The groups listed above support a vibrant transportation fund, and we recognize that the current economic downturn has hit the transportation trust fund hard. However, we believe that transportation revenues should be increased only if every new dollar is invested more wisely.
Category: Testimony & Letters
Testimony Regarding Leveraging the Value of D.C.’s Public Land Dispositions to Build Housing Affordable to D.C.’s Low- and Moderate-Income residents
The Gray administration’s focus on getting D.C. residents back to work is rightly the number one priority for the District – and it’s critical to helping communities and families across the District succeed. Going hand in hand with the success of increasing employment is ensuring that the workers D.C. invests in can also find a place to call home here in the District. Without affordable housing opportunities, newly trained workers may leave the city for cheaper housing, but longer commutes, taking away opportunity to grow D.C.’s tax base and strengthen our communities.
Support for Support CB-2-2012, Adequate Public Pedestrian and Bikeway Facilities in Centers and Corridors
I am here to express our strong support for this important bill, which we call the “walk/bike connections” bill. This bill helps ensure that Prince George’s residents and visitors have better and safer transportation choices. By allowing the Planning Board to ensure that developments fill in missing links of essential sidewalk and other walk/bike facilities around a new development, the quality of development, as well as safety and access, will be improved. Offering multimodal transportation choices has been the intention of the County for several years through the “Complete Streets” policy adopted in the 2009 County Master Plan for Transportation. This bill helps implement this policy in the development review process.
Testimony: Support for D.C.’s West End Library and Fire Station project
We wish to express our support for this project. The proposed project will leverage the value of public land to build a new West End Library, a new fire station on Square 50, along with complementary retail and residential units. The combined project of the new library on Square 37 and the new fire station offer a tremendous public benefit for the residents of the District of Columbia that is not otherwise possible. We are only able to create these new state-of-the-art public facilities due to a joint public-private partnership where the full subsidy for the public benefits is derived from the air rights above the public facilities. This project renews important outdated public facilities, and does it at no cost to the District.
DC: Support for Howard University Central Campus Master Plan
We wish to express our support for the Howard University Campus Plan. We especially want to commend the university for committing to the reconnection of several important streets – Bryant Street between Georgia Avenue and Sherman Avenue; W Street between Georgia and 9th St, NW; and, College Street between Georgia Ave. and 6th Street, NW. This commitment to reconnect these streets will have a major positive effect on the surrounding community and help mitigate traffic impact from campus growth. This was a key request by surrounding residents and civic groups. We applaud the university for its commitment to make these street connections.
Testimony: Support for D.C.’s Tenley Campus Law School Relocation and Construction Plan
We are here to express our support for the proposed actions under Case No. 11-07B by American University. Moving the AU law school to the Tenley location will take advantage of excellent transit access by Metrorail and Metrobus, and contribute to greater vitality for Wisconsin Avenue as a major commercial corridor. The Tenley campus plan sensitively increases capacity for the law school while respecting its historic buildings and neighbors.
Testimony: Support for D.C.’s 15th Street NW revised concept/nine story apartment building
We would like to express our support for this project and are eager to see this new construction and senior housing preservation project advance. We believe that this new building is respectful of its neighbors and historic context. Most importantly, the new building will respect the St. Augustine church. At the same time, the project will contribute to preserving and adding affordable housing in this popular neighborhood. This is a valuable contribution to our neighborhood and city. We also welcome the market-rate units as part of meeting housing demand across a spectrum of prices.
Testimony: Charles County Comprehensive Plan Update – draft scenarios
Having been contacted by local community members, the Coalition for Smarter Growth has reviewed the proposed scenarios, the Land Use Market Analysis, and the Comprehensive Plan Scenario Evaluations. To summarize, we share the concern about the comparative evaluation of the two scenarios and believe that the scoring of a number of the factors fails to account for countervailing research and potential benefits that would support Scenario 1.
Letter to Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretary Sean Connaughton
The Environmental Assessment for the I-95 HOT Lanes Project is inadequate and should be redone to evaluate the full range of alternatives and impacts for the I-95 corridor and consider the full range of costs and benefits for alternative approaches. A decision involving $1 billion or more in publicly subsidized spending and the transfer of public right of way to a private company to collect tolls for up to 75 years merits far more thorough analysis. We urge you to reject this Environmental Assessment.
Fairfax: Testimony to the Planning Commission Tysons Corner Committee on Financing Transportation Improvements
First let me note that transit-oriented development can generate significant tax benefits for Fairfax as demonstrated by the Arlington experience. Arlington’s two Metro corridors occupy just 11 percent of their land and generate something like 50% of their property tax base, generating revenues that have supported improvements in neighborhoods across Arlington — recreation centers, traffic calming, parks and schools.