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Over 20 organizations will hold an event to launch a campaign for better Ride On and Metrobus service in Montgomery County.
PRESS STATEMENT
December 1, 2020
Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director
703-599-6437 (cell)
Proposed cuts to WMATA would be devastating
Leaders must step up!
“The reality of proposed cuts to our Metrorail and Metrobus service in the absence of a rescue package is now clear. It would be simply devastating – to our workers, our economy, our transportation network.
Congress needs to step up and this includes every Republican. We are one nation, one economy, with a huge share of our economy dependent on our cities and metropolitan regions.
If the cuts were to take place they would gut a system the DC region built over four decades and upon which our essential workers and economy depends. It would undermine decades of real estate investment, prompt flight of our next generation workforce, and have a disproportionate impact on the essential workers upon whom our food and health and services systems depend.
We shouldn’t let our two Governors and local elected officials off the hook either. We cannot afford to continue wasteful road expansion and sprawl, massive toll roads that benefit few, and boondoggles like the Maglev when we can’t afford to maintain and operate what we’ve already built. We must be shifting funding from road expansion to save the transit system that is the backbone of our region’s economy.
‘Fix-it-first’: maintain, rehabilitate, and operate our existing infrastructure and locate new development in walkable communities with both jobs and frequent transit.”
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We joined forces with the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club and numerous other civic and neighborhood associations to fund a review of the draft environmental impact survey for the proposed expansion of I-495/I-270. Read the findings below.
November 9, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 9, 2020
Contact:
Lindsey Mendelson, Maryland Sierra Club, lindsey.mendelson@mdsierra.org, 240-706-7901
MARYLAND — Today, fifty groups came together to deliver one simple message: Governor Hogan’s plan to widen the I-495 and I-270 toll lanes is flawed, incomplete, legally vulnerable, and would fail to reduce congestion for the vast majority of drivers.
On behalf of the diverse coalition of groups, the Maryland Sierra Club and Rock Creek Conservancy released over 200 pages of technical and legal comments today, the final day of the 120-day public comment period for the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). According to the groups, “the state’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as other federal laws, and is a disservice to the public because it presents incomplete and inadequate analyses.”
The coalition comments are the result of work by Jill Grant & Associates, dozens of community experts, and three contracted consultants. They present a sophisticated legal analysis demonstrating a project that is not in the public interest, with countless unanswered questions, and would be extremely harmful for the environment and public health.
The comments include a new study by renowned traffic modeler Norm Marshall that shows expanding I-495 and I-270 will shift traffic into the peak hours and create or exacerbate bottlenecks at the ends of the toll lanes and on connecting roads. There would be no congestion improvements for the majority of drivers and no benefits for non-users of the toll lanes.
Meanwhile, the DEIS presents an incomplete and unclear estimate of capital costs and revenues and ignores significant financial costs the project would impose on Maryland communities. These costs include a direct subsidy to a private developer, costs of relocation of utilities, decreases in property values, and public-private partnership (P3) financial risks.
The comments describe the DEIS’s failure to adequately assess impacts to parkland, air and water quality, adjacent and environmental justice communities, and historic and cultural resources. The report also describes how the Maryland Department of Transportation refused to provide key information to the public–denying, delaying or charging the Sierra Club and other groups $300,000 for public information requests that would have shed more light on this project.
“Our analysis shows that Governor Hogan’s highway boondoggle will not solve congestion; instead, it will be a disaster for our climate and health and cause further harm to communities already impacted by environmental injustices. We must invest in equitable solutions that actually increase mobility and connectivity across the region. We are grateful for the groundswell of partner and community support in this major effort and thank everyone who has voiced their concerns about this flawed and harmful project.” –Josh Tulkin, Director, Maryland Sierra Club
“Rock Creek is a primary driver of quality of life in our region – for people and for our ecosystems. The state’s study offers few details for a plan to permanently remove land from the Rock Creek stream valley parks and make up for impacts to water quality with changes many miles away. Their plan strips local residents of quality of life benefits in favor of short-lived travel time benefits for drivers and at a great cost to the taxpayers of Maryland and to downstream communities. The P3 calls for innovative techniques, yet the state’s proposal represents a complete failure of imagination.” –Jeanne Braha, Executive Director, Rock Creek Conservancy
“The draft environmental impact statement does not consider any real alternatives to highway expansion and consistently fails to take a hard look at the environmental and health impacts of the project, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Because of the extensive failings of the statement, along with the many harms to air quality, water quality, parklands, and historical and cultural resources that the expansion would cause, the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration should not move forward with the project.” –Ian Fisher, Jill Grant & Associates
“The proposed expansion of the I-495 Beltway and I-270 is the wrong path for Maryland’s transportation networks – instead of decreasing congestion, it would only increase traffic and pollution and damage our neighborhoods and our environment. It’s time for our state to work with local communities on developing stronger solutions to our transportation challenges that are more sustainable for our environment and work better for our residents.” –Patrick L. Wojahn, Mayor, City of College Park, Maryland
“This study represents a failure to protect people and the environment. It fails to show how wildlife and wild places will be hurt by water pollution, air pollution, and forest loss. It fails to account for climate change by considering an alternative that relies on public transit rather than more pavement and more cars. It fails to account for the people who will be harmed by more air pollution. Maryland is better than this. There are cheaper, longer-lasting, more equitable and sustainable solutions to traffic than adding more luxury lanes.” –Eliza Cava, Director of Conservation, Audubon Naturalist Society
“MDOT started with the conclusion: private toll lanes. But we know that the best path to lessen congestion and create a greener world is a comprehensive transit, land use, demand management solution. More highway lanes and more driving is the absolute wrong way to go during the climate crisis.” –Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
“The proposed Capital Beltway-widening project would adversely affect the National Register-eligible site of Morningstar Moses Cemetery/Hall in the historic African American community of Gibson Grove in Cabin John, MD. This site, consisting of a sensitive, extant burial ground containing an estimated 80 bodies and the foundation of the county’s only remaining Moses Hall, already suffered from racial injustice and adverse environmental impacts in the 1960s when the highway’s initial construction concretely separated it from Gibson Grove AME Zion Church, the community’s other lynchpin. The Friends of Moses Hall OPPOSES any planned highway construction that would further desecrate and damage the Morningstar Moses Cemetery/Hall, an important cultural and historic African American resource.” –Diane Baxter, Community Descendant, Friends of Moses Hall
“The Purple Line P3 is in disarray because, despite all of MDOT’s study and preparation, the private partner abandoned the project. The tollway DEIS fails to provide the detail or assurance that the $11 billion Beltway P3 proposal won’t collapse like the Purple Line, won’t cost taxpayers billions of un-budgeted dollars, and won’t force commuters to choose between bad-as-ever traffic and unaffordable $50 tolls.” –Brad German, Co-Chair, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion
“Every year, more than 20 million people visit the C&O Canal, Greenbelt, Rock Creek and four more national parks in the Capital region. If the Maryland Department of Transportation adopts this ill-advised plan, the air and water in these parks will be dirtier, and park visitors will lose access to valuable green space within park borders. MDOT must reject this proposal and embrace proven transit-friendly alternatives that address traffic congestion while protecting our national parks.” –Pam Goddard, Senior Program Director, Mid-Atlantic Region, National Parks Conservation Association
“North Hills of Sligo Creek Civic Association opposes efforts to move forward with the P3 project during the COVID-19 pandemic and believes that the cost of this project to our community and environment has not been thoroughly accounted for. We are also concerned that the DEIS fails to provide for any other transportation alternatives or options to take cars off the road. The negative environmental, economic and social impacts of expanding these highways will be borne by the adjacent neighborhoods.” –Eric Cathcart, President, North Hills of Sligo Creek Civic Association
Background:
Prior to the new information presented in these comments, recent headlines have broken news of the high tolls, the 21 utilities that would need to be involved, fundamentally flawed traffic modeling, and rebukes by the bi-county parks and planning commission and Montgomery County Council and Executive.
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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
October 14, 2020
Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, 703-599-6437
CSG hails new national climate, land use, and transportation report and issues a Call to Action to regional elected officials
Today, Smart Growth America (SGA) released Driving Down Emissions demonstrating that where and how we grow (i.e. land use and community design) is the critical piece for reducing emissions from transportation. CSG welcomed the report and issued a call to action to regional elected officials to act on their promises and move faster to implement more sustainable land use and transportation in order to fight climate change.
“We welcome this definitive report from SGA,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. We’ve campaigned in the DC region for over two decades for a strong core city and regional network of walkable, transit-oriented communities – a regional vision validated by the findings of the SGA report. Our vision has been embraced by the Council of Governments (COG) and most local officials, and we’ve seen a strong shift to these transportation-efficient communities — but much more work needs to be done AND faster if we are going to do our part to slash emissions.”
“The SGA report highlights that transportation is now the number one source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Its share is even higher in the DC region where 34% of our greenhouse gas emissions are generated by on-road vehicles, and as illustrated by the SGA report it’s the location and design of development that is playing the central role in the amount of driving and emissions,” said Bill Pugh, Senior Policy Fellow for CSG.
“The DC region is at a literal crossroads. Right now, major land use and transportation decisions before our elected officials will determine whether this region fuels more sprawl, driving, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and worsens racial and social equity, OR chooses the course committed to at COG — to invest in transit-oriented development, transit and more affordable housing close to jobs and transit, to address racial and economic inequity, and reduce emissions,” said Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager for CSG.
“Massive highway expansion such as the high-occupancy toll lanes in Virginia and Maryland, the recently approved Route 28 bypass in Prince William, and numerous arterial road widenings will mean more driving and emissions, and more spread-out development,” said Sonya Breehey, Virginia Advocacy Manager for CSG. “This must end.”
“Failure to incentivize and prioritize development at Metro stations and in aging commercial corridors will mean failure to reduce driving and emissions,” said Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for CSG. “Meanwhile approving more sprawling development in Prince William’s Rural Crescent or in rural areas in outer suburbs located 30 miles or more from the core of the DC region will mean even more driving and emissions,” said Breehey.
Driving Down Emissions summarizes decades of studies showing that highway expansion actually creates more traffic: “New highways, roads, and lanes induce more driving (VMT), which leads to more emissions and ultimately more congestion, a feedback loop referred to as “induced demand.” A recent study suggests driving increases in exact proportion with increases in lane-mileage—a 10 percent increase in lane miles can lead to a 10 percent increase in driving.”
“SGA offers five recommendations for how we can grow equitably and efficiently to reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. This region offers examples, which we highlight below, for how we are trying to do this but also examples where we are falling short,” said Pugh.
SGA’s FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS AND A SNAPSHOT ON ACTIONS IN THE DC REGION
1) Meet the demand for homes in walkable, compact neighborhoods
2) Build safer, walkable streets
3) Set targets for VMT and GHG emissions reductions
4) Provide transportation options and make transit a priority
5) Prioritize connecting people to destinations
A note about the pandemic and telecommuting:
The rise in telecommuting is expected to endure and will represent an estimated 10-15% reduction in work trips after the pandemic. This adds to further support for an end to highway expansion. However, most daily trips will continue to be non-work trips, but this reinforces the need to make all communities more walkable with nearby access to goods, services, and recreation.
CSG’s Call to Action in the DC Region:
“Unfortunately, we have much more to do in the DC region if we are going to drive down emissions to the levels necessary to stem climate change,” said Schwartz. Among the actions we need from our elected officials are:
1) Every local government needs to accelerate and incentivize transit-oriented development, supported by their state governments. The “Connect Greater Washington” study shows that TOD buildout will maximize the efficiency and farebox recovery for Metro, while reducing vehicle miles traveled and land lost to parking.
2) Every level of government should treat funding for affordable housing as a top infrastructure priority. $100 million for affordable housing near jobs and transit is worth far more than $100 million spent on another ineffective interchange. Housing that is affordable and in the right locations reduces driving and increases walking, biking and transit use, provides family security and health benefits, and results in better educational outcomes for children, while also driving down emissions.
3) Suburban and rural jurisdictions need to stem sprawl, protect farms, forests and rural landscapes that secure our drinking water, while focusing growth in existing towns, and ensuring new communities are compact, built on a grid of local streets, and connected to transit.
4) The next Council of Governments regional Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan needs to cancel hundreds of lane miles of highway and arterial expansion and shift the funding to transit, local street networks, and bicycle pedestrian investment that support transit-oriented communities. The same is true for the next Northern Virginia Transportation Authority regional plan and state and local jurisdiction plans.
5) Every level of government needs to stop using vehicle level of service and “congestion reduction” as metrics for deciding what transportation investments to make. These measures ignore the real problem of induced demand and make our communities unwalkable and unlivable, leading to more driving and emissions.
“The SGA report confirms what officials in the DC region know and what the vast majority have committed to at COG and at the local level. We need every local elected official to follow-through on these commitments if we are going to grow sustainably, equitably and competitively, and beat climate change in the process,” concluded Schwartz.
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