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: Transportation
Happier, Healthier, Sexier, and Smarter: Transportation and the Secret of Life
The “Happier, Healthier, Sexier, and Smarter: Transportation and the Secret of Life” forum was held on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. View a video recording of the event or download and view presenter Jeff Tumlin’s presentation.
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.
Testimony for the Alexandria Commercial Add-on Tax
The Coalition for Smarter Growth and our partner group the Audubon Naturalist Society support the proposed commercial add-on tax for transit, bicycle, pedestrian and local street needs.
Maryland: Comments in Support for Senate Bill 623: Transit Review and Evaluation
We would like to express our strong support for SB 623. This bill will help the state and local transit and transportation agencies save limited funds while providing better transit service. By moving buses faster (or light rail vehicles), transit agencies can simultaneously save money, improve service for passengers, and attract new riders and fares. This bill would direct MDOT to establish the tools needed to assess when and where to deploy roadway operational improvements for transit vehicles so that we can take full advantage of efficiencies and make the most of existing transit service. Road-running transit service can realize cost savings, travel time reductions, and reliability improvements through a suite of measures that can be applied incrementally or all at once.
Letter to Secretary Connaughton and the Commonwealth Transportation Board
Letter to Secretary Connaughton and the Commonwealth Transportation Board
Letter expressing concerns about the Tri-County Parkway, as well as the proposed north-south corridor in Northern Virginia as a Corridor of Statewide Significance.
Maryland: Testimony on Transportation Trust Fund
Our position on HB 1001 is derived first from the Transportation for Maryland principles which call for smarter investments of our limited transportation funds. We believe that before we can ask Marylanders to pay more, we must ensure that we know our money will be used wisely. The proposed bill does not address how proposed increased revenues will be used. We need assurance that the new funding will be used to meet the state’s most urgent needs such as maintenance and support smart growth outcomes. Simply putting more towards money the existing list of transportation projects will not achieve this goal, nor will we ever have unlimited money to maintain our existing transportation system and build new facilities to support our community and economic development objectives. We must choose wisely.
DC: Testimony regarding DDOT Oversight Hearing
Over the last few years, DDOT has tremendously progressed as an agency. Beginning with the formation of DDOT under Dan Tangherlini in the Williams Administration, the Department is evolving into a 21st century agency addressing the problems and needs of a growing, multimodal city. Rather than being stuck in an old mindset that focused on speeding cars in and out of downtown and through our neighborhoods, DDOT has worked to build a more robust, multimodal transportation network that includes not only motor vehicles, but better transit, safer walking, innovative bicycle facilities, carsharing, and Capital Bikeshare in all 8 wards of the city. DDOT has also made advances in transportation demand management (TDM) and parking management. Over the last few years, we have made great progress towards a city that offers better and safer transportation choices, and travel options that reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. We applaud this progress and look forward to working with the Gray Administration and this Council to take our transportation system to sustain these gains and advance to the next level.
Transportation Funds for a Strong Maryland
Transportation advocates call on elected officials to make wiser transportation investments before asking Maryland residents to pay more.
Route 460 Would Waste Billions of Dollars and Divert Scarce Revenues From Higher Priority Needs
A fact sheet comparing 2009 traffic volumes on Route 460 against other roadways in Virginia, using VDOT’s traffic volume data. The data demonstrates that traffic is not projected to increase by an amount that warrants the cost and risk of this project.