We support most of the proposed changes in the hearing notice for subtitle C, but specifically want to express opposition to the DC Office of Planning proposal to: “Remove the Priority Bus Corridor from the areas within which required parking may be reduced by up to 50% as a matter of right as originally advertised.” Instead, we support the alternative language: “In the Alternative: Retain the Priority Bus Corridor as an area within which required parking may be reduced by up to 50% as a matter of right, as originally setdown on September 9, 2013.”
Author: acustis
Moving an Age-Friendly DC: Transportation for All Ages
Moving an Age-Friendly DC: Transportation for All Ages encourages local decision-makers and advocates to respond to the needs of an increasing population of older adults by focusing on age-friendly transportation options. Following national best practices in three areas – the pedestrian environment, fixed-route public transit, and alternative specialized transportation – CSG assessed the District’s progress towards becoming an age-friendly city.
Tour program: The Silver Line, Reston, & Tysons: A New Chapter
[PDF] Decades in the making, Phase 1 of the Silver Line has arrived in Fairfax County and new buildings are appearing at the Wiehle-Reston East and Tysons Metro stations. We have a rare opportunity to witness a new phase of the county and the region as old suburbs are retrofitted and new walkable, urban, and sustainable destinations emerge.
CSG testimony to DC Zoning Commission on “alternative language”
around in our city’s long decline and current rapid growth, this zoning update is urgently needed. We wish to reiterate our overall support for the ZRR. In particular, we wish to address some of the proposed changes to the language set down last year on September 9, 2013 contained in the hearing notice for September 8-11, 2014 hearings.
RELEASE: Opening of Silver Line prompts public attention to safety issues for pedestrians and bicyclists
FAIRFAX, VA — With the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line, news stories and social media are drawing attention to the unsafe conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists on many of the roadways surrounding the stations. While the number of people parking at the new Silver Line stations is much lower than expected, the number of bicyclists has been surprisingly high, with bike racks at the Wiehle-Reston East station filling up quickly, and cyclists voicing the need for more bike lanes to safely reach the stations.
RELEASE: The Silver Line Will Transform Land Use in Northern Virginia – A Smart Growth Win Bringing Benefits for the Environment, Commuters, and Economy
For Immediate Release: July 24, 2014
Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, CSG, 703-599-6437 (cell)
Chris Miller, PEC, 540-347-2334
Stella Koch, ANS, 703-628-6983
FAIRFAX, VA — “The opening of the Silver Line on Saturday, July 26, is important for many reasons, but none more important than how it will transform land use in Northern Virginia,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “That transformation will be most prominent in Tysons where a traffic-choked suburban office park with two large malls is planned to become a walkable, urban center with 100,000 residents and 200,000 jobs, but it will also be seen in Reston, Herndon and Loudoun.”
Fairfax drew from the successful experience of Arlington County when creating the transit-oriented development plan for Tysons. As a result of Arlington County’s award-winning smart growth planning for their Metro corridors traffic has declined on surrounding arterial streets even as millions of square feet of development and thousands of housing units have been added. The TOD corridors also generate over 50 percent of Arlington’s tax base on just 11 percent of the county’s land area.
“Fairfax Chairman Bulova has said that transit-oriented development is the future of Fairfax. In addition, the region as a whole — in the Region Forward plan — has committed to TOD as the most sustainable way to grow,” said Rick Keller, Transportation Vice-Chair for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Investing in high-capacity transit like the Silver Line, along with walking and bicycling-friendly transit-oriented development will reduce regional air pollution and the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing increasingly destructive climate change.”
“Tysons is also a great water-quality story,” said Stella Koch, Northern Virginia Conservation Associate for the Audubon Naturalist Society and member of the Tysons Task Force which negotiated the initial Tysons plan. “Tysons today is dominated by buildings and parking lots with minimal control of stormwater and that stormwater gouges-out and pollutes area streams and the Potomac River. We achieved a win-win in Tysons where developers will construct millions of square feet of development while providing levels of stormwater management we’ve never had — controlling the first 1 inch of stormwater, representing 90% of the typical rain events.”
“We see great benefits for commuters and the opportunity for an economic win-win for Loudoun County and the region,” said Chris Miller, President of the Piedmont Environmental Council. “The limited east-west commuter roads in Loudoun require investment in high-capacity transit as an effective alternative to sitting in traffic. Moreover, by meeting the demand to live and work near transit, Fairfax and Loudoun will fuel economic growth while correspondingly allowing for the rural economy to be protected and flourish with new local food production, access to recreation, and protection of our water recharge areas.”
“Our organizations have worked for over 25 years to promote a regional vision of transit and transit-oriented development, so the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line and the accompanying redevelopment at these first five stations represents an important smart growth milestone,” said Schwartz. “Looking ahead, we will continue to campaign for well-designed mixed-use development at underutilized Metro stations in every jurisdiction and for smart new transit investments in key commercial corridors tied to walkable, mixed-used development. This is simply the most efficient way to grow and enhance our quality of life, by managing traffic, reducing air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting overwhelming market demand for walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods.”
Walkable, transit-oriented development is in demand from millenials, downsizing empty nesters, retirees and corporate leaders. Currently, developers can’t build enough residential units near transit to meet demand leading to affordability challenges. Meanwhile, 84% of new office development in the pipeline in the DC region is being built within 1/4 mile of a Metro station.
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Testimony on MoveDC & Confirmation of Matthew Brown, DDOT Director
We are pleased to contribute to the discussion about MoveDC. I have served as a member of the advisory group and participated in different public events related to the MoveDC’s significant public outreach effort. MoveDC is a major milestone for the city. It is built on an extensive and innovative approach to public engagement, and sets a bold vision for our city’s future. We commend DDOT for leading this deliberative process resulting in this far sighted plan. We urge the DC Council to embrace this plan for our future.
Testimony to WMATA Board on Takoma station development
We ask that WMATA approve the proposed changes to the WMATA facilities at the Takoma Metro station and advance the joint development agreement. Having closely followed this issue since 2000, I am gratified that we have come to such a good compromise – addressing all the key issues raised with the previous proposal.
H St: Past & Future (& the streetcar)
Materials from our H St walking tour on June 7, 2014
Testimony on DDOT regarding the Transportation Reorganization Act of 2014 (B20-759)
The Transportation Reorganization Act of 2014 (B20-759) proposes to radically reorganize DDOT by separating out and isolating transportation functions into a set of individual agencies. While the TRA is a provocative conversation starter on how to better integrate transportation functions, improve customer service, and increase capacity to focus on implementation, we worry that the cure is worse than the disease. The kind of segmentation proposed in the TRA creates silos that make coordinated, cost-effective and comprehensive solutions hard to deliver.