Category: Safe Streets for Biking and Walking

Walkable Neighborhoods: How to Make Them for Everyone

Walkable Neighborhoods: How to Make Them for Everyone

Posted on by acustis


Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Refreshments 6:00 pm
Program 6:30-8:30 pm

National Capital Planning Commission
401 9th Street NW, North Lobby, Suite 500
(Metro: Archives)

Walkable urban places are in high demand. A decade ago, Columbia Heights, H Street NE, and Petworth weren’t considered particularly desirable places to live. Today, these neighborhoods are booming, and so are many more city blocks close to transit and downtown. In addition to the more established affluent neighborhoods, demand to live in newly-popular neighborhoods that offer walkable, bicycle-friendly, and transit-oriented lifestyles is driving up housing prices. Given the turnaround in 2000 of D.C.’s decades-long population decline, the city’s growth could be used to ensure that everyone – especially disadvantaged D.C. residents – shares in the benefits of a stronger city and stable tax base. But rising housing prices loom as an increasing problem for moderate- and low-income who want to stay in the city and take part in the District’s resurgence.

 

How can we continue to offer more opportunities to live in walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods and share the benefits with people across the income spectrum? Join us to discuss this challenge with Chris Leinberger, David Bowers, and Ed Lazere.

  • Chris Leinberger is a land use strategist, developer, researcher and author of Walk this Way: The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C.. Chris will discuss the benefits of rising values from walkable urban places and the need complement these opportunities with affordable housing strategies.
  • David Bowers of Enterprise Community Partners will discuss how a stronger affordable housing strategy can be a part of the city’s agenda, especially as demand to live near transit continues to rise.
  • Ed Lazere of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute will explain how the city’s growing financial strength can help ensure that new prosperity is shared with everyone through the budget decision-making process.

This event is part of CSG’s 2013 Walking Tours & Forums Series, possible by the generous support of the National Association of Realtors. In cooperation with APA Virginia, AICP credit for this event is pending.

 

 

Letter Supporting CB-2 “Adequate Pedestrian and Bikeway Facilities” to Prince George’s Council

Posted on by ian

We would like to express our strong support for this important bill, CB-2, 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.

Support for Support CB-2-2012, Adequate Public Pedestrian and Bikeway Facilities in Centers and Corridors

Posted on by ian

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.

Fairfax County: Recommendation against mandate for 36 foot wide streets in residential neighborhoods

Posted on by tom

Fairfax County is becoming a leader in addressing the challenges created by the patterns of suburban development through transit-oriented development, commercial corridor revitalization, affordable housing, stormwater, and reform to parking policies. We believe that Fairfax County can also join places like Charlotte, North Carolina, in addressing the design flaws and safety risks inherent in overly wide suburban streets. Therefore, we are concerned about and recommend strongly against the proposal to mandate a standard width of 36 feet for new suburban streets in the county.

Click here to read the full memo>>

Montgomery County: Testimony regarding the White Flint Development Tax District Transportation Infrastructure Improvements

Posted on by ian

We would like to express our support for the White Flint Sector Plan and urge the Council and County Executive to create a feasible transportation infrastructure financing plan to move this effort forward without delay. We call on the Council to work with the Executive to establish a financing plan that is fair, accelerates redevelopment, and rightfully places this high value Metro-oriented development plan as a top priority for County and state transportation spending. The urgent need to create a workable, timely transportation financing plan requires us to rethink our spending priorities.

Prince George’s County: Letter to Chairman of the Planning Board

Posted on by ian

We request that the board not approve the DSP as proposed but request a full revision of the “Commons at Addison Road” in order that ensure the project conform with transit- and pedestrian-oriented design standards in the Approved Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Addison Road Metro Town Center and Vicinity (ARM).

From Mean Streets to Main Streets

Posted on by tom

Walkable neighborhoods are not only more vibrant and convenient, but safer, too. In this 2010 presentation, CSG Policy Director Cheryl Cort shows how missing sidewalks create hazardous walking conditions for pedestrians and lead to more traffic fatalities, as evident in local data. She argues that streets need to be more pedestrian-friendly, especially in high-demand areas with lots of traffic.