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 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

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.

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).

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.