, harm water quality and the historic C&O Canal and open up the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve and other rural land to development,” said Douglas Stewart, Transportation Chair for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “This region has made a strong commitment to transit and transit-oriented development including investment in the Silver Line and Tysons Corner. Outer Beltways undercut that investment, diverting private development to areas that are far removed from infrastructure and amenities, generating significant new traffic,” said Chris Miller, President of the Piedmont Environmental Council.
In their letter the State of Maryland makes clear that they to not intend to “revisit the years of debate over new crossings of the Potomac River” and instead want to focus on potential improvements to existing crossings including the American Legion Bridge, the Route 301 Henry Nice Bridge and transit on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Since 2012, Fairfax County and Montgomery County elected officials and staffs have been discussing how to improve transit in the American Legion Bridge corridor.
“We believe the proposed studies are unnecessary, wasteful and a diversion of time and attention from fixing the American Legion Bridge corridor and other key commuter corridors with multimodal solutions,” said Schwartz. “The region should continue its focus on implementing key transit projects like the Silver Line, Purple Line, Montgomery County Rapid Transit Network, streetcars and mixed-use transit-oriented development. The benefits will be significant in terms of maximizing transit, walking, biking and carpooling and reducing the number and length of vehicle trips region-wide.”
About the Coalition for Smarter Growth
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington D.C. region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies needed to make those communities flourish. To learn more, visit the Coalition’s website at www.smartergrowth.net
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STATEMENT: re Harriet Tregoning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 4, 2014
CONTACT: Stewart Schwartz, (703) 599-6437 – cell
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz issued the following statement today reacting to the announcement that the Director of the DC Office of Planning, Harriet Tregoning, has accepted a position at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Obama administration, effective February 24:
“Harriet Tregoning is a visionary leader and the District of Columbia has benefited tremendously from her service during the past two administrations. Effective planning combines strategic thinking, an inclusive approach with the community, an understanding of where people and technology are going to be in the future, and putting good policies and plans in place to anticipate those future needs. Harriet has shined in her ability to do so.
New neighborhood plans, an extensive and progressive draft update to the DC zoning code, and the Sustainable DC plan are among her achievements. In addition, she made a significant contribution to smart growth in our region, playing a central role in the development of the Region Forward plan – focused on a transit-oriented future, winning a federal grant for bus priority corridors, and focusing the first regional transportation priority plan on transit, walking, and bicycling.
DC in the coming decades will be a much more inclusive and sustainable city than it otherwise would have been and Harriet’s leadership has been central in making that happen We’re sorry to see DC and region lose her but we’re excited to see what she’ll achieve at HUD.”
About the Coalition for Smarter Growth
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington D.C. region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies needed to make those communities flourish. To learn more, visit the Coalition’s website at www.smartergrowth.net.
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RELEASE: Advocates urge Prince George’s County and state to target funds to transportation projects supporting smart growth
Prince George’s County and regional smart growth advocates sent a letter today to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker urging him to rethink transportation priorities to fulfill the County’s efforts to foster transit-oriented economic development.
Update on The Bi-County Parkway: A Chance to “Take a Second Look”
During his campaign, Governor McAuliffe said he would take a hard-look at the controversial $440 million Bi-County Parkway, reevaluating this project and others proposed by VDOT. In his campaign platform, under the section titled “Pick the right projects; build the best ones,” he stated:
RELEASE: Make the Connection: Bethesda-Chevy Chase Businesses and Residents Call for Montgomery Rapid Transit to Extend to Friendship Heights, D.C. Border
Bethesda-Chevy Chase area residents and businesses today called for Montgomery County officials to ensure that the rapid transit line proposed for 355 connects Friendship Heights’ jobs and homes to the rest of the county. Stopping the route at Bethesda, instead of connecting it an additional 1.5 miles to the D.C. border could shortchange the area and the county in several ways, supporters said. “With traffic congestion rising and the possibility of local Metro stations shut down for extensive repairs, residents in our area are seeking more options for getting north to Bethesda and beyond, or to Friendship Heights and D.C.” said Chevy Chase resident Ronit Dancis. “BRT would be a great new option for our neighborhoods.”