We believe that Conceptual Design #4 offers the most effective, community-friendly, and favorable economic development approach. We do not recommend variants of Concept #2 or #5. Concept #4 knits together Seven Corners across Route 50 with pedestrian and bicycle friendly bridges, it reduces interchange impacts through the use of diamonds, it disperses and reduces the traffic load at the main intersection of Route 50 and Route 7, and it maximizes the land available for productive economic activity.

Members of the Seven Corners Task Force: Thank you for the opportunity to provide input and for your hard work on a draft new plan for Seven Corners. We appreciate your commitment to revitalization through creation of a walkable, bikeable, mixed-use and transit-oriented community. Our comments focus on just three issues: the street grid, transit, and affordable housing.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a regional nonprofit based in D.C. I have worked with the Office of Planning on a variety of issues important to our city for many years including: community plans, development review, and Inclusionary Zoning. I have also been involved in the Comprehensive Plan revision in 2006 which led to the process to update our 1958 zoning code starting in 2007.

Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG). The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization working locally in the Washington, DC metropolitan region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the FY15-20 Capital Improvements Program. My name is Kelly Blynn and I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading non-profit group advocating for transit and walkable communities in the DC region, which counts thousands of supporters in Montgomery County.