Reaction To GW2050 Poll – What it Tells Us About Transportation and Planning
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Contact:
May 1, 2009 Stewart Schwartz, 703-599-6437 (cell)
REACTION TO GREATER WASHINGTON 2050 SURVEY RELEASE
After Schools, Safety and Jobs, Public Sees Challenges and Needs for
Affordable Housing and Better Planning for Growth
Transportation Ranks Middle of the Pack in Terms of Spending Priorities
The Coalition for Smarter Growth participated in today’s press conference as a member of the Council of Government’s Greater Washington 2050 committee and has worked for 12-years with the Council of Governments, local communities, and business leaders to address where and how the DC region can grow in a sustainable manner.
The survey shows very personal and household-oriented issues like good schools, safe streets, and good jobs rank at the top of public priorities for the long-term. “The public also identifies a second set of interconnected challenges that all relate to how we are planning our communities. Taken together, they indicate the need for the smarter growth solutions that the Coalition has long advocated,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
Among the interrelated issues identified as important by the public are:
- A cleaner environment
- More housing that people of all incomes can afford
- Growth and development that is better planned
- Better transportation choices
- Jobs that are easier to get to
- Neighborhoods where it is easier to walk
“Our patterns of growth and our planning affect all of these issues,” said Schwartz.
By far, “housing that all incomes can afford” gets the lowest performance grade from the public. “We need stronger housing policies to support a wider range of housing closer to jobs and with access to affordable, convenient transportation,” said Melissa Bondi, Housing Director for the Coalition.
“Poor access to jobs is tied in part to our east-west divide and increases traffic congestion and commuting costs,” said Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for the Coalition who is active in promoting transit-oriented economic development in Prince George’s County and the east side of DC. COG reports that between 1990 and 2000 there was 20% job growth on the west side of the region and just 1% on the east, a trend that continued in the last decade.
Even challenges in access to health care may be tied in part to the shift we seem to be seeing of major medical facilities out of lower income and inner suburban and urban locations to wealthier outer suburban locations.
Schwartz noted, “Transportation, while being the first thing people identify as a problem, is not where they would focus public resources (ranking in the middle of the pack), and it ranks dead last when the public is asked about their long term hopes and priorities for the region.” In terms of spending tax dollars the focus is on eight other issues before transportation: schools, safety, health care, jobs, help for those in need, planning, housing and the environment. “In an era of scarce resources, this means these other priorities should receive greater attention. Better land use and planning will be critical for addressing transportation challenges in a more affordable manner,” said Schwartz.
While walkability does not score high as an issue or a priority, research shows that increased walkability and mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods are critical for reducing traffic and increasing accessibility to services. “We agree that planners need to do a better job of showing the benefits and designing neighborhoods where walking and bicycling are safer and more convenient – because where we do, community-members embrace the idea,” said Cort, who along with other Coalition staffmembers has given hundreds of presentations, led walking tours, and helped start community planning processes.
The good grade for our environment in part reflects the region’s progress, but perhaps because we can’t see the pollution anymore. Yesterday the DC region received an F from the American Lung Association because of ozone pollution. And, the PBS FRONTLINE broadcast last week, “Poisoned Waters,” noted that pollution from farms, sewage plants, chemicals and the amount of land we have paved over are endangering the Bay, our rivers and our drinking water. The Bay cleanup has been failing with high levels of nutrient pollution. “How, we are using the land is a factor in the terrible condition of the Bay,” said Cort.
Finally, after the core household issues of schools, safety and jobs, it is heartening to see in the long-term hopes for the region the commitment to cultural and ethnic diversity, quality of life and the arts – all critical factors for attracting and keeping what Richard Florida calls the “creative class.” Richard Florida has also identified vibrant, walkable communities and nearby natural and recreation areas as key factors for attracting and keeping a talented workforce.
“We look forward to working with the public, elected officials and the business community to continue to improve our region. The challenges before us, those outlined in this survey and others such as energy and climate change, make Greater Washington 2050 effort critically important,” concluded Schwartz.
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