Category: Take Action

Our big fall event and lots of updates!

Posted on by Emily Maurer

We hope you and your family are well. Please join us for our annual Smart Growth Social, don’t forget to vote, and read on to catch up on the latest in your smart growth community.

Smart Growth Social

Our annual Smart Growth Social (virtual edition) is October 28th at 7pm via Zoom! Join us to hear Beth Osborne of Transportation for America, network in social breakouts, and enjoy a photo contest to celebrate the best of smart growth in our communities. For more details visit the SGS webpage. Register here. If you or your organization is interested in sponsoring the event or joining the host committee, click here.

Don’t forget to VOTE!

Today is the last day to register in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Between mail-in voting, early voting, and ballot dropboxes, there are more options than ever before. Identify what works best for you, and make your voice heard! And don’t forget that there are key ballot initiatives on many local ballots — highlighted below.

A climate agenda

Photo credit: Jane Lyons

Last month we introduced Bill Pugh, our Senior Policy Fellow, who is leading our climate agenda. We know transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions, and reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is key. Bill is crafting our advocacy agenda to work with policymakers to reduce VMT and carbon emissions. 

Fighting for an inclusive Comprehensive Plan in DC 

Room for more housing proposed from Friendship Heights to Tenleytown.

It’s not over yet! We’re still fighting to ensure vital amendments to the DC Comprehensive Plan are adopted before the end of the year — for a greater diversity of housing options for different income levels. Tell Chairman Mendelson you want to see these changes passed in 2020! 

  • Meanwhile, join our forum on the DC Comp Plan and transportation, October 22nd at 5:30pm, co-hosted with Young Transportation Professionals-DC, featuring Andrew Trueblood, Director of DC Office of Planning, Gabe Klein, former director of DDOT and founding Partner of Cityfi; and our Policy Director Cheryl Cort. RSVP. 
  • Testify to win! We’re also co-hosting a testimony workshop with partners October 27th at 4pm. You’ll learn more about the Comp Plan and how to effectively testify at the  DC Council virtual hearings November 12th and 13th. RSVP here and sign up to testify here.
  • Our Better DC Buses campaign with partners is bearing fruit. DDOT accelerated its Bus Priority Program (notice more red painted bus lanes). Join us at DDOT’s moveDC meetings October 13 or 15 to support better buses and safer, more sustainable and equitable transportation. 
  • And don’t forget to vote! DC has two open, at-large Council seats and two dozen candidates! The Post profiled the race here. There’s also a ballot initiative to decriminalize the use of psychedelic plants

Fighting for a better future in Maryland

  • A win for smart growth! We supported Bill 29-20 in Montgomery County, which passed 7 to 2. It creates a 15-year tax abatement for development on WMATA owned land at Metro stations, with up to15% of affordable units. The bill is expected to spur up to 8,600 new homes at Metro including 1,300 affordable homes.
  • Just around the corner — public hearings on the update to Montgomery County’s general plan, Thrive 2050! RSVP for our testimony workshop with Montgomery for All on October 15th at 7pm to learn how to effectively communicate your desires for the future of the county.
  • The Council is discussing the Subdivision Staging Policy, and you can still send a message asking them to repeal the harmful and outdated housing moratorium here.
  • There are four critical ballot initiatives in Montgomery County regarding the makeup of the County Council and property tax caps. We encourage you to vote yes on Questions A & C and no on Questions B & D; more information can be found here.
  • Participate in the Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan, via an online listening session tonight,  and fill out the survey here. To stay updated, sign up for the plan e-letter here and visit Montgomery Planning’s website here.
  • The Purple Line, and the economic benefits it would bring to Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, are in flux after a judge ruled that private contractors could abandon the job. Work has halted, but after a major advocacy push Governor Hogan has committed to the project’s completion. Read more in this piece featuring quotes from our Maryland Advocacy Manager Jane Lyons. 

Fighting for safer and more sustainable transportation in Virginia

  • First the ballot initiatives: There are 2 State Constitutional Amendments. Question 1 would move redistricting authority from the General Assembly to a bipartisan redistricting commission composed of eight legislators and eight citizens. Question 2 would provide disabled veterans a tax exemption for one vehicle.
  • In addition to the constitutional amendments the following NoVA localities have bond initiatives, and one special election: 
    • Fairfax County:Transportation (Metro), Parks, Schools, Health and Human Services, and Libraries 
    • Arlington County: Stormwater, Schools, Transportation (Metro + other), Parks/Rec and County infrastructure
    • City of Falls Church: A special election to fill unexpired term for one council seat
    • Loudoun County: Schools, public safety, and transportation 
  • Fairfax County wants to improve Fairfax Connector Franconia/Springfield bus service with faster, more frequent service, and improved accessibility. If you ride in this area, learn more here and fill out the survey by October 16th.
  • VDOT wants to widen the Beltway to extend toll lanes between Tysons and the GW Parkway. But increased telecommuting could permanently reduce peak trips, and with climate change increasingly apparent, we must rethink massive highway expansions. Ask VDOT to put the 495Next project on hold to consider better alternatives.
  • We are partners in the fight for an effective solution for Route 28 in Prince William. Together we’ve proposed a parallel street network that will revitalize the Yorkshire area, include bus rapid transit, and improved safety. The Prince William Board, and NVTAuthority, voted instead for a new bypass that will take up to 50 homes, harm drinking water, and fuel more traffic. See our joint press release.  
  • Four people have died walking along Richmond Highway (Route 1) this year alone. We’re pressing for design changes and reducing the speed limit from 45 to 35 mph to make Route 1 a safer place to walk, bike, and drive. These steps could reduce fatal crashes by 40%. Tell VDOT you support a safer Richmond Highway!

We hope to see you on October 28th at 7pm for Smart Growth Social. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy!

CSG News: Major Updates

Posted on by Emily Maurer

We hope you and your family are well. Summer seems to have flown by, and much more quickly than a normal summer would. We have much to share with you about CSG, our policy work, and upcoming events.

In pandemic-related news, we recently closed our physical office at 316 F Street NE. It was sad to say goodbye to our “smart growth operations center,” but we’re excited to find a new home once it is safe for our whole team to come together in person again. 

This summer, activists in cities across the country rose up to demand racial justice and equity. CSG unequivocally supports this fight and is committed to continuing to center these ideals in our work, including our partnerships and ongoing focus on affordable housing, inclusive communities, and transit. Read our statement on racial justice and equity here and our call to action on sustainability and equity we issued in mid-May.

Introducing our new CSG team members

Some new faces have joined our team this summer! Emily Maurer, who worked with us as a communications intern during the Spring 2020 semester, joined our team in June as our Communications and Administrative Assistant. Bill Pugh, a longtime supporter, has kindly volunteered his expertise as a Senior Policy Fellow to make the case for using land use, housing, and transportation reform to fight climate change. We’re thrilled to welcome Emily and Bill to our team. Next up: raising funds to hire our first full-time Prince George’s Advocacy Manager.

Bill Pugh
Emily Maurer

Successful summer events

After the pivot last Spring to a virtual workplace, CSG ramped up our online event offerings, including:

  • Our first ever virtual Livable Communities Leadership award event, featuring moving remarks from our honoree, Celeste James, and great discussions with our Community Heroes. Watch selected remarks.
  • Our Courageous Conversations series on the legacy of redlining in Montgomery County. View here, with participant materials here.
  • We co-sponsored a webinar series on Active Transportation in Northern Virginia to address the need for safer streets for biking and walking. View here. 
  • In DC, we organized a series of webinars to help homeowners learn about accessory dwelling units. View here. 

Ongoing Campaigns

Rescuing transit

One of the big challenges we’ve been tackling with transit advocacy groups across the U.S. is the existential threat facing public transit. Nationally, transit needs $32 billion from Congress to avoid devastating budget and service cuts.

One of the big challenges we’ve been tackling with transit advocacy groups across the U.S. is the existential threat facing public transit. Nationally, transit needs $32 billion from Congress to avoid devastating budget and service cuts.

Take Action: Contact your representatives to request $32 billion in relief funding for transit. 

Fighting for more housing and more affordable housing in DC

We are campaigning to win time-sensitive amendments to the DC Comprehensive Plan before the end of 2020. The amendments prioritize affordable housing to make DC a more inclusive place to live.

Take action: 1. Ask your DC Councilmember to adopt the Comp Plan amendments

2. Sign up to testify at the Nov 12th and 13th hearings

This summer, we urged the DC Office of Planning to prepare a proposal to the Zoning Commission to expand Inclusionary Zoning by increasing the percentage of affordable homes during upzonings. DCOP just released their report here. We’ll keep you posted. 

Campaigning for an inclusive Montgomery County 

In addition to hosting Courageous Conversations on residential racial segregation, we organized Montgomery for All to ensure the update of the General Plan will create more equitable, inclusive communities.

Take action: Sign up for Montgomery for All’s smart growth advocacy workshop September 17th and testimony writing workshop October 15th!

Given the county’s significant housing needs, particularly near transit, we successfully advocated to the Planning Board to recommend ending the housing moratorium policy within the Subdivision Staging Policy (SSP).

Take action: Email the Council to call for an end to the housing moratorium.

Championing a more sustainable and inclusive Northern Virginia

In Northern Virginia, we’ve been working on multiple fronts to address critical land use, housing and transportation issues. Coordinating with our Fairfax Healthy Communities coalition, we’ve been pressing for faster action on stormwater management, fighting for safer road design, seeking more housing options, and weighing in on Fairfax County’s development of a climate plan. 

Fairfax’s Community Engagement and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) is being developed to reduce county carbon emissions and plan for resiliency in the face of flooding and other effects of climate change. We’re asking that the plan include walkable, transit-oriented communities as a key strategy for reducing transportation emissions.

Take action: Fill out the climate survey before September 13th.

We’re also supporting more affordable housing by advocating for missing middle housing options like accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Fairfax has proposed a limited approach to ADUs in their zoning modernization project, the City of Alexandria is studying ADUs, and Arlington County is kicking off a missing middle study. We’ll share future updates on these initiatives.

Looking ahead

It’s been a busy summer, and we have no plans to slow down. Our full fall event calendar is still being finalized, but look out for events on the DC Comprehensive Plan, the Thrive 2050 General Plan update in Montgomery County, NoVA planning issues, and our annual (but temporarily virtual) Smart Growth Social!

The public health and equity crises have underscored the importance of the issues we’ve always advocated for: affordable housing, well-funded public transit, and inclusive, walkable, transit-accessible communities are critical for our future.

We have much more to do together, so please consider supporting our ongoing work by donating $10, $25, $50, $100 or more to CSG today. You can also sign up to be a monthly recurring donor. 

ACTION ALERT: Because this design is unsafe

ACTION ALERT: Because this design is unsafe

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

Higher speeds and wide roads that prioritize cars over people have led to rising pedestrian crashes and fatalities. Four people have been struck and killed along the Richmond Highway corridor already in 2020, the latest just a couple weeks ago.

Thanks to advocacy by CSG and local partners, VDOT is considering reducing the speed limit but we need your help to make sure it happens. Reducing the speed limit 10 mph increases the chances of surviving a crash by 40%. Would you take a moment to send an email to VDOT and Fairfax County showing support for lowering the speed limit to 35mph and redesigning the road to make it safer for people to walk, bike, and take transit?

Yes! I support a safer Richmond Highway. 

Pedestrian deaths increased by 10% in Virginia from 2018 to 2019 alone, many of them on wide high-speed arterials like Richmond Highway. Smart Growth America’s report Dangerous by Design finds that older adults and people of color are disproportionately represented among pedestrian deaths, primarily because of the high-speed arterials that divide communities like those along Richmond Highway.

VDOT’s own 2018 Pedestrian Safety Action Plan identified Richmond Highway in Fairfax as one of the state’s priority crash corridors and proposed safety improvements. Between 2011-2016, the crash rate along Richmond Highway was 60% higher than the state average. We can’t wait any longer!

Tell VDOT and Fairfax County to:  

  • Lower the speed limit to a safer 35 mph ASAP
  • Provide immediate safety improvements along the corridor
  • Reconsider the widening plans to physically design the road for 35 mph

Physically designing the roadway for 35 mph by narrowing travel lanes would help reduce speeding, allow for smaller buffers within the right of way, and minimize the crossing distances for pedestrians.

And there are other benefits: A 35 mph speed limit potentially eliminates the need for sound walls, further reducing the extent of the widening and getting rid of physical barriers that cut off neighborhoods. Money saved by buying less right-of-way and not building sound walls could go toward the cost of undergrounding unsightly overhead power lines, which also helps make room for bigger shade trees.

Speak up now for safer speeds and better design.

A safer roadway will not only reduce the tragic deaths and serious injuries to residents, it will ensure Fairfax achieves the vibrant, transit-oriented economic development the county and community desire for the corridor. 

495/270 Update | July 2020

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Photo credit: urbandispute, Flickr

Last Friday, the Maryland Department of Transportation released an 18,000 page draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Governor Hogan’s plans to expand the Capital Beltway (I-495) and I-270 with private toll lanes. The study details the impacts on air, water, parks, noise levels, traffic, and more. The DEIS is available to read here. 

More than 140 acres of public parks and historic sites, as well as 70 acres of wetlands and 1,400 acres of forest canopy, could be affected. We’ve said from the beginning that Governor Hogan began with the conclusion, and failed to consider a comprehensive transit, demand management, and land use option. Maryland has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, yet toll lanes will fuel more long-distance living and commuting.

It’s overwhelming, but there’s still plenty that you can do to help. Here are three easy ways:

1. Sign up for a virtual or in-person public hearing.

2. Tell Maryland to extend the comment period to 120 days.

3. Sign up to be a community reviewer ⁠— no experience required!

At first, Governor Hogan claimed the project wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime due to the public-private partnership (P3) structure. Now, the DEIS finally admits that the project could require a government subsidy up to $1 billion. Imagine if Maryland invested $1 billion in sustainable transit and transit-oriented development instead. That cost doesn’t even include the costs imposed directly on residents: water bills could nearly triple in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties due to water and sewer relocation.

We’ll continue to keep you updated and work on this issue with our partners, including the Maryland Advocates for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) coalition. You can visit MAST’s website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

ACTION: Ensure transit survives the pandemic!

Posted on by Emily Maurer

Transit ridership and revenue have plummeted due to people sheltering at home during the ongoing public health crisis. At the same time, transit has continued to serve our essential workers. Transit is also essential to the restoration of economic activity and to fighting the next big challenge, climate change. 

There are two actions Congress can take — one will save transit right now and the second will ensure we build a more sustainable world by putting transit first in the next 6-year federal transportation bill.

  Email your Senators and Representatives today to support federal transit funding!

First, transit agencies nationally need $32 billion in emergency operating funds to cover the collapse in fare revenue, maintain service, prevent service disruption, and provide health safety. The current funding provided by the CARES Act will only keep many transit agencies running until September.

Second, last week the House approved the INVEST Act (6-year reauthorization) — transformative legislation which emphasizes access, equity, and climate when considering transportation projects, all of which relate to smarter growth. The bill prioritizes repair and maintenance over building new roads, addresses safety for vulnerable road users, and most importantly, increases funding for transit and passenger rail. This is a refreshingly progressive approach to transportation policy, so take action today!

Email your Senators and Representatives today to call for $32 billion in transit relief and for Senate support for the INVEST Act.

Public transit can survive and even thrive with these crucial pieces of legislation. For more information on these pieces of legislation, visit our website. Make your voice heard and contact your Congressional representatives today!

COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 Update

Posted on by Emily Maurer

Dear Friend,

First of all, we hope you and your families are coping as best you can under the circumstances. This is a time for us all to work together and support each other — even as it means staying physically apart to stem the spread of COVID-19 and protect the most vulnerable among us.

The CSG team went to full-telecommuting mode on Friday. We are postponing some events and converting others to webinars. Please see the current event list below.

We will not slacken our efforts to promote and win a more sustainable way to grow in the DC region. Our work is important for people to have homes they can afford, streets where it’s safe to walk, affordable transit that connects to jobs and opportunity, and healthy air and water. Walkable, bikeable, transit-accessible communities are also critical for reducing the emissions that cause climate change, an existential threat to all of us.

Here is our updated calendar of CSG events:

3/21 — Healthier Streams for Healthier Communities Walk with CSG, Audubon Naturalist Society, and Fairfax County staff (Rescheduled to June 13) 

3/26 — Conservation Cafe with CSG, Audubon Naturalist Society, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, and EcoAction Arlington (Converted to webinar, information to follow)

4/2 — Montgomery County Homeowner Accessory Dwelling Unit Workshop with Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland and Ileana Schinder (Postponed, new date to be determined, probable webinar)

4/4, 4/18, 4/25 — Courageous Conversations on Housing, Land Use, and Racism (Postponed, new date to be determined)

4/21 — Livable Communities Leadership Award event (Postponed, new date to be determined)

Look for updates from CSG on a menu of educational webinars that will not only help us advance smarter growth but keep us all connected and engaged.

It is our hope that we will come through the current health crisis committed to working together to address the many challenges we face as people who share this earth – realizing a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone.

All the best to each of you. May you and your families stay well.

Stewart
—
Stewart Schwartz
Coalition for Smarter Growth

Thank you to Joe Flood for his photograph “Almost There”