Category: Transportation

RELEASE: Housing and transit advocates support legislation to build more homes at Metro sites

Posted on by Emily Maurer
2020.07.06-Press-Release-WMATA-Tax-Abatement-Bill-29-20Download

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, July 6, 2020 

CONTACT:

Jane Lyons, Coalition for Smarter Growth

jane@smartergrowth.net | (410) 474-0741 

Housing and transit advocates support legislation to build more homes at Metro sites 

Montgomery County, Md – This afternoon, the Coalition for Smarter Growth stood alongside Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer as he publicly introduced legislation to support high-rise construction on Metro stations. 

Transit-oriented development is necessary to build sustainable communities. The legislation would offer a 15- year property tax abatement for high-rise construction located on land leased from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). 

“This is a promising approach. Housing on top of Metro stations is key to meeting housing demand without putting new cars on the road,” said Jane Lyons, CSG’s Maryland Advocacy Manager. “This strategy will help the county meet its climate, economic development, and housing goals.” 

Multiple housing construction projects on Montgomery County’s Metro stations have either been delayed or cancelled due to the financial difficulty. Rents are not often enough to cover high construction costs, especially outside of downtown Bethesda. Development on WMATA property can face additional costs due to parking replacement practices and engineering challenges. 

“High-rise construction on Metro stations gives us the most bang for the buck,” Lyons said. “More homes means more Metro riders, more transit revenue, and more permanently affordable housing.” 

The tax abatement is estimated to incentivize up to 8,600 units, including 1,300 affordable units. The affordable units will be created through the county’s affordable set-aside of 12.5 to 15 percent of units for households at 70 percent of the area median income. Montgomery County has resolved to meet its regional housing target of 41,000 new housing units by 2030. This proposal is part of a comprehensive housing package from Councilmember Hans Riemer, which is complemented by legislation from other councilmembers. 

“We look forward to supporting the legislative process to ensure the tax abatement approach is a cost- effective way to catalyze far more housing opportunities at Metro stations, including more permanently affordable homes,” said Lyons. 

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The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington, DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies needed to make those communities flourish.

495/270 P3 DEIS Comment Extension Letter

Posted on by Emily Maurer
2020-07-01-RCC-Request-for-Extension-of-Comment-Period-on-495-270-Expansion-DEIS-CleanDownload

June 30, 2020 

Dear Ms. Mar and Ms. Choplin, 

We are writing on behalf of the undersigned organizations to request an extension of the public comment period. The proposed I-495 & I-270 Public-Private Partnership (P3) Program (Project) is likely to have significant impacts on water quality, air quality, and managed by the Maryland National Capital Planning Commission, and downstream on Rock Creek Park. 

The Maryland Department of Transportation – State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and the Federal Highway Administration (Agencies) have indicated they will soon make available for public comment the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Project. This DEIS will describe the proposed action’s impacts on the environment as well as the impacts of alternatives and plans to mitigate the impacts. The document also will describe the environmental analysis conducted on the impacts of construction and operation of the new roadway. It is critical that the public have an adequate opportunity to meaningfully review the DEIS and submit comments to ensure that the Agencies’ analysis is complete and fairly considers all the options for the Project. 

We believe that allowing sufficient time for a well-considered review and thorough comments on the DEIS will lead to better evaluations, a more efficient process, and solutions that protect environmental resources, including Rock Creek. Due to the evolving situation with COVID-19, it is even more imperative that the public be given sufficient time to submit comments on the DEIS. Over the last few months, several of the undersigned organizations have submitted Freedom of Information Act and Maryland Public Information Act requests to the Agencies, the 

timely fulfillment of which would have assisted our reviews of the DEIS. These requests were denied, ignored, or delayed. 

The Project is one of the largest of its type ever proposed, expected to cost billions of dollars, and have significant environmental impacts. We expect the DEIS and its dozens of appendices and corresponding data to be thousands of pages. In regular times, for a proposed action such as this, the Agencies should reach an agreement to provide a longer time period and if not, the lead agency should easily find good cause to provide an extended comment period beyond 60 days from publication in the federal register. See 23 U.S.C. § 139(g)(2)(A); 42 U.S.C. § 4370m–4(d). Not doing so would not allow for meaningful public review and comment. 

These are not normal times. The emergency COVID-19 pandemic, and corresponding mandatory and voluntary restrictions, necessitate a longer public comment period. Like your agencies and other interested parties, our groups are working remotely while dealing with other responsibilities, generally without the use of office equipment such as printers for large files. Communications within our organizations, with members, and with others in the public that are interested in participating in the process are also delayed. The public’s ability to review and comment on the DEIS is currently hampered and requires more time than normal. Both of your agencies have recognized the difficulties caused by the pandemic. Both agencies have delayed providing electronic records in response to our public records requests (beyond statutory deadlines) based on asserted difficulties caused to the Agencies by the pandemic.1 It would be arbitrary for the Agencies to now deny the pandemic does not present good cause for a longer comment period. 

We appreciate the Agencies’ commitment that the public comment period will extend beyond the minimum-required 45 days and that the Agencies desire to allow full participation by the public and interested stakeholders. Forty-five days, or anything close to that, is clearly not sufficient. The undersigned organizations therefore request that the Agencies provide at least 120 days for public comment on the DEIS. This amount of time is necessary with increased uncertainty over the ability to re-open safely in a way that will allow the public to view documents in a timely manner. This time frame is also consistent with other Environmental Impact Statement comment periods such as the Washington Union Station Expansion Project and the Farmington Resource Management Plan. 

We look forward to your affirmative response to this request. 

Respectfully submitted, 

As an example, despite previously agreeing to provide non-exempt responsive records to one of our February 18 requests by April 30, MDOT SHA then requested that we “extend the 10-day period for providing a time and cost estimate, as well as the 30-day period for responding to your request, until 10 days after the date that [Maryland’s] state of emergency is lifted.” MDOT SHA stated: “Complying with the statutory timeframes of your PIA request at this time is not feasible given the state of emergency and recognized health risk that the coronavirus poses to all Marylanders, including State employees responsible for identifying, retrieving, and reviewing documents and responding to your request.” We still have not received any responsive records. 

Signed by, 

Jeanne Braha, Executive Director, Rock Creek Conservancy Josh Tulkin, Director, Sierra Club, Maryland Chapter 

On behalf of the following organizations: 

350 Montgomery County 

Audubon Naturalist Society – Woodend, Chevy Chase, MD 

Baltimore Tree Trust 

Beaverdam Creek Watershed Watch Group 

Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church Environmental Justice Ministry 

Central Maryland Transportation Alliance 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation 

Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility 

Citizens Against Beltway Expansion [CABE] 

Cleanwater Linganore Inc 

Climate Parents of Prince George’s County 

Coalition for Smarter Growth 

Conservation Montgomery 

DontWiden270.org 

DoTheMostGood Montgomery County 

Forest Glen Citizens Association 

Friends of Sligo Creek 

Greenbelt Advocates for Environmental and Social Justice 

Greenbelt Climate Action Network 

Indian Spring Citizens Association 

Indivisible Howard County 

League of Women Voters of Maryland 

Maryland Campaign for Environmental Human Rights 

Maryland Legislative Coalition 

National Parks Conservation Association 

Neighbors of the Northwest Branch 

North Hills of Sligo Creek Civic Association (NHSCCA) 

Our Revolution Maryland 

Parkwood 

Preservation Maryland 

Prince George’s County (MD) Peace & Justice Coalition 

Rapid Shift 

Regents Square Condominium (Rockville) 

Rock Creek Conservancy 

Rogue Tulips Consulting & Association Management 

Sierra Club, Maryland Chapter 

Takoma Park Mobilization 

The Ocean Foundation 

University Park Community Solar LLC 

Washington Area Bicyclist Association 

Wicomici Environmental Trust, Ltd. 

West Montgomery County Citizens Association (WMCCA) 

Woodside Forest Civic Association 

cc: Linda Strozyk DeVuono, Office of the Attorney General, LDeVuono@mdot.maryland.gov 

CSG Comments on the Draft Regional Transit Plan for Central Maryland

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Regional-transit-Plan-sign-on-letter-28-organizations-6.17.2020-1Download

Thursday, June 18th, 2020

Maryland Transit Administration & Regional Transit Plan Commission 

6 St. Paul St.

Baltimore, MD 21202-1614

Re: Comments from Thirty Organizations on the Draft Regional Transit Plan for Central Maryland 

Dear Maryland Transit Administrator Kevin Quinn and the Regional Transit Plan Commission, 

Thank you for your leadership in the process to create a Regional Transit Plan that is vital to residents in the region. Public transit will always be a necessary service that keeps health care and other vital systems running both during a global pandemic and in the absence of one. The COVID-19 crisis has further reinforced that we need to make structural changes to our public transit system to address inequities and ensure that everyone has access to the important places in their communities. The Regional Transit Plan can address these deficiencies and can also serve as a critical tool to employ in the economic recovery of the region by both creating jobs and allowing people to get to jobs. Every $1 billion invested in transit supports and creates over 50,000 jobs. While the Draft Regional Transit Plan’s overarching goals are well-chosen, the plan should be improved to significantly address inequities that disproportionately impact people of color, people with disabilities and other marginalized communities and to set a higher bar to improve access, reliability, and protect our environment. 

We, undersigned groups encourage you to strengthen this important plan by enacting the following measures:

  1. Improve access to frequent transit connected to employment centers for  marginalized communities and reduce the number of disconnected communities. Everyone deserves to be able to travel to the places where they live, work, and play. Everyday, communities of color have disproportionately less access to critical destinations due to redlining and structural racism. The neighborhoods in Baltimore with the highest percentage of people traveling more than 45 minutes to get to work and also taking transit are predominantly Black communities. The plan should provide strategies and targets to substantially increase access to frequent transit service for communities of color and other marginalized communities to connect to employment centers. The plan should also reduce the census blocks with disconnected communities–communities where there is over 5% unemployment and over 20% of workers are commuting over 45 minutes to get to work.  
  2. Improve the reliability and accessibility of transit for people with disabilities. Our public transit system must work for everyone. People with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by inadequate transit. The plan should significantly increase On Time Performance of Paratrasit and upgrade the percentage of stops and stations that are ADA accessible at a much faster pace than 25% every 10 years. The plan should also include strategies that provide users with better notification systems of vehicle arrival times and provide an analysis of the number of vehicles needed. It is important that the plan include measures to increase the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles and provide special funding for transit services for health care.
  3. All bus replacements should be for zero emission buses starting in 2024. We need to travel in ways that keep us and our planet healthy. Most of our buses run on diesel fuel that spew out pollution that makes us sick and exacerbates climate disruption. The plan should include a target and strategies that lead to the full transition to a zero-emission transit fleet by requiring that in 2024, all bus replacements be for zero emission buses. Each zero-emission bus reduces pollution as much as taking 27 cars off the road. This goal is achievable, needed to protect public health, and consistent with the goals of comparable jurisdictions. New York City is transitioning 100% of their fleet to electric by 2040.
  4. Provide faster service to reduce people’s commute times. If people are spending less time traveling each day, they can spend more time with their loved ones. If people can get from point A to B faster on public transit, they will use it more. Currently, people can reach fewer than 1 in 10 jobs in the Greater Baltimore region in less than 45 minutes on transit. While the draft plan recognizes that faster service is important, it does not offer concrete targets. The plan should set targets to substantially reduce peoples’ commute times.
  5. Provide concrete strategies to pay for the plan. Investing in public transit benefits communities across the region. If we want to see the benefits in the plan, we need to fund them. The plan should develop concrete strategies for identifying federal, state, and local  funding and leveraging funding to meet the needs of the plan, with an emphasis on funding strategies in the next 5 years.
  6. The plan should have consistent short-and long-term goals for improving transit and details of what transit improvements will occur in early priority corridors. The plan should provide 5-year and 25-year targets for each objective: providing faster, more reliable service; growing ridership; increasing access to jobs and opportunities; improving the customer experience; being more equitable; and preparing for the future. MTA should include assessments on how strategies under these objectives will slow the growth of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the region and explain how the corresponding decline in greenhouse gas emissions aligns with the Administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act Plan. The draft plan does not offer consistent metrics; instead it uses  different baselines and target years for different indicators. MTA should provide a baseline of current conditions  so the public can understand how the conditions are being improved and so that improvements can be reliably monitored and measured. The plan should also outline what transit improvements will occur in early priority corridors identified in the plan and outline the corridors that MTA will study.  

Thank you for your consideration of these proposed improvements. Please note the improvements outlined in this letter are by no means exhaustive but outline some of the key measures that should be improved.

Sincerely,

Niamh McQuillan, Co-Lead, 350 Baltimore and Climate Reality Project Baltimore

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA, ArchPlan

Liz Cornish, Executive Director, Bikemore

Nanci Wilkinson, Chair, Environmental Justice Ministry, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church

Steven Hershkowitz, Maryland Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Gwen L. DuBois MD, MPH President, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility

Emily Ranson, Maryland Director, Clean Water Action

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Floyd Hartley, Chair, CARS (Consumers for Accessible Ride Services)

Donald M. Goldberg, Executive Director, Climate Law & Policy Project

Eric Norton, Director of Policy & Programs, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance

Robin Murphy, Executive Director, Disability Rights Maryland

Lore Rosenthal, Program Coordinator, Greenbelt Climate Action Network

Liz Feighner, Hoco Climate Action

Richard Deutschmann, Climate Action Team Lead,  IndivisibleHoCoMD

Joe Uehlein, President, Labor Network For Sustainability

Richard Willson & Lois Hybl, Co-presidents, League of Women Voters of Maryland

Henry Bogdan, Policy Director, Maryland Nonprofits

Rachel London, Esq., Executive Director, Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council

Kim Coble, Executive Director, Maryland League of Conservation Voters

Cecilia Plante, Co-Chair, Maryland Legislative Coalition

Josh Tulkin, Director,  Maryland Sierra Club

Ronza Othman, President, National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

Timothy Judson, Executive Director, Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Cheryl Barnds, Rapid Shift 

Mark Southerland, Ph.D.Legislative Director, Safe Skies Maryland

Diana Younts, Takoma Park Mobilization Environment Committee

Tafadzwa (Taffy) Gwitira, Founder and farmer, Tele Farm

Jimmy Rouse, Co-Founder, Transit Choices

W. Phil Webster, Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland

Open Streets Letter to Montgomery County Officials

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Open-Streets-Letter-FINALDownload

May 9, 2020

To: The Honorable Marc Elrich

Montgomery County Executive

101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor

Rockville, MD 20850

Mr. Michael Riley, Director

Montgomery County Department of Parks

9500 Brunett Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20901

Re: Opening Streets to Pedestrians/Cyclists and Closing them to Vehicles    

Executive Elrich, Mr. Riley and Members of Council:

We would first like to express our gratitude for the County’s recent opening of some streets within its parks system to pedestrians/cyclists and to close those road segments to cars. We urge you to consider expanding this “open streets” concept to address the needs of citizens during the COVID-19 lockdown.

We appreciate how hard it is to manage public spaces during the recent global pandemic. Around the world, park managers and elected officials have struggled to find the right balance between public access to open space and public health and safety concerns. We welcome Montgomery Parks’s decision to open parts of Sligo Creek Parkway, Beach Drive and Little Falls Parkway to people on foot and bicycles during April of this year. Exercise is essential to maintain a strong immune system, and many people lack a yard or outdoor private space where they can run and play or bike. It is also essential for people to get sunshine, Vitamin D, fresh air and a change of scenery. Getting out of one’s home, especially if one’s living space is small, is also vital for mental health.

In the weeks since those park-adjacent streets were opened to people three days a week, the public has generally followed public health recommendations and used the extra space to spread out from one another and stay six feet apart. We also note that response to the street openings has been overwhelmingly positive.

Given that COVID-19 and its related social distancing may be with us for a prolonged period, we would like to ask that the county expand the open streets concept.

Specifically, we would like to ask for the following:

1)  That the Montgomery County Parks Department to confirm that the three roads will continue to be open to non-vehicular traffic for the duration of the pandemic. The original announcement was only for April.

2) Allow for more hours of open street time each week.  Currently, those are open to pedestrians and cyclists each Friday through Sunday from 9am-6pm.  We request that they be open all day, seven days a week during the pandemic

3) That the entire length of Sligo Creek Parkway – from New Hampshire Avenue to University Avenue – be open for non-vehicular traffic on the open street days. We would also like to have Beach evaluated for a longer span of closure. Currently there are gaps in the closures, even on “closed” weekend days, despite the fact that adjacent neighborhoods can be accessed from other entrance points/arteries. This should not be a concern given the lockdown dictates that no one should be driving unless it is deemed essential.

4) We understand that the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (DOT) and Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) is currently evaluating closing to through traffic some of the designated “Neighborhood Greenways” as listed in the county’s Bicycle Master Plan. These closures to vehicles could be part of a special event, one that connects several neighborhoods as a long, one-day-only walk or ride that would still honor social distancing but provide people with a way to exercise safely, away from high speed traffic. Or, closures could be done on some regularly scheduled basis, such as once a month or each Sunday during COVID lockdown.

4) DOT and MCPPC should consider “hybrid” solutions to meeting the need of the public not near any of the larger parkways currently being closed off.  These solutions would provide for more access to the outdoors so that social distancing during exercising, as well as social interaction are feasible for all. In the time of COVID we all want to discourage congregating, but neighborhoods could ask to have some streets made into bike and pedestrian-only routes for exercise with social distancing. Permits could be applied for, and citizens would be the ones to close off the streets during particular days and hours, just as they do during block parties.

We appreciate your time and consideration of these requests and look forward to working with you on implementing workable scenarios that will help residents in the most crowded parts of the county stay healthy during COVID lockdown.

Sincerely,

Paul Goldman, President, Action Committee for Transit

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Alison Gillespie, President, Forest Estates Community Association

Kristy Daphnis, Chair, Pedestrian Bicycle Traffic Safety Advisory Committee

Peter Gray, Vice President, Board of Directors, Washington Area Bicyclist Association

cc: Montgomery County Council

Letter to MDOT on Purple Line Negotiations

Posted on by Emily Maurer
2020.05.20-Letter-to-MDOT-on-Purple-Line-Negotiations-FinalDownload

Secretary Greg Slater

Harry R. Hughes Department of Transportation Building

7201 Corporate Center Drive Hanover, MD 21076 

May 20, 2020 

Re: State Negotiations with Purple Line Transit Constructors (PLTC) 

Dear Secretary Slater: 

Thank you for your and the State’s dedication to the Purple Line light rail project. The Purple Line is a transformational project that will bring increased economic opportunity to Maryland residents in the DC region. The State’s continued support is vital for the project to be completed in a timely and financially responsible manner. 

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is extremely concerned by Purple Line Transit Constructors’ (PLTC) threat to walk away from the project due to delays and cost overruns. We take no position on the dispute, but strongly urge you to quickly come to an agreement that prioritizes a timely completion of the Purple Line. 

The project is already a year behind schedule due to many factors, including some that have now been resolved. However, failing to negotiate an agreement and having to find a new construction team will undoubtedly result in even more delays and costs. The state should explore all of its options to ground negotiations in realistic cost and time expectations, with a high-level negotiator empowered to make a deal to keep the Purple Line on track. To remain true to its public commitment to the Purple Line, Maryland must take action. 

We also recognize that this is a particularly difficult time for transit and we appreciate the steps the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has taken to protect transit operators and riders. Transit, including the Purple Line, will be a key part of our post-COVID-19 economic recovery and growing Maryland with less congestion, safer roadways, and cleaner air. 

In conclusion, we urge the State to do all it can to negotiate an agreement that keeps the Purple Line’s construction on track. The Purple Line remains of great value for the over 230,000 Marylanders who live along the corridor, and public investment in this project will be repaid many times over by the economic activity it supports. Thank you for your work on this important project. 

Signed, 

Stewart Schwartz Executive Director 

CC: Governor Larry Hogan 

Maryland Transit Administrator Kevin B. Quinn, Jr.

Purple Line Transit Partners

County Executive Marc Elrich 

County Executive Angela Alsobrooks

Montgomery County Council

Prince George’s County Council

RELEASE: Transit advocates call on MTA and Purple Line constructors to negotiate an agreement

Posted on by Jane Lyons

For immediate release

May 20, 2020

Contact:

Jane Lyons

410-474-0741

jane@smartergrowth.net

Transit advocates call on MTA and Purple Line constructors to negotiate an agreement

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is urging an agreement between PLTC and MTA that will ensure timely completion of the Purple Line. On May 1, 2020, the Purple Line Transit Constructors (PLTC), the group of constructors responsible for building the Purple Line, announced that they will be exiting the project due to delays and cost overruns. 

“The project is already a year behind schedule due to many factors, including lawsuits that have now been resolved. However, failing to negotiate an agreement and having to find a new construction team will undoubtedly result in even more delays and costs,” says Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“The Purple Line already has and will continue to spur economic investment along the corridor, including major investments in affordable housing. New economic activity will bring residents new shops, restaurants, and other amenities,” said Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“The timely completion of the Purple Line will yield many transformational economic benefits, such as establishing an east-west connection between job centers; creating new employment opportunities; and providing people a quick and reliable way to access schools, retail, and other important services,” said Lyons.

“We urge the State to do all it can to negotiate an agreement that keeps the Purple Line’s construction on track. The Purple Line remains of great value for the over 230,000 Marylanders who live along the corridor, and public investment in this project will be repaid many times over by the economic activity it supports,” said Schwartz.

“We thank Maryland and PLTC for the hard work and dedication they have invested in this project so far. Both parties have invested significant amounts of time and resources into the Purple Line. The longer the project is put off, the longer it will take for both the state and its residents to fully see and feel the economic benefits that the completion of this project will bring,” concluded Schwartz.

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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 and investments needed to make those communities flourish. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.

STATEMENT: Call to Action for Local Officials on Equity and Sustainability

STATEMENT: Call to Action for Local Officials on Equity and Sustainability

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Call to Action 05.21.2020Download

For immediate release

May 14, 2020

Contact: Stewart Schwartz | 703-599-6437 (cell)

Cheryl Cort | 202-251-7516 (cell)

A call to action for sustainable and equitable communities in the wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed long-standing inequities and highlights the need and opportunities for fundamental reforms. The saying, “never waste a crisis,” is true and we urge our elected officials, government staff – all of us — to work together and take-action now to address the following 10 priorities:

1)    Provide living wages and health protection for essential workers – people who work in public safety, health care, transit, grocery stores and the food supply network, pharmacies, trash collection, teachers, day care and elder care, and a range of other occupations are our essential workers, and should be paid a living wage and provided the health protection and security they need.

2)    Provide affordable housing and a real economic safety net – far too many people live day-to-day with no margin of safety and need a living wage and rental assistance; affordable, clean, and secure homes; health care; day care; affordable transit; and the opportunity to save and climb the economic ladder. 

3)    Provide equitable access to health care and healthy environments – far too many people lack access to good health care and need nearby and equitable access to primary care and specialists, fresh healthy food, parks and recreation, safe places to walk and bike, and clean air and water.

4)    Address racial disparities now – the racial disparities in COVID-19 illness and death, and in access to health care, job losses, share of workers in essential services with exposure risks, exposure to air pollution from highways, and risk of eviction and homelessness have never been more starkly exposed and must be addressed with the equivalent of a Marshall Plan.

5)    Slash air pollution – air pollution has long contributed to respiratory and cardiac illness and has recently been found to contribute to higher levels of COVID-19 illness. We are seeing dramatic drops in air pollution due to the big decline in driving, with clear blue skies across the world, and should not waste this opportunity to slash air pollution from cars, trucks, and industry.

6)    Slash greenhouse gas emissions – similar to other pollution, emissions of CO2 during stay-at-home orders have plunged — to 1995 levels. Oil demand has also declined 30% to 1995 levels. The health and economic causes of the decline are absolutely nothing to cheer, but the decline reminds us of the imperative and the opportunity to rapidly shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles, green buildings, and reduced driving through transit and walkable communities. Moreover, the societal and economic disruption of the pandemic illustrates why we must head off the disruption that would come from uncontrolled climate change – in which a warmer planet will fuel more disease pandemics along with rising sea levels, flooding, droughts, fires, and human dislocation.

7)    Provide streets for people – the disappearance of traffic on city and suburban streets, the booming demand to walk and bike, and the lack of enough safe space for walking and bicycling, starkly illustrates how much of our public space is consumed by cars. We have a unique opportunity to widen sidewalks, and install protected bicycle lanes and dedicated bus lanes, creating more livable communities with fewer cars, and reduced air and noise pollution.

8)    Expand parks and open space – we are learning how important it is to have nearby parks and greenways for our health and well-being, and that too many people lack parks and trails that they can safely walk to. We need to expand our park, greenway and trail networks as part of walkable, sustainable communities.

9)    Save, restore, and expand transit – Transit, especially our buses, has been critical during COVID-19 to getting health care and other essential workers to their jobs. We’ve seen that transit is truly an essential public service. We need personal protection for transit drivers and riders, and enhanced, frequent cleaning. Looking ahead, the economic recovery of our cities and our metropolitan region will depend on the restoration of transit – which supports growth with less traffic and pollution. We will also need expanded transit to fight climate change. We must prioritize funding for transit, dedicated bus lanes and network redesigns for frequent, reliable service, and expanded access to transit for those most in need.

10) Invest in urban placemaking – The past two decades have seen a boom in our cities, towns and urbanizing suburban communities because of the economic, social, creative, health, and environmental benefits, including fighting climate change. Contrary to the charges of those who advocate against cities, what we are facing now is a health crisis and a failure to plan and act to stem a pandemic, not a failure of walkable urban places. We are social creatures and coming together has been key to the progress of civilization, innovation, the arts, and society. Looking ahead we must continue to invest in urban places while addressing the areas where we have fallen short, in affordable housing, equitable access to health care, healthy food, parks and safe streets, and in frequent, reliable and affordable public transit. 

In summary, we call on our leaders to place top priority in the following areas for social and economic equity, opportunity, and action:

  • Racial and social equity                 
  • Affordable housing
  • Tenant protection
  • Living wages
  • Worker safety
  • Health care
  • Healthy food
  • Day care and elder care
  • Education and teachers
  • Safe streets
  • Parks, greenways and trails
  • Transit
  • Clean air and clean water
  • Climate change
  • Walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented urban places

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