Category: News

Hogan Highway Plan Could Turn Region Into Toll Lane Capital

From the front seat of a car, the future of transportation in the Washington region looks like hundreds of miles of toll lanes.

With Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s new plan to expand the Beltway, I-270 and Baltimore-Washington Parkway each by four lanes, his state is poised to join Virginia in seeking private developers to build HOT (high-occupancy toll) lanes to relieve congestion on major highways.

With an estimated cost of $9 billion, the project would be the largest public-private partnership for a highway project in the country, raising an array of questions concerning the state’s transportation priorities, the efficacy of tolling to unclog traffic, the public’s willingness to pay, and – in the case of BW Parkway (MD 295) – whether it is appropriate to transfer federal land to a for-profit toll road endeavor.

Under the HOT lane system, the price of the toll rises and falls along with traffic demand; as more cars flow into the HOT lanes, the electronically-charged, dynamically-priced toll increases in order to maintain speeds of 55 mph. Motorists have the option to stay in the free lanes, but risk getting stuck in traffic if they are unwilling or cannot afford to pay the toll.

The sheer scale of the governor’s proposal, unveiled at a news conference in Gaithersburg on Thursday, makes clear Hogan does not believe piecemeal projects will work. And he is not afraid to promote bold ideas, given his administration’s ongoing study of a high-speed maglev train between Baltimore and Washington — a project that could cost at least $10 billion.

Tolling the entire length of the Capital Beltway in Maryland would require 44 miles of construction, leaving only about 8 miles of I-495 without electronic toll gantries, all in Virginia: from the Wilson Bridge to the I-95 interchange. Virginia, in a public-private partnership with Australia-based Transurban, opened HOT lanes on 14 miles of the Beltway in late 2012, from the American Legion Bridge south to I-95.

If the maximum concept is realized, the 44 miles of the Beltway, 34 miles of I-270, and 32 miles of BW Parkway would give Maryland 110 miles of HOT lanes situated across the river from the 85 miles of express toll lanes Virginia plans to have by 2022, with the opening of the I-66 outside the beltway project.

Such massive investments in highway expansions are leaving transit and smart growth advocates dismayed that regional leaders could be largely giving up on their preferred way to reduce congestion. By changing land use patterns by putting more jobs and housing near high-capacity transit hubs, these advocates argue, commuters would not have to drive in the first place. They say Hogan’s idea will only encourage more drive-alone commuters – the very cause of congestion – even though HOT lanes typically allow carpoolers and buses free access.

In response to these criticisms, Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn argues that new train lines and bus routes are not sufficient to tackle the region’s traffic problems.

“This isn’t a question of transit versus roads. We have to have both,” Rahn said. “The world is awash in capital that is looking for projects exactly like these.”

Do HOT lanes work?

Transportation experts say express toll lanes are effective in providing users predictable travel times and congestion-free travel. It is unclear over the long term to what extent HOT lanes will relieve congestion in the free lanes running parallel to them.

Virginia officials say traffic flow has improved on the regular lanes on I-495 since the HOT lanes there opened five years ago. But if you accept the rule of “induced demand” – built it and more cars will come – then any relief could be temporary.

“Whether it is going to relieve congestion on the un-tolled lanes is a question,” said Rob Puentes, the head of the Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington think tank. “It is probably not going to be able to do that because of this rule of induced demand. Folks will still be attracted to the roads and will fill it up with traffic.”

In the HOT lanes, Puentes says, “the tolls themselves will be used to moderate the congestion and keep it relatively congestion-free.”

Dan Malouff, the editor of the pro-transit blog BeyondDC, said Hogan’s plan raises questions that simply cannot be answered at this point.

“Will there be buses on these highways, and if so where will they go and how will they be paid for? Where will the toll profits go? Will they go to the state? Will they go to the private contractor? Will they go to transit? Who knows?” said Malouff, who said Hogan’s desire to obtain the BW Parkway from the U.S. Department of the Interior is potentially troubling.

“There is the question of whether the National Park Service and Trump administration should be giving away national park land to a state or a private contractor in order to run a highway,” he said.

Solution ignores the real problem

Others are not waiting to see the plan unfold before condemning it. Stewart Schwartz, the executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said that adding lanes to the Beltway will not solve the root cause of traffic congestion: the imbalance of opportunities between the east and west sides of the region.

“Most of the worst traffic is westbound to Montgomery County and Northern Virginia in the morning, and then eastbound on the inner loop back to Prince George’s in the evening. That’s a land use problem, a jobs and housing balance problem, not at its core a transportation problem.”

Schwartz’s group lobbies local and state governments to change zoning laws to allow more housing and jobs to be located near Metrorail and other transit stations.

“Unfortunately the multi-national toll companies have really hijacked the transportation planning process and have undue influence to the exclusion of other alternatives that would better protect neighborhoods and the environment,” he said.

To transit advocates, there is not enough asphalt in the world that can be paved to end traffic jams. To Maryland’s top transportation official, Pete Rahn, the state is capable of fixing highways at the same time as it commits to spending billions on transit in the form of the Purple Line light rail project in the suburbs.

“There have been very few major improvements to highway systems on the Maryland side of the capital region,” Rahn said. “It’s been neglected too long.”

If all goes as planned, Rahn said construction could begin by 2019. That depends on whether the state can reach a deal with a private developer to design, finance, build, operate, and maintain the express toll lanes, and, in the case of MD 295, whether Maryland can obtain the parkway from the federal government.

Photos courtesy of Jose Luis Magana / AP and MDOT. Click here to view the original story.

State Roundup, September 22, 2017

MAJOR HIGHWAY PROJECTS: Robert McCartney, Faiz Siddiqui and Ovetta Wiggins of the Post are reporting that Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Thursday proposed a $9 billion plan to widen three of the state’s most congested highways — the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway — in what he said would include the largest public-private partnership for highways in North America.

OPPOSITION TO PROJECTS: Smart growth and transit advocates, environmental groups and some Democrats expressed their disapproval, calling the projects short-sighted, bad for the environment and sure to spur sprawl and overdevelopment. Business groups were elated, writes Josh Kurtz in Maryland Matters.

COUNTY EXECS WANT NOISE SUIT AGAINST BWI: Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh and Howard County Executive Alan Kittleman want the state to sue the Federal Aviation Administration over what residents near BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport describe as lower, louder airplanes. In separate letters, both executives asked Attorney General Brian Frosh to sue the administration on behalf of Marylanders, reports Rachael Pacella in the Annapolis Capital.

REDMER VS. McDONOUGH: The race for Baltimore County executive heats up on the Republican side Saturday as Maryland Insurance Commission and former delegate Al Redmer announces his campaign at a sold-out event hosted by Gov. Larry Hogan. Del. Pat McDonough, who’s been running for some time, formally announces that morning at a Dundalk diner. McDonough has been sniping at Redmer for months and Thursday released a Redmer Report, a one-page summary of all his attack points against Redmer. MarylandReporter.com.

CHALLENGE TO STATE GUN LAW: A Maryland man has mounted a U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the state’s prohibition on convicted felons possessing firearms, saying individuals must be allowed to have a judge decide on a case-by-case basis whether the ban violates that person’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms., Steve Lash of the Daily Record reports.

REGIONAL ECONOMIC WEAKNESSES: A new “super regional” group of chief executives of large employers from Richmond to Baltimore has been studying the Washington area’s economy and has identified weaknesses it says are stifling growth. The region possesses valuable assets, including a highly educated workforce and the seat of the federal government, but its incomes and productivity aren’t keeping pace with other major metropolitan areas, reports Robert McCartney in the Post. The Greater Washington Partnership also said in a report released Thursday that too many talented workers are leaving the area because of greater opportunity elsewhere.

RETURN OF PHOENIX SCHOOLS? A fire led to the eventual end of Phoenix — a groundbreaking Maryland public school program for children with addiction that closed in 2012 — but the state could see institutions like it rise again from the ashes. Recent spikes in the Maryland heroin and opioid epidemic have triggered calls for substantial changes in education systems statewide, and a state work group is weighing the return of recovery schools after a Sept. 7 meeting, Capital News Service’s Georgia Slater reports.

TOWN TO PAY PURPLE LINE GROUP: The Town of Chevy Chase will not appeal a judge’s order to pay $92,000 to the Purple Line advocacy group Action Committee for Transit and member Ben Ross for the cost of their attorneys’ fees in a public information case, Andrew Metcalf of Bethesda Beat reports. Mayor Mary Flynn said Tuesday the town will pay the fees rather than appeal the order. The Town Council plans to approve a supplemental appropriation in October to do so.

CANDIDATE PHUKAN RECOVERING: Anjali Reed Phukan, Republican candidate for comptroller, is recovering from emergency surgery at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, to remove her gallbladder. “Maybe almost died,” Phukan (FU-kan) reported on her Facebook page early Tuesday morning. Later that day she posted “I survived.” “Next time let’s just have a little less narcotics and a little more vegetables,” said the gaming agency auditor who is a recovering addict and a vegetarian. Here’s our original article on Anjali Phukan.

SINCLAIR SEEKS SEN. HERSHEY’s SEAT: Heather Lynette Sinclair, a 32-year-old Kent County Democrat, has filed to run for the state Senate seat in District 36, challenging incumbent state Senate Minority Whip Steve Hershey (R-Upper Shore) for the seat that represents southern Cecil County, as well as Kent, Queen Anne’s and Caroline counties, Brad Kroner writes in the Cecil Whig.

BALTIMORE’s SEWAGE LEAK PLAN SCRUTINIZED: It appears that a federal judge will have to settle a serious disagreement over whether the city of Baltimore has a credible new plan for curtailing the frequent sewage overflows and chronic leaks that have long made the harbor and urban waters unsafe for recreation, Timothy Wheeler of the Bay Journal reports in MarylandReporter. A local environmental group, Blue Water Baltimore, has asked a federal judge to reject the plan, unless it is further strengthened.

A SOLDIER’s TALE: Blaine Taylor, in a commentary in MarylandReporter, questions MPT’s Vietnam Voices and whether it really represents those of Marylanders who served.

Photo courtesy of video from Governor Hogan’s Facebook page. Click here to view the original story.

RELEASE: Governor Hogan’s highways-first approach to transportation will fail Maryland communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2017

CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth
(703) 599-6437
stewart@smartergrowth.net

Governor Hogan’s highways-first approach to transportation will fail Maryland communities

MARYLAND — Today, Maryland Governor Hogan proposed to spend (at least) $9 billion to expand three of Maryland’s major highways in the Washington, DC metro area. The plans call to expand the entire Maryland portion of the Capital Beltway by four high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes – two in each direction. I-270 would also see a four-lane expansion. Maryland would also take over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from the National Park Service, and add four additional HOT lanes as well.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth urged the Governor to pause and consider the full picture of land use and transportation issues affecting central Maryland before deciding on the best approach.“The Governor and Secretary Rahn risk wasting billions of tax dollars and family resources from Maryland residents with this massive set of highway expansions,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “The fiscally-prudent approach is to study and adopt reasonable alternatives that include land use solutions.

“Smart growth, demand management, and transit investments are the only fiscally-responsible long-term approach, but the big multi-national toll road construction consortiums have been hijacking our transportation planning process promoting massive toll lane projects,” said Schwartz.“The public ultimately pays with these public-private partnerships, through federally-subsidized loans, direct public payments, their tolls, and the impact to neighborhoods and the environment,” said Schwartz.

“A four-lane expansion of the Beltway would be hugely expensive and have a destructive impact on neighborhoods, tree cover, streams, and the environment in the path. For such expense and damage, expansion is only a short-term fix, as experience shows that even with HOT lanes, traffic will return to the general purpose lanes, and attract even more travelers,” said Schwartz. “Even with HOT lanes the number of vehicles on the combined HOT and general purpose lanes would expand and those additional vehicles would then exit onto already overloaded connecting arterials. That’s why we have to look at alternatives that provide options to driving for so many trips.”

The Coalition for Smarter Growth called for an objective study of a more sustainable long-term approach to include:

  1. Completing the first phase of the Purple Line and extending it all the way around to make a full set of connections to activity centers within and near the Beltway.
  2. Focus on the primary bottleneck at the American Legion Bridge, providing a near-term express bus in a dedicated lane in each direction tying into the I-270 HOV lanes.
  3. Advancing MARC commuter rail expansion plan with more frequent trains, expanded hours, and increased bi-directional service.
  4. Investing in smart growth – mixed-use, walkable, transit-oriented communities at Metro stations, MARC stations, and other hubs with frequent transit, as well as reinvestment in the City of Baltimore.
  5. In the DC region, addressing the Beltway means addressing the jobs/housing imbalance between Prince George’s and the west side of the region. Most of the worst traffic is peak hour westbound to Montgomery County and northern Virginia in the morning and eastbound back toward Prince George’s in the evening.  We need to complete transit-oriented development at all east side Metro stations.

Schwartz went on to say, “To quote from the late Ron Kirby, longtime director of the transportation staff at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, ‘Well, rather than widening the Beltway, it would be nice if we had more jobs in the eastern part of the region.’ Mr. Kirby said this in a seminal article in the Washington Post that sums up our critique of the ‘widen-first’ approach,” said Schwartz. “We urge the Governor and Secretary to read this article and to consider the central role of land use, jobs/housing locations, and induced demand.”

About the Coalition for Smarter Growth
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its 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. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.

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Hogan proposes $9B plan to add new lanes to Beltway, 270 and BW Parkway

WASHINGTON — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is proposing an ambitious $9 billion project to ease traffic congestion that includes adding four new lanes to the Maryland side of the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

The plans also calls for the addition of new express toll lanes on all three of the routes.

The additional lanes on the Beltway would run from the American Legion Bridge to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, according to the proposal Hogan laid out Thursday morning. The four additional lanes on I-270 would run from the Capital Beltway to Frederick. The additional lanes on I-295 would run from Baltimore City to D.C.

“These three massive, unprecedented projects to widen I-495, I-270, and Md. 295 will be absolutely transformative, and they will help Maryland citizens go about their daily lives in a more efficient and safer manner,” Hogan said in a statement.

The governor’s announcement amounts to the first step in what is expected to be a lengthy and potentially contested process.
It’s unclear what aspects of the project, if any, would require signoff from any parts of the Democratic-led legislature.Hogan said the project will be managed as a public-private partnership and that private developers would be tasked with designing, building, operating and maintaining the new lanes. The project is still in the request-for-information phase.

Amelia Chasse, a Hogan spokeswoman, said in an email to WTOP that the Maryland General Assembly has the opportunity to review and comment upon the plan.

Building new express toll lanes on the Baltimore Washington Parkway requires the U.S. Interior Department to transfer the parkway land, which the federal government owns, to the Maryland Transportation Authority. Hogan said he recently met with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to “personally” kick-start the process.

Zinke and Hogan recently sat down for a “wide-ranging conversation,” said Alex Hinson, deputy press secretary at the Interior Department told WTOP in an email. “No decisions related
to issues involving the Baltimore-Washington Parkway were made during that meeting,” Hinson said.

In a statement, Democratic Rep. John Delaney called Hogan’s announcement “good news” and called for bipartisan cooperation on the broad outlines of the plan

“This is day one of what should be a considered process and we’ve got to carefully analyze the plan and the costs, but I am encouraged that we’re finally moving forward and I’m supportive of the state thinking about these kind of big solutions to big problems,” Delaney said.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen told WTOP in an email he supports steps to reduce traffic congestion, “but the project must be structured in a way that protects consumers from excessive tolls.”

In a statement released Thursday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a group that advocates for public transportation, blasted Hogan’s proposal as a “highways-first” approach” to transportation issues.

“Smart growth, demand management, and transit investments are the only fiscally-responsible long-term approach, but the big multi-national toll road construction consortia have been hijacking our transportation planning process promoting massive toll lane projects,” said Stewart Schwartz, the group’s executive director, in a statesmen.

The coalition said the governor should pause the multibillion-dollar plans and consider a broader approach that includes completing the first phase of the Purple Line and a dedicated express bus lane that ties into the I-270 HOV lanes at the American Legion Bridge bottleneck.

WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove that State Democratic Sen. Rich Madaleno said Gov. Hogan has to get approval for the plan from two budget committees before moving forward. The committees can comment and review rather than approve. Madaleno is running for Maryland governor.

Photo courtesy of WTOP/Kate Ryan. Click here to view the original story.

Hogan plans to widen I-270, I-495 and BW Parkway

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday announced $9 billion in projects to add lanes to Interstate 270, the Capital Beltway and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to ease congestion in the traffic-choked suburbs of the nation’s capital — a plan that includes toll lanes.

Hogan said the plan to add four lanes to all three roads “will substantially and dramatically improve our state highway system and traffic throughout the region,” while benefiting millions of Marylanders.

“Daily backups on the Capital Beltway, I-270 and Baltimore-Washington Parkway have made the Baltimore-Washington corridor one of the most congested regions in the nation,” the Republican governor said at a news conference in Gaithersburg. “This problem has been marring the quality of life of Maryland citizens for decades. Today, we are finally going to do something about it.”

The I-495 beltway around Washington will be widened by four lanes for its entire length in the state, and I-270 will be widened from 495 to Frederick.

Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth in Washington, said his organization is urging the governor to pause and look at reasonable alternatives, such as more public transportation. He cited concerns about environmental impacts, and he said the new capacity will encourage people who found other ways to commute besides driving to return to the roads and make them congested again.

“If you build it, they will come,” Schwartz said.

The state will be seeking private developers to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new lanes for those two projects in a public-private partnership, which is also known as a P3.

“These ambitious and unprecedented traffic-relief plans will collectively be the largest P3 highway project in North America,” Hogan said.

Once completed, the plan calls for new express toll lanes, in addition to the existing lanes, on the three roads.

Hogan said has met with U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to begin the process of transferring the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to the Maryland Transportation Authority. The governor said he has directed state officials to finalize details and move forward with transfer negotiations.

The statewide cost of congestion based on auto delay, truck delay and wasted fuel and emissions was estimated at $2 billion in 2015, the governor’s office said. That was an increase of 22 percent from the $1.7 billion estimated cost of congestion in 2013, the governor’s office said. More than 98 percent of the weekday congestion cost was incurred in the Baltimore-Washington region.

Last month, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao signed a funding agreement with Hogan to build a 16-mile (25-kilometer) light-rail project in the traffic-choked suburbs of Washington. The project, named the Purple Line, is also a public-private partnership. The cost to design, build and operate the line is estimated at about $5.6 billion.

STATEMENT: Transit advocates release 5 principles for smart growth in Montgomery County ahead of 2018 elections

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2017

CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director
(703) 599-6437
stewart@smartergrowth.net

Pete Tomao, Montgomery County Advocacy Manager
(516) 318-0605
pete@smartergrowth.net

Transit advocates release 5 principles for smart growth in Montgomery County ahead of 2018 elections

Montgomery County, MD — On Wednesday, advocates at the Coalition for Smarter Growth released a smart growth platform highlighting the importance of transit-accessible, inclusive, and walkable communities for Montgomery County’s future. The platform encourages candidates and public officials to commit to a sustainable Montgomery County by investing in transit-oriented development, affordable housing, providing more transportation choices to reduce the amount people have to drive, protecting the Agricultural Reserve and county streams, and expanding public parks. The platform [PDF] includes 5 main principles and a list of specific policy recommendations for each principle.

“With an expected increase of 230,000 residents in Montgomery County by 2040, and the need to be competitive in attracting next generation companies and employees, we must continue the progress the county is making in shifting growth to transit-served areas. Arlington committed to this approach over the last 30 years, and they have contained congestion. Today, Arlington residents enjoy the shortest commute times in the DC region and the highest walk, bike and transit mode shares outside of D.C.” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “Montgomery County has dual advantages, the ability to create strong, walkable urban places, and nearby access to the Agricultural Reserve and one of the nation’s best park systems.”

Schwartz continued, “We can achieve a vision of a sustainable Montgomery by building out the county’s 81-mile bus rapid transit network, fully developing the areas around Metro, increasing housing near transit, promoting affordable housing on public land near transit, and protecting parks and the Agricultural Reserve. These approaches aren’t just good for the environment; they are also better for business.”

86% of new office construction in the region is within one-quarter mile of a Metro station; a recent report found the most successful office clusters are in walkable, transit accessible locations. “The decision of the county’s largest private employer, Marriott, to relocate from an office park to Downtown Bethesda really puts an exclamation point on the benefits of transit investment and smart growth, and we now hear that Amazon is looking for a transit-accessible location for its second headquarters. Simply put, smart growth is better for the environment and better for the economy.”

“Montgomery’s redevelopment of places like White Flint and Silver Spring has paid off in attracting businesses and residents, and contributed to the 10% drop in vehicle miles being driven in the county,” said Pete Tomao, the Montgomery County Advocacy Manager at the Coalition for Smarter Growth

“As a millennial and Silver Spring resident, I can say that our platform provides a policy roadmap that will help attract and retain the next generation workforce. Younger folks want more urban spaces where they can be less reliant on a car. Additionally, access to transportation has emerged as critical to escaping poverty. Transit-oriented development provides access to opportunity for all residents of Montgomery,” said Tomao.

Read the smart growth platform for Montgomery County here.

About the Coalition for Smarter Growth: The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its 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. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.

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F.C. Council Grants Final OK To Novel 10 Cottage Cluster

By a 5-2 vote, the Falls Church City Council gave final approval for a special zoning exception to permit development of a cluster of 10 senior age-restricted 1,500-square foot bungalow-style cottages on Railroad Avenue in the City. The unique project, the brainchild of F.C.-based developer Bob Young, won approval despite fierce opposition from some of the neighbors to the location, which is tucked adjacent the W&OD trail on the fringes of the City boundary.

The final approval completed a year-long process that began with the Council OK’ing a change to permit construction of such cottage clusters as a matter of policy. That was followed by the specific Railroad Avenue plan that took months to gain Monday’s final OK. In the end, it was in the spirit of the original allowance for cottage clusters as an alternative housing model that won the day on the Council, with the crucial approvals coming from Council members Letty Hardi and Karen Oliver for just that reason. They both cited their support for alternative housing models as grounds for their approval of the Railroad Avenue plan, saying that moderately priced alternatives to the City’s dominant focus on large single family homes, and in this case, restricted for senior use, constituted their grounds for support.

Once those two Council members went on record in support Monday night, the die was cast, and the remaining expected “yes” votes from Phil Duncan, Vice Mayor Marybeth Connelly and Dan Sze only sealed the outcome. Mayor David Tarter and Councilman David Snyder voted “no” on grounds argued by those neighbors to the site who were opposed, that it was cramped into too small an area and that parking and emergency access issues were not adequately addressed.

But one of the strongest arguments in support of the plan came from Stewart Schwartz, head of the regionally-influential Coalition for Smarter Growth. He spoke to lodge his strong support for the novel housing model, congratulating Falls Church for “leading the way” with the first in the region housing model. “It will enhance the community and property values, providing for diversity and reducing the carbon footprint,” he said.

Connelly also stressed the argument made by the developer that the alternative for the site would be four large single family homes that could be built “by right” which would be even more dense than the cottage cluster, in terms of floor-to-area ratios and which would involve no restrictions on parking and no improvements to the Railroad Avenue, itself, which under the cottage plan will tender the approval from the Fairfax Park Authority to grant an easement on its land to widen the street to 16 feet.

Photo courtesy of Falls Church News-Press. Click here to view the original story.

RELEASE: CSG calls Governor Hogan’s $500 million pledge to Metro a “jumping-off place”

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
September 12, 2017

Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
703-599-6437 (c), stewart@smartergrowth.net

CSG calls Governor Hogan’s $500 million pledge to Metro a “jumping-off place”

Washington, DC – The Coalition for Smarter Growth today thanked Maryland Governor Larry Hogan for proposing a much-needed infusion of additional funding for Metro, with the potential to be a catalyst for needed negotiation among DC, Maryland. and Virginia.

“We thank Governor Hogan for proposing $500 million over four years toward addressing Metro’s urgent capital funding needs, and we hope that his proposal will be a catalyst for urgent negotiations between the Governors of Virginia and Maryland and the Mayor of DC,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“However, the $500 million in additional funds needed each year from the three jurisdictions must be dedicated and bondable and continue for many years, not just four, and not only to restore the existing system but to ensure we can meet capacity needs including expansion of the Rosslyn tunnel,” said Schwartz.

“We, along with our partners in the ‘Fund it, Fix it Coalition,’ urge the Governors, Mayor, Congressional Delegation, state legislators and local elected officials to work with common purpose to find a funding solution for Metro, appropriately tailored to each jurisdiction, but dedicated and bondable,” said Schwartz. “If there wasn’t already reason enough to fix Metro, the region even has a new incentive – Amazon, which is looking to invest $5 billion and generate thousands of jobs for a second headquarters with good access to transit.”

“We urge a funding solution be adopted by the FY2019 budget season,” concluded Schwartz.

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About the Coalition for Smarter Growth: The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its 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. smartergrowth.net

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is part of the Fund it, Fix it coalition, a partnership of 21 activist and advocacy organizations across the DC metropolitan area supporting dedicated funding for Metro. Read our statement of principles here.

$5.6M Purple Line Commuter Rail Line Breaks Ground

Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday kicked off construction of the Purple Line rail to serve commuters in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

HYATTSVILLE, MD — Maryland officials on Monday held a ceremonial ground-breaking for the embattled and long-anticipated $5.6 billion Purple Line commuter rail project that will serve Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao attended the event, which came together when the federal government las week committed $900 million to the 16-mile light rail system from Bethesda to New Carrollton. The Purple Line will run east-west inside the Capital Beltway, with 21 stations connecting to: Metrorail’s Orange, Green, and Red lines; the MARC Brunswick, Camden, and Penn lines; and Amtrak at New Carrollton.

“The Purple Line project will be an important economic driver for Maryland,” said Governor Larry Hogan on Monday. “It will integrate seamlessly with our current transit systems, combining Metro and Amtrak, to provide more transit options across the region. Just the construction alone will mean thousands of new jobs for Marylanders.

Work can begin after a late May court decision rejected a lawsuit that questioned the environmental impact on birds and wildlife.

“The Purple Line is a great example of what can be achieved when federal, state, and private partners work together,” said Secretary Chao.

Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz said in a statement in May that Metro ridership will make up a limited percentage of Purple Line ridership.

“The Purple Line is a badly-needed east-west transit connection for access to jobs and revitalization, and significant ridership will be driven by that demand, as well as the revitalization inside the Beltway that the project will spur,” Schwartz said. “We are also certain Metro ridership will recover as the system completes repairs and reforms. In an era of climate change, the most progressive transportation solution available is to build more transit.”

President Donald Trump’s team in January put together a list of 50 infrastructure projects, which was obtained by McClatchy, and it called for $5.6 billion to build the Purple Line. The line would provide a direct connection to Metrorail’s green, orange and red lines through 21 stations, plus MARC, Amtrak and local bus service, according to the report posted by McClatchy.

Construction of the Purple Line has a price tag of $5.6 billion and would lead to 5,000 “direct job years,” the report adds, noting that engineering is done, permitting is 95 percent complete and the funding would be a combination of public and private with a large public share.

Maryland is expected to pay about $3.3 billion of the Purple Line cost over three and a half decades, according to state officials.

To supplement state funding, more than $330 million in cash and contributions will come from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties: Montgomery pledged to pay $210 million, and Prince George’s County agreed to contribute $120 million to the project.

Ground was scheduled to be broken for the rail route by the end of 2016, state leaders said, with plans for Purple Line service to begin in 2022. The Purple Line would run through Silver Spring and College Park and would include five stops on or near the University of Maryland’s campus that would be free for students.

Stations for the Purple Line LPA would be at these locations:

  • Bethesda
  • Connecticut Avenue
  • Lyttonsville
  • Woodside/16th Street
  • Silver Spring Transit Center
  • Silver Spring Library
  • Dale Drive
  • Manchester Place
  • Long Branch
  • Piney Branch Road
  • Takoma/Langley Transit Center
  • Riggs Road
  • Adelphi Road/West Campus
  • Campus Center
  • East Campus
  • College Park Metro
  • M Square
  • Riverdale Park
  • Beacon Heights
  • Annapolis Road/Glenridge
  • New Carrollton

Photo courtesy of Governor’s office. Click here to read the original story

Gerald Halpin’s vision for Tysons transformed with the times

Gerald Halpinwho has died at the age of 94, hadn’t been through Tysons much in recent years as high-density mixed-use development began to replace the office parks he had built there a half century earlier.

But his impact can be seen in every Silver Line Metro car and tower crane as Tysons slowly morphs into a transit-oriented suburban center, said Mark Lowham, the CEO and managing partner of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. Lowham spent more than 20 years working for Halpin’s West-Group Management, Tysons’ dominant landowner until 2011.

“Much of what we did in the last 20 years was lay the groundwork for Tysons today,” said Lowham, who served as West-Group’s executive vice president. “Jerry understood that Tysons had to be mixed-use and had to have transit infrastructure to be viable. Jerry was instrumental in the planning and construction of the the Silver Line, which he understood was a critical part of any plan to enhance economic development in the region.”

Lowham said he was working on tax increment financing for the Metro line under Halpin’s direction in the mid-1990s.

The Silver Line opened to passengers in 2014, the same year Halpin sold his Mount Vernon estate for $18.6 million, clearing the way for his full relocation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was inducted into the Greater Washington Business Hall of Fame in 2010. Watch the video from that honor below.

“Jerry was one of the true ‘founding fathers’ of the real estate development community in Northern Virginia, joining the likes of Milt Peterson, Ted Lerner and Til Hazel in transforming the sleepy country crossroads of Tysons Corner into the international economic powerhouse that it is today,” said Ray Ritchey, senior executive vice president with Boston Properties Inc.

To prepare for rail, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2010 approved the Tysons Comprehensive Plan Amendment to boost density around the four planned Metro stations with the goal of increasing Tysons’ population to 100,000 by 2050 and its workforce to 250,000. Since 2014, 4.2 million square feet of transit-oriented development has been built in Tysons, with more than 40 million square feet in the pipeline.

Halpin’s transit-oriented outlook was itself an evolution. It was he and his partners who purchased the 125 acres of dairy farms that would eventually be developed into Tysons’ trademark sprawling office parks in the 1960s and ’70s.

It was a sign of the times, said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. The coalition recognized Halpin in 2013 for his determined leadership in the transformation of Tysons.

“He was proof that an old dog could lead the way in learning new tricks,” Schwartz said Tuesday. “Tysons was created during the time when people had a big love affair with the auto. It was the height of suburban planning at the time. That’s why it is important to note that he recognized the problem he created, then led the way of thinking about how the new Tysons should work.”

Schwartz said West-Group’s commitment to change is “an important part of the story” for the new Tysons. He remembers seeing a wooden model of Tysons as a walkable, urban place in Halpin’s office well before government officials came to the same realization.

His vision is being carried out, in part, by Cityline Partners, which was formed in 2010 by an entity of Credit Suisse Group AG after it paid $222 million to buy more than 15 buildings and 115 acres from West-Group. A number of West-Group workers joined Cityline to manage the portfolio.

Donna Shafer, managing director at Cityline Partners and former West-Group executive vice president, said Halpin was a big proponent of placing Tysons’ rail stations underground, even paying out-of-pocket for tunnel engineering drawings.

“He was lobbying for mass transit as far back as the 1960s,” said Shafer. “He knew right away that it was the next wave.”

Ultimately, the lobbying for the underground tunnel was not successful. The price tag proved too much.

“For the Silver Line to be viable, Jerry believed it needed to be underground,” said Lowham. “He thought it would lead to a much more integrated, walkable community. He used the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor as an example. He thought it was an opportunity for Tysons. He was at least pleased the Silver Line moved forward, though.”

According to his online biography, Halpin was responsible for the development, redevelopment or construction of more than 12 million square feet of office, retail, residential, resort, and industrial space for West-Group and its affiliates. A World War II veteran, the Syracuse University graduate had national reach and influence dating to the early 1950s.

His projects were as diverse as an 85-acre office park in Springfield, office parks in suburban Maryland, a missile launching site in Utah, manufacturing plants from Gainesville to Los Angeles, the 1,500-acre Bellevue Estates in Warrenton, Virginia, and the Cottonwoods resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. He owned and operated hotels in the Mid-Atlantic as part of the Alexandria Management Corp., built Alexandria’s Landmark Center, the predecessor to the Landmark Mall, founded the World Resources Co., and developed the 1,200-acre Indian Springs Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming.

But nowhere is his influence felt more than in Tysons. Developers working there today certainly recognize Halpin’s more than 50 years of involvement there — and the framework he set for the current wave of development.

“We would not have the opportunity unless Jerry did what he did from the beginning,” said Meridian Group President and Co-Founder David Cheek. The Meridian Group and Kettler are teaming on The Boro, a 4.2-million-square-foot mixed-use development that is expected to serve as Tysons’ new “downtown.”

“The West-Group did get the benefit of pioneering Tysons and turning it into what it is today — an urban place,” Cheek said.

Photo courtesy of Joanne S. Lawton. Click here to read the original story.