Category: Testimony & Letters

CSG’s recommendations to MDOT on investing in more sustainable transportation in Prince George’s County (MD)

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

November 3, 2025

Hon. Aisha N. Braveboy
County Executive

Hon. Edward P. Burroughs III
Prince George’s County Council Chair

Acting Secretary Samantha J. Biddle
Maryland Department of Transportation

Wayne K. Curry Administration Building
1301 McCormick Drive, Largo MD

RE: Transportation priorities in the Maryland Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) for Prince George’s County 

Dear County Executive Braveboy, County Council Chair Burroughs, and Acting Secretary Biddle:

The Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all. We also support and work closely with RISE Prince George’s, a group of county residents and allies advocating for policies and practices that build shared, sustainable prosperity in Prince George’s County by creating safe, walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented communities. The following letter reflects the views of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Appreciation for County and MDOT work on I-495 Southside, next steps needed

We first wish to acknowledge the recent decision at the Transportation Planning Board (TPB) that sent VDOT’s I-495 Southside Express Lanes proposal back to the drawing board. We want to thank County Executive Braveboy, the Prince George’s County Council and state delegation, and especially Council Member Eric Olson. 

The TPB rightly decided to hold off on adding the VDOT project to the region’s long-range transportation plan, Visualize 2050. We agree with Prince George’s officials that VDOT’s proposals did not adequately address Maryland’s concerns

Going forward, we ask the county and MDOT to ensure that a rebooted VDOT NEPA study: 

  • Revises the project purpose and need statement to remove bias for private express lanes and fairly considers a range of alternatives;
  • Develops and evaluates alternatives to highway expansion such as near-term conversion of shoulder lanes to bus/HOV lanes, new expanded travel demand management (TDM) programs, alternative managed lanes concepts (e.g., HOTTER lanes, Flexi-HOT lanes) that are fairer for travelers and don’t require highway widening, and a longer-term Metrorail and transit-oriented development alternative; 
  • Ensures that VDOT conducts timely and adequate analysis on the impacts of any proposal to expand 495 lane capacity on local arterials like MD 210 and the creation of new traffic bottlenecks; and
  • Commits to funding expanded transit services for Maryland residents and workers crossing the Wilson Bridge. 

Recommendations for Prince George’s and the Maryland CTP:

  1. Support  continued commitment to WMATA and local transit operations in the FY26-31 Consolidated Transportation Plan (CTP):  We commend Maryland for continued funding of WMATA, the Purple Line, and Prince George’s County locally operated transit system (The Bus). We ask you to support WMATA’s Better Bus program, and the implementation of Prince George’s Transit Vision Plan. 
  2. Support continued Complete Streets investments over the next 6 years: We support the state’s investment in Complete Streets and specific Prince George’s state road investments, given the county bears a disproportionate share of fatal traffic crashes in the state. We commend MDOT for the increased allocation to complete streets in the draft FY26-31 CTP. This critical program uses the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP) prioritization as its guide, beginning with improvements to MD 650 (New Hampshire Avenue), and MD 410 (East-West Highway), followed with MD 214 (Central Avenue), and MD 201 (Kenilworth Avenue) corridors in Prince George’s. In the future, we ask that MD 458 (Silver Hill Road) be added. 

Complete streets should use quick-build safety projects: We urge SHA to start with quick build, low cost interventions that take weeks and months, not years to put in place. It is urgent to put critical safety improvements in place such as reallocating excess road capacity to safety needs for all users, closing of free right turn/slip lanes, lane width reduction, and other measures to reduce hazardous design speeds of roadways and minimize exposure of people walking and riding bicycles to high-speed motor vehicles. Continued effort to use low-cost, quick build interventions are essential for PSAP corridors and the many other state roadways where people face the risks of high-speed traffic.

  1. Rethink highway capacity expansion projects because we cannot afford to keep investing in ever bigger roads and intersections that chase spread out development while neglecting enhanced transit, walk, bicycle facilities and safer, better connected streets for existing communities. All projects should also advance the state of Maryland’s adopted goal to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We ask that the expense of the proposed highway and arterial capacity expansion projects be reconsidered for less costly alternatives: safety interventions, improved commuter transit service, bus priority and BRT, and travel demand management programs. Below are some of the projects we ask MDOT to reconsider and redesign. 
  2. Reconsider the Medical Center Drive interchange expansion to help Downtown Largo and Central Avenue Corridor connectivity: We urge the county to work with the state to fully reconsider this problematic roadway capacity expansion project which is programmed for $11M for engineering, right of way and utilities over the next six years. The proposed designs for an expanded Medical Center Drive and I-495 Interchange undermine nearby transit-oriented development and would further degrade already poor pedestrian access. There are better solutions to supporting the growth of Downtown Largo and the revitalization of the stadium site. 

We ask that the County work with the state to reposition the construction of the Central Avenue Connector Trail and bridge that connects Largo to Morgan Boulevard Metro station as a top priority. We also urge expediting the redesign of the oversized, high speed MD 214 into a complete street. This is also a key part of the solution for greater access and connectivity. 

  1. MD 210, Indian Head Highway grade-separated interchanges from I-95/ I-495 to MD 228 (10 miles). The FY26 CTP budgets ongoing costs for engineering at $9.7 million. Reconsider these MD 210 projects to address safety and operational improvements — without capacity expansion. Consider TDM programs and bus transit priority to address long-distance commuters. We support advancing the recommended shared use path along MD 210.
  2. Support for MDOT process to improve Chapter 30 project prioritization – CSG is glad to see the pilot process underway by MDOT to provide a clearer process that helps Maryland communities like Prince George’s get good projects implemented while addressing state priorities like safety, sustainability, and giving residents travel options beyond driving. 

Again, we appreciate the priority that MDOT has made to transit and complete streets. We urge the county and MDOT to work to revise roadway capacity expansion projects to address safety, create cost-effective multimodal travel environments, and avoid endless cycles of expanded capacity. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Cheryl Cort
DC and Prince George’s Policy Director

Bill Pugh
Transportation and Climate Policy Director

Testimony: SRA 25-02 — No more barriers to new homes on corridors (MoCo)

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Thank you for accepting this testimony on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. CSG advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all.

Testimony: Support for University Boulevard Corridor Plan (MoCo)

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

We ask for your support for the goals of safe streets, vibrant and inclusive communities, and transit-oriented homes and businesses laid out in the University Boulevard Corridor Plan and in our county’s 30-year general plan, Thrive 2050.

Recommendations to ensure an RFK stadium deal benefits DC, provides affordable housing and sustainable transportation options

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Our organization advocates for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all.

We have been working in the District of Columbia for over 28 years. We have been reviewing the proposal and were drafting this letter highlighting our concerns and recommendations when the news came out today that Chair Mendelson has the outlines of an improved deal. Without having the details of Chair Mendelson’s proposal before us, we will share the following in the hope that we can achieve the best deal possible for the District and its residents.

Prioritize an inclusive, vibrant community at RFK – with or without a stadium

CSG urges the District to prioritize the creation of an inclusive, vibrant community on the RFK Stadium site, including housing options for all, sustainable transportation choices, and community amenities – whether or not there is a professional sports stadium incorporated into the development. 

The administration’s proposal gives away too much, exaggerates economic benefits

Mayor Bowser’s proposed stadium and site development agreement with the Washington Commanders would give unprecedented public subsidies, control of development rights, and tax revenues away to the team. We appreciate the work of Chair Mendelson to reach agreement on an amended deal that directs some revenues and development control back to DC. CSG agrees that a regional sports stadium should be located in an accessible site with good public transit, walking and biking access and that the RFK site can fulfill those prerequisites; however, local and state governments also need to be good stewards of public land and funds. 

Incorporate these critical elements as a modified stadium agreement is considered: 

We ask the DC Council to incorporate these elements to ensure that a deal benefits DC residents and supports adopted District housing, planning and transportation goals:

  1. Ensure housing is built without delay in the Riverfront and Plaza Districts where the team has development rights
    • Establish controls, milestones, and clawbacks to ensure housing, affordable housing and supportive neighborhood retail and services are built in a timely manner.
    • We are glad to see that the amended agreement by Chair Mendelson includes deadlines for completion of nonstadium uses with penalties. We look forward to seeing more details on this and hope that it ensures timely housing and mixed-use development.
    • The Mayor’s deal did not provide any guarantees that the sports team will develop the adjacent sites for mixed-use development that supports city goals. Under that agreement, the Commanders could indefinitely use these as “temporary” surface parking.
  2. Require all residential development at the site follow the affordable housing requirements of DC’s public land disposition law
    • These include a 30% set aside of affordable housing at 30% and 50% median family income (MFI) for rental, and 80% MFI for ownership units in perpetuity (Code of the District of Columbia § 10–801), leveraging the land value as the first source of subsidy.
    • Land should be leased with covenants for affordability requirements.
  3. Replace parking subsidies with expanded public transit, walking and biking
    • The District of Columbia would spend over $350 million to build the largest parking garages in the city under the current deal, structures that would loom over the Kingman Park neighborhood.
    • Most of these funds should instead be used to improve transit, walking and biking access to and within the new neighborhood and stadium.
    • Specific improvements should include:
      • Metrorail station and service improvements. 
      • Bus priority lanes on H Street NE.
      • Improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities on the Benning and East Capital Street bridges to improve access from areas east of the river. 
    • We appreciate the redirection of $600M from the sports facility fee to upgrading the Stadium-Armory Station – and we believe that the District could gain greater savings – and needed investment in its public transportation system – by not subsidizing parking garages that will largely sit empty most of the year.
  4. Redirect more public revenues back to the District through revenue sharing agreement
    • We appreciate Chair Mendelson’s negotiation for some shares of revenues to come back to DC. But we think that the District can do better than receiving $779M spread out over 30 years given the large total subsidy. More revenue should be shared with the District beginning right after the first $500 million in debt is paid off.
  5. Require a strong performance-based Transportation Demand Management Plan
    • The TDM plan should include performance-based metrics to shift more trips to transit, walking, and biking, consistent with the targets of the District’s adopted MoveDC plan.
  1. Protect and improve public recreation access and community amenities 
    • Protect and ensure the continuation of existing community recreational and other uses on the RFK site, both during construction and after. These include parks, recreation, and sports facilities as well as uses such as the farmers market.
    • Expand The Fields recreation facilities, building on their high demand. 
    • Per the Comprehensive Plan, improvements should include the creation and maintenance of a pedestrian and cyclist shoreline access path and well-designed public spaces.

We urge the Council to ensure that DC residents will benefit from an RFK development plan and commitments that include housing options for all, sustainable transportation choices, and community amenities – whether or not there is a professional sports stadium incorporated into the development. 

In-Person Testimony: 495 Southside Study

In-Person Testimony: 495 Southside Study

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

From the beginning the VDOT study has been fatally flawed by a conclusions-first approach – defining their purpose and need as “extending express toll lanes” which forecloses other alternatives. Moreover, they have not provided all the information necessary for an informed decision – particularly the traffic impact on connecting roads. Given the missing information and strong concerns expressed by Fairfax, Prince George’s, Alexandria, Charles, WMATA, and state legislators in Virginia and Maryland, this project is not ready for inclusion in the regional plan.

Testimony: Support for Z.C. Case No. 13-14E, modification to Parcels 2 and 4 (Reservoir District formerly known as McMillan) (DC)

Testimony: Support for Z.C. Case No. 13-14E, modification to Parcels 2 and 4 (Reservoir District formerly known as McMillan) (DC)

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

We wish to express our support for the proposed modifications to this PUD (13-14E) for the Reservoir District to allow for greater flexibility given changing conditions over the decade that this proposal has been waiting to move forward.

Testimony: Remove M-83 from County Plans (MoCo Council, July 2025)

Testimony: Remove M-83 from County Plans (MoCo Council, July 2025)

Posted on by Carrie Kisicki

We urge you to adopt the recommendations of the Planning Board and remove the unbuilt northern portion of M-83 from the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.

M-83 is not the right path forward to provide better transportation options upcounty. The ways of thinking that informed plans for this road decades ago are fundamentally out of step with what we know today about best practices to address transportation needs, and about the vital connections between environmental health, climate resilience, and human health.