FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 12, 2013 CONTACT: Alex Posorske, (202) 675-0016 ext. 126 Montgomery Rapid Transit System Takes Major Step Forward with Planning Board Approval A new county-wide rapid transit system in Montgomery County took a major step forward yesterday when the Montgomery County Planning Board unanimously approved a master plan for

The Maryland Transportation Authority issued a press release today about a report done with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and promoted time savings and traffic relief as a result of the Intercounty Connector. "First, it's not surprising that some people experience time savings from using the high speed ICC over local roads, but how many trips out of the hundreds of thousands of daily trips in the area encompassing the Beltway, I-270 and I-95? " said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. " The real question is whether the fact that a small percentage of trips save time was worth the $3 billion cost of the ICC (more with debt costs), as compared to a wide range of other investments."

"Every Virginia resident should be concerned about how the Public Private Transportation Act is distorting transportation decision-making and shutting down objective public review and debate," said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. Today, the McDonnell administration announced their pursuit of a Public-Private Transportation deal for a HOT lanes project on I-66. This announcement comes on the heels of a vote by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, protesting the decision to exclude rail transit options as priorities for the I-66 corridor and asking for reconsideration of the plan. The Commonwealth Transportation Board voted in May, just a few weeks after public comments on the I-66 proposal.

For Immediate Release: June 20, 2013Contact: Stewart Schwartz, CSG, 703-599-6437 A diverse set of groups working on affordable housing, conservation, transit, smart growth and bicycle pedestrian issues sent the following letter last week to Fairfax and state officials.  We have already received a positive response from Supervisor McKay, Fairfax transportation

Statement on Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board Approval of $17.6 Billion Six-Year Capital Spending Program A Road to Ruin? Today with no debate, the appointed Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the largest transportation spending program in Virginia history, $17.6 billion in capital spending. “We are shocked by the lack of discussion of