Moving an Age-Friendly DC: Transportation for All Ages encourages local decision-makers and advocates to respond to the needs of an increasing population of older adults by focusing on age-friendly transportation options. Following national best practices in three areas – the pedestrian environment, fixed-route public transit, and alternative specialized transportation – CSG assessed the District’s progress towards becoming an age-friendly city.

The Virginia Department of Transportation's ("VDOT") own traffic modeling data reveal that the proposed Bi-County Parkway (“BCP") would worsen, not relieve, traffic congestion. The same model shows that the comprehensive alternative offered by our coalition (termed the “Substitute Vision” by VDOT) will better address congestion in the study area, and better serve the dominant need for east-west traffic capacity—now and in the future.

Earlier this week, the Coalition for Smarter Growth issued a report on the Washington, D.C. region’s public transportation, including a set of nine principles to guide long-term regional planning for the next generation of transit. The Coalition for Smarter Growth, a non-profit, works to promote smart growth in the Washington,

We don't need a ranking to know our traffic is bad. What the headlines miss is the crucial role our Metro and our other transit investments have played in preventing gridlock, in offering us an effective alternative to sitting in traffic, and in fueling an economic boom that has revitalized our city and transit-oriented suburbs. "Fifty years ago, visionary leaders conceived, planned and built Metro, and reshaped the Washington, D.C. region. The first order of business is to complete the reinvestment and full rehabilitation of this system that is so critical for our regional economy. We are also calling today for a new vision for a new generation -- for a Next Generation of Transit investments and the leadership to make it happen," said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. "We believe our region's leadership is ready for the challenge."

Thinking Big Planning Smart presents a broad synopsis of major ongoing and planned transit projects in the region to serve as a starting point for what we hope will be a constructive dialogue and strategic planning process by planners, policy makers, developers, smart growth advocates and the public. With D.C. studying and implementing streetcars, Montgomery County pursuing the Purple Line and BRT, Arlington streetcars and Alexandria BRT, and Fairfax new transit corridors, it’s an exciting time.