Known nationally as an innovator in smart growth and environmental protection, Maryland has many opportunities for improved transportation, land use and equitable development policies.
In Maryland, the Coalition for Smarter Growth focuses on Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. We advocate for transit-oriented neighborhoods where people can walk, bicycle and take transit between home, work and play, the new transit investments to support these communities, and affordable housing linked to transit.
Latest Happenings
Support for Support CB-2-2012, Adequate Public Pedestrian and Bikeway Facilities in Centers and Corridors
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.
Where and How Should Prince George’s Grow?
On January 26, 2012, leaders gathered with the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Envision Prince George's Community Action Team for Transit-Oriented Development to discuss where and how Prince George's County should grow.
Testimony: Charles County Comprehensive Plan Update – draft scenarios
Having been contacted by local community members, the Coalition for Smarter Growth has reviewed the proposed scenarios, the Land Use Market Analysis, and the Comprehensive Plan Scenario Evaluations. To summarize, we share the concern about the comparative evaluation of the two scenarios and believe that the scoring of a number of the factors fails to account for countervailing research and potential benefits that would support Scenario 1.
Equitable Transit-Oriented Development: The Case of Langley Park and the Purple Line
A presentation advocating the installation of the Purple line through Langley Park, MD.
Testimony: Support for Local Map Amendment for the Chelsea School, Silver Spring
We want to express our support for this proposed map amendment and project. We have reviewed proposal, discussed it with community members and visited the site. We are also familiar with EYA and its record of quality developments around the region, and open and honest relationships with communities. When a townhouse is the right solution, EYA is one of the best developers to build that project.
