Vision Solutions - Coalition for Smarter Growth
Blueprint for a Better Region
Policies for Implementing
Smart Growth Solutions
to Traffic Congestion in the D.C. Region
The way to address traffic congestion
begins not with expanding capacity, but in reducing the growth in driving demand
- and it all begins with better land use and community design. Our Blueprint
for a Better Region describes the regional solution. The policies and initiatives
to implement this solution at the local, regional and state level fall within
three broad categories: land use, pricing, and transportation. The list below
is not meant to be comprehensive but illustrates the array of policies that are
essential to a comprehensive regional solution.
Land
Use
- Transit-Oriented
Development and Balanced Jobs and Housing
"Reverse"
commute Metro trains have the only excess transportation capacity
in our region. Seats are empty outbound in the morning towards
Vienna, New Carrollton or Rockville and at these outlying stations
there are acres of available land for development.
- Change comprehensive
plans and zoning at Metro station areas. New offices, stores,
housing and services can be built quickly, from planning to
occupation within three years. Include significant participation
by the community in functional design charettes.
- Streamline the
developer's approval process, once a community-supported design
is in place.
- Shift Surface
Transportation Program funding to pay for the cost of parking
structures that allow room for both commuters and development
close to the stations. TEA-21 allows great flexibility in
shifting funds from highways to transit and other transportation
uses.
- Provide incentives
to locate jobs, services and educational facilities at transit
stations in Prince George's County. Prince George's County
has 13 metro stations and little development at any of the
stations. By providing jobs, services, shopping and educational
opportunities at their Metro stations, county residents would
not have to commute by car across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge
and into Montgomery County to the extent that they do now.
It would also make more jobs accessible to District residents.
- Support focused,
mixed-use development in Prince William and Loudoun. Recommended
sites in Prince William include Innovation, with focused development
adjacent to the VRE station, and Woodbridge, in the area between
the VRE station and I-95, creating a town connected from Belmont
Bay to Historic Occoquan.
- Ensure New Developments
are Adjacent to Existing Development and are Designed as New Urbanist
or Traditional Neighborhood Development Communities
Using a traditional
street grid, mixing uses and providing main street retail, auto
traffic can be reduced.
- Boost Accessory
Apartments Near Jobs And Transit
Encourage more affordable
accessory housing units in areas near transit and job centers.
- Reform zoning codes
that make it difficult, costly, and time-consuming to create
accessory apartments in neighborhoods near transit and job centers
and provide technical assistance to homeowners interested in
creating such units in these areas.
- Permit and create
more opportunities for live-work space, removing barriers to
these forms of community innovation.
- Launch a Concerted
Effort to Increase Affordable Housing in Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria,
and Montgomery County
- Providing more
housing, especially affordable housing, in job-rich areas
can cut traffic. The I-270 Corridor has a surplus of jobs
over housing, as do Arlington and Fairfax's Dulles Corridor.
- Stop wasting land
in low density "office parks" and large shopping
center parking lots. Redesign these areas as mixed-use, walkable
communities.
- Move MCI/Worldcom
and AOL to a Metro Station
These two companies
generate thousands of daily trips on Route 28, I-66 and the Dulles
Toll Road. When MCI & AOL moved to their current locations
other I-66 users immediately noticed the increase in westbound
traffic each morning on I-66. The Federal Government has found
that if their office buildings are located at a Metro station
40-60% of their employees take transit, walk or carpool. By relocating
AOL & MCI/Worldcom Route 28 and Interstate 66 would be relieved
of thousands of trips daily.
- Keep Federal Buildings
in Central Locations Accessible by Transit
Presidential Executive Orders require Federal agencies to
make every effort to locate in downtowns. The Federal Government
has found that if their office building is located at a Metro
station 40-60% of their employees take transit, walk and carpool.
When they move to a non-metro accessible location they begin to
be a major traffic generator.
- Provide Essential
Services at Metro Stations
By providing day care
centers, dry cleaners, video stores, banks and small grocery stores
at Metro stations, transit riders can take care of their errands
in one stop on their way to and from the Metro. This eliminates
the need for multiple car trips and makes it easier for people
to walk, bike or take the bus to the Metro station because their
errands can be accomplished at one location.
- Support Planning
like Prince William County's Rural Crescent and Loudoun County's
growth management efforts.
This will reduce traffic generation and the need for costly
infrastructure.
- Require local governments
to complete fiscal buildout cost analysis and replanning.
Provide state funding for such studies.
- Fix Tyson's Corner
Northern Virginia's
largest job center generates a significant portion of Beltway,
I-66 and Dulles Toll Road traffic. Connecting Tyson's Corner to
rail alone, won't solve the traffic problems this center generates.
- Increase the
density of Tyson's Corner and add far more residential development
to create a mixed-use community.
- Ensure that new
rail station areas are planned according to pedestrian friendly
design standards.
- Make Tyson's
Corner pedestrian friendly and improve street connections
for better circulation.
- Adopt Smart Building
Codes
These reduce obstacles
to rehabilitation of property in urban areas.
- Increase Land Conservation
Land conservation begins
with more sensible comprehensive plans tied to affordable rates
of growth. Additional policies can then provide permanent protection:
- Continue voluntary
donation of conservation easements.
- Implement transfer
of development rights and purchase of development rights programs.
Pricing
- Ensure that state
subsidies for corporate location decisions are directed to companies
locating in existing urban centers or adjacent to rail infrastructure
Several recent state incentive packages have gone to companies
locating in the outer suburbs (Capital One, AOL, etc) and have
required other new infrastructure investment by the state (e.g.
Route 288 around Richmond for Capital One and others at the West
Creek site).
- Implement Location
Efficient Mortgages
Fannie Mae
is implementing this program, which will qualify those who live
near transit, own one or no cars, and have lower monthly commuting
costs, for a higher mortgage. This will enable many to buy closer
to transit.
- Implement the Split
Rate Property Tax
Implemented
in several Pennsylvania cities and towns and approved for use
by the City of Fairfax, the split rate property tax implements
a higher tax rate on land and a lower rate on buildings. The result
for cities and downtown areas is an increase in investment and
construction as empty lots are converted to useful purposes including
more housing. Zoning protects planned open space.
- Make Commuter Choice
Universal
Aggressively
promote and encourage employer-paid transit and cash-in-lieu-of-parking
incentives for commuters by both private and public sector employers
to assure that a majority of all workers in the region enjoy such
benefits by 2005. This could cut commuting VMT by 10-20%.
- Key actions that
would achieve this goal include: adoption of Maryland style
employer tax credit for employer-paid transit and parking
cashout benefit by VA and DC.
- Intense regional
marketing of these benefits by state and local government,
the Board of Trade, and other business groups.
- Rapid adoption
of transit and parking cashout benefits by all area local
and state governments (some already offer this).
- Adoption of a
$30 a month per parking space regional commuter parking impact
fee that would apply to all free employer provided parking
and which would be waived if employers pay for transit passes
and offer cash-in-lieu-of-parking benefits to all employees.
- Local government
adoption of requirements for all new development to provide
paid transit benefits and parking cashout benefits as a traffic
mitigation measure, with a appropriate corresponding decreases
in parking requirements to meet zoning codes. A key barrier
is the inertia of zoning laws and real estate industry practices,
which mandate excessive parking supply and promote giving
away parking for free.
- Implement Congestion
Pricing
An increasing
percentage of transportation professionals recommend that major
roadways be priced according to the level of congestion and the
time-of-day in order to balance the demand versus the capacity
of roadways. Funds raised would go to transit within the same
corridor.
- Promote Adoption
Of Use-Based Car Insurance
Encourage
use-based or distance-based car insurance by offering a tax credit
to insurance companies offering policies that base at least 75%
of the cost of a motor vehicle insurance policy on the number
of miles driven, number of hours driven, or a similar use-based
factor. Research indicates that such policies are likely to reduce
overall VMT by 10-12%, by enabling drivers to save money if they
drive less.
- Focus State Investments
Target state
economic development funds, strengthen Main Street programs, and
strengthen brownfields programs to revitalize cities and downtowns
that already have transportation infrastructure.
Transportation
- Establish a fix-it-first policy
to ensure that all state maintenance needs are met and to direct funding to fixing
problems on existing roads and transit prior to funding new construction.
- Make targeted investments in
our bus system to make it more effective, efficient and rider-friendly
- Bus Priority Treatment And Traffic
Signal System Management. Enhance priority for buses in traffic to increase
average transit travel speeds, schedule adherence, and the number of passenger
seat-miles per hour that can be carried by existing transit vehicles. A key part
of this strategy should involve upgrading traffic signals to support greater priority
in traffic for buses, so they can hold a green signal green for a few extra seconds,
or advance a red signal to green to avoid an extra stop. The strategy should also
include building or configuring bus queue jumper lanes at key traffic bottlenecks
to speed bus traffic past congestion.
- Make real-time bus information
available at major bus stops and also to bus customers through the Internet
to computers, pagers, and cell phones. This would take the uncertainty out of
waiting for buses, and use current technology to allow customers to obtain the
instantaneous location and estimated arrival time of buses.
- Shelters & Access --
Put greater emphasis on installing protected bus shelters with adequate space
for lighting, wheelchairs, and, wherever possible, accessible by sidewalks.
- Reform Transit Fares Payment
Systems For Productivity Gains. Buses are considerably slowed by people lining
up at the door at busy stops to pay their fares. Encourage near universal use
of pre-paid transit fare instruments and other high efficiency transit payment
options that will enhance productivity of existing and new transit services by
reducing delays related to fare payment at time of boarding, as in Europe and
Japan. Commuter Choice promotion will help, but it should be augmented by more
promotion of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual transit passes. Instead of having
people pay cash on boarding, require that passengers carry a prepaid transit pass,
or other fare media that must be validated before or immediately after boarding
a transit vehicle, and which at a premium cost could be purchased on board the
vehicle. Fare inspectors would roam the transit system and spot check to verify
that passengers are carrying a valid proof of fare payment or a pass, with large
fines for fare evasion. This would enable boarding of buses through both front
and rear doors, which would boost transit vehicle productivity. This would also
include an integrated fare card, one that could be used on all systems in the
area. When NYC went to an integrated fare card and removed transfer costs, their
ridership skyrocketed.
- Help People Bike and Walk to
their Destinations
- Provide Safe Routes To Schools
And Transit -- Initiating a range of actions to make it safe and attractive
to walk and bike to all schools and transit stops throughout the region by 2005,
adapting successful strategies from the most bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities
in America and abroad. Tis should include accelerated funding to local governments
to enable the build-out of the 20 year bike and pedestrian plans in the next 3
years, planning funds to engage in local area pedestrian and bicycle planning
to identify key barriers and safety problems, and delay of some road projects
to provide funds to retrofit sidewalks, bike paths, and traffic calming measures
within a half-mile of all transit stops and schools. A significant share of traffic
is related to parents driving students to schools because it is not safe or attractive
to walk there.
- Build Bike Stations At All Major
Transit Stops -- Many people don't use transit because they can't find affordable
or available parking nearby when they want it. It costs $5,000-$20,000 to build
a single additional parking space, and $750-3,000 a year to operate a park-and-ride
space. Providing bike lockers, bike racks, and guarded bicycle parking at transit
stops can free up car parking spaces for those who can't bike or who live too
far to bike to transit, while offering a low cost healthy way for those 1/2 mile
to 2 miles from the transit station or stop get to and from transit. Guarded bike
parking at transit has been a predominant part of transit access in European and
Japanese suburbs for decades, where it costs 1/10 to 1/100 as much as auto parking
at transit to provide and operate. Secure overnight bike parking at transit allows
people to get from transit to nearby schools and jobs that are beyond walking
distance of the transit stop. In 1996 the City of Long Beach implemented the nation's
first attended bicycle parking facility, or "Bikestation." These facilities
provide a range of clean transportation options--including secure, bicycle parking,
bicycle repairs and accessory sales, changing and restrooms, and bicycle rentals.
Bikestations have since opened in the communities of Palo Alto and Berkeley and
are under development in San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles
and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (see www.bikestation.org)
- Provide Sidewalks and Crosswalks
in Tyson's Corner -- Some people are willing to risk their lives to walk to
lunch in Tyson's Corner, but not that many. A Washington Post story in 1999 quoted
a Tyson's worker as saying, "You can't ever cross the street. These suburbs
are made for cars, not for people," in reference to trying to get from his
office to anywhere else in Tyson's Corner. Tyson's needs to be linked to the Metro
system and redesigned with pedestrians in mind. Crosswalks and sidewalks are a
first step in that direction.
- Provisions to take Bikes on Buses
and Trains -- Many of people's origins and destinations are not right at a
Metro station and providing the ability to bring one's bike on the bus and train
can make the difference between being able to take transit or needing to drive.
We should add bike racks to buses (Ride-on buses currently have bike racks), allow
bikes on MARC & VRE, and extend the bike on Metro hours. WMATA just voted
this week to put bike racks on all buses.
- Help people find parking with
ITS
In several of our downtown
areas, congestion arises as people circle blocks looking for parking. Implementation
of a technology based parking information to inform people of where available
spaces/lots are could expedite the process. BWI airport is testing a system and
several European cities use this model. (Nancy Jakowitsch at STPP can provide
details on European models)
- Delivery Truck Lanes
Providing lanes and spaces
for delivery trucks during peak times could both expedite their efforts and prevent
backups during their deliveries. Parking lanes could be turned over to deliveries
at key times.
- Company Sponsored Car-sharing
Programs
The Washington area now has two carsharing companies, Zipcar (www.zipcar.com)
and Flexcar (www.flexcar.com).
Companies with employees that need to make mid-day driving trips could host cars
near/at their office and pay for the usage. While this won't relieve those mid-day
trips, it can eliminate rush hour driving trips by allowing workers to take transit
or carpool to work instead of driving just so their car is available to them during
the day.
- Roving Tow trucks for incident
response
In the San Francisco Bay area a roving tow truck effort was initiated and
it had a major impact on reducing traffic delays due to breakdowns and car accidents.
More information can be secured from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
(MTC), COG's equivalent.
http://www.mtc.ca.gov/services/fsp/
- Change state funding formulas
to ensure state pays an equal percentage share for transit as it does for highways
In Virginia, the state pays a greater share of construction, and operations
and maintenance for highways than it does for transit. We believe the numbers
are (Virginia Transit Association may have best figures):
- Highway Construction - state pays
100%
- Transit Construction - state pays
75%, local pays 25%
- Highway Operations/Maintenance -
state pays 75%, local pays 25%
- Transit Operations/Maintenance -
state pays 25%, local pays 75%
- Key transit projects
- Rail to Tyson's Corner from Falls
Church - Build within 3 years.
- Downtown Circulator -- A new bus
line that links cultural, entertainment and business destinations in the downtown
and monument areas. It will enhance the current public transportation systme and
help relieve downtown DC congestion and air pollution. See the Downtown Circulator's
site for more details. http://www.dccirculator.com/
- The Purple Line - Circumferential
rail connecting communities inside and near the Beltway.
- Bus/rail to Dulles provided development
is focused at the stations. If the rail does not run through existing centers
on one side of the highway or another, then we must insist on air rights development.
Tax revenues from the new development can help pay for rail costs.
- Targeted Road Improvements
- Shift investments to local street
connections, traffic calming and pedestrian/bicycle enhancements.
- Fix specific bottlenecks with targeted
improvements such as interchange capacity between the Beltway and the Dulles Toll
Road and I-66 and the Beltway.
- Improve existing highways such
as Route 28 by providing grade separated interchanges in place of traffic lights.
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Coalition for Smarter Growth
4000 Albemarle St, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 244-4408 (202) 244-4438 fax
www.smartergrowth.net
© 1999-2005 Coalition for Smarter Growth. All Rights Reserved.
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