Author: Elena Sorokina

CPA Route 28 Alternative 4 Recommendation

Posted on by Elena Sorokina
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September 4, 2020

Board of County Supervisors

Prince William County

1 County Complex Court

Prince William, VA 22192

Dear Supervisors:

We support your August 4, 2020 decision to adopt Alternative 4 on the Route 28 Corridor Study.

A Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) is now required to revise outdated language, such as that referenced in Table 2 – Thoroughfare Plan Summary in the Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan (PW-3 Tri-County Parkway/Route 28 Bypass).

The benefits of such a considerable investment in transportation infrastructure should not be limited to efforts moving drive-alone commuters faster to jobs outside the County. In the initiation of the CPA to advance Alternative 4, we encourage you to articulate your goals for concurrently planning for economic development, land use, affordable access to jobs and housing, and cleaner, multimodal transportation improvements.

The CPA should:
1) require assessing how investment in Route 28 mobility can be leveraged to spur economic revitalization; and
2) clarify that the “purpose and need” of Route 28 improvements is to increase local multimodal mobility, create a more walkable and transit-oriented corridor, reduce pollution, and facilitate the creation of local jobs and equitable access to them.   

To more quickly access some funding previously allocated to the Route 28 corridor project by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) [ $89 million, total], we suggest the CPA divide Alternative 4 into two phases.  

  • Phase One – Focus on widening the Route 28 bridge across Bull Run, adding bike/pedestrian and future transit capacity as part of the widening, and smoothing traffic flow north to Compton Road. That capacity expansion should qualify for use of the NVTA funding allocation.
  • Phase Two – Focus more broadly to include consideration of additional vehicle and bus/HOV lanes on existing Route 28 or the Well Street Extended corridor, to stimulate development of a walkable and transit-oriented corridor in the Yorkshire area, and to move more people within and through the corridor.  

Phase Two would be the time frame in which to combine detailed, localized land use planning and placemaking for Yorkshire, together with changes in transportation infrastructure. These functions warrant further analysis.  

The Route 28 Corridor Study prioritized the analysis of Alignment 2B only. Alternative 4 was not given sufficient focus and detail during the two years after completion of the prior Feasibility Study.  

The CPA process should ensure consideration of an approach to “widening” the Route 28 corridor by building new lanes using the Well Street Extended corridor, approximately 400 feet west of existing Route 28, similar to the Mathis Ave alignment in the City of Manassas. 

New capacity in the corridor, paired with the STARS Study recommended improvements on the existing four lanes of Route 28, may adequately reduce traffic congestion as well as enhance economic and community development and retention of existing businesses. There are more beneficial ways to upgrade mobility, besides the approach used to widen Route 1 which required extensive business displacements.

“Mobility” means more than “move cars.” The CPA should require evaluating opportunities for enhanced walkability and bus transit to maximize movement while sustainably reducing congestion and travel times.  

Though Yorkshire today lacks even OmniRide service, transit on Route 28 is not a new idea. Since 2008, the Comprehensive Plan has proposed building light rail from Manassas to Dulles. 

The NVTA TransAction plan approved in 2017 also includes a Route 28 High Capacity Transit project to “Construct High Capacity Transit along Route 28 corridor and implement service between Dulles Town Center and the City of Manassas. Alternative modes for further study include BRT and LRT.” 

Prince William County must continue to plan smarter, to ensure that high-cost transportation upgrades concurrently spur local jobs and create more walkable places with reduced per capita driving.  

We appreciate your thoughtfulness in evaluating the wide range of concerns before rejecting Alignment 2B.  We look forward to the Flat Branch stream valley now becoming a linear park with trails connecting the adjacent neighborhoods, and for Yorkshire planning to demonstrate how transportation improvements can be coordinated with land use, economic development, placemaking, and the creation of affordable housing. 

Revitalizing the Yorkshire area will promote social, cultural, and environmental sustainability and neighborhood economic resiliency, while providing new job opportunities, maintaining the sense of community, and offering affordable housing. This is the direction of smart growth planning needed. 

Placemaking collectively reimagines and revitalizes public spaces in a community. Community participation in developing the Yorkshire revitalization plan is imperative in order to capitalize on the community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, thereby resulting in the creation of a quality public space that contributes to equity, health and well-being. 

Sincerely,

Active Prince William

Coalition for Smarter Growth

Piedmont Environmental Council

Prince William Conservation Alliance

Sierra Club, Virginia Chapter

Southern Environmental Law Center

An Invitation to Our Supporters

Posted on by Elena Sorokina
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September 29, 2020

Dear CSG donors:

We hope you, your family and coworkers are well during this difficult time. We have much to share with you about CSG, our policy work, and our plans for our annual Smart Growth Social.

Smart Growth Social has always been an important event for inspiring supporters of walkable, inclusive urban places, and while this will have to be a “Zoom” social, we believe it will be helpful, restorative and inspiring! Our special guest speaker will be Beth Osborne, Director of Transportation for America, the transportation arm of Smart Growth America. This year’s event will take place on Wednesday, October 28th from 7 to 8:30 pm.

As we strive for a better future, among the reforms we need is a new federal transportation program that prioritizes transit, safe streets, racial equity, health, and fighting climate change, and Beth has been our inspiring national leader on improving the federal program. A former Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at USDOT, with extensive experience on the Hill, Beth has led her team to produce groundbreaking studies of American transportation and much needed reforms. The next federal 6-year transportation bill will be the most consequential of our time, and in a rapid-paced 15 minutes, Beth will lay out our call to action!

But we know you also come to Smart Growth Social for the networking with fellow creative and committed supporters of better communities. So, we’ll have breakouts to give us all a chance to catch-up and share stories. At the heart of this year’s event will be a photo contest featuring your favorite examples of placemaking, safe streets, good urban design, mixed-income housing and more. We’ll encourage all attendees to come to the Zoom with great examples from your communities, which you can post as your Zoom background wallpaper. Then in the breakouts we’ll not only catch up with each other, we’ll talk about the photos and vote on our favorites, reporting out to the full group. First prize in each category will be a gift certificate from your favorite local restaurant.

Registration: Please register here.

Donations: We are not setting a ticket price this year, but when you register, we welcome your donations at the $10, $15, $25, $50, $100, or whatever works best for you.

Host Committee: We also welcome supporters to join our Host Committee at the $250 level. Learn more here.

Sponsorships: We welcome business and individual sponsorships at the $500 level and above. Learn more here.

Your support is important!

Your support for the Coalition for Smarter Growth is what keeps our team in the field. With our policy advocacy expertise and experience, commitment to partnerships, relationships with decisionmakers, and outreach to the community, we fight for and win positive change.

With this letter we are starting early on our end-of-year fundraising push. Individual and corporate donations represent 50% of our annual budget and we depend on your support. We recognize it’s a challenging year for so many in terms of supporting the non-profit groups that you love, but our work to save transit, make affordable housing a top local and state priority, make streets safer, and create inclusive, sustainable communities to address racial inequity, health, and climate change – particularly in our suburbs, is more important than ever.

Earlier this month we shared important updates via our email newsletter on our work over the summer and our ongoing campaigns. You can catch up on all the news here. Highlights include welcoming Emily Maurer to our staff as our Communications and Administrative Assistant, and Bill Pugh as volunteer Senior Policy Fellow leading our fight on climate change, as well as major ongoing campaigns:

  • Emergency federal funding and protective equipment for transit
  • More affordable housing in the DC Comprehensive Plan and Montgomery Master Plan
  • Forums and advocacy for safer streets in Northern Virginia and across the region
  • Hosting Courageous Conversations on the legacy of residential racial segregation
  • Promoting accessory dwelling units
  • Inspiring and working with new coalitions and local groups like the Fairfax Healthy Communities Coalition, Montgomery for All, Liveable Alexandria, and Rise Prince George’s

We look forward to you joining us for our annual Smart Growth Social and to your continued support for our work and personal involvement in making our communities better.

Thank you,
Stewart, Cheryl, Jane, Sonya, Emily, and Bill

P.S.  Please note our new address for correspondence, including mailed donations: P.O. Box 73282 2000 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20009

MetroNow Emergency Transit Funding Sign-on Letter

Posted on by Elena Sorokina
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Dear Members of the Congressional Delegation for Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia: 

Transit is a lifeline for essential workers and critical to our economic health and well-being. The CARES Act, passed in March of this year, provided a stop gap to help transit agencies survive dramatic losses in revenue streams, unprecedented drops in ridership, and fund new and enhanced cleaning protocols, but the funding is running out. Transit agencies nationally need $32 billion in emergency operating funds to avoid damaging service and jobs cuts and minimize economic hardship. 

The vast majority of WMATA funding comes from capital contributions, jurisdictional subsidies, and farebox revenues from riders. Since COVID-related restrictions were enacted in March, farebox revenues have evaporated. Bus fares were waived around the Capital Region to minimize interaction between rider and driver, and Metrorail, which kept fares intact, has averaged only about 10% of the pre-COVID ridership since March. In Maryland, the Transportation Trust Fund relies largely on motor fuel taxes, titling and registration fees, federal aid, sales tax, transit fares, and port and airport fees, all of which have taken a hit during the pandemic, with corresponding impacts to the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). Meanwhile, as jurisdictions face the worst fiscal crisis in living memory, they are stripping budgets to the bones, leaving no room to alleviate losses in farebox revenue through additional jurisdictional subsidies. 

When the CARES Act funding runs out, transit agencies will be forced to cut transit service and furlough or lay off workers or redistribute capital funds, intended for repairs and expansion, to operating budgets. Both options will seriously harm the viability, safety, and reliability of transit service in the short and long term, but more importantly, it will harm the riders, businesses, and regional economies and workers that depend on transit. Anticipating the lack of federal aid, WMATA and the Maryland Transit Administration have already warned of service and workforce cuts to address their COVID-19 revenue impacts. Cuts to transit will harm the region, weaken the economic recovery, slash capital expenditures and the jobs they support, and worsen inequality. 

The economy cannot recover without transit. If Congress fails to act this month to fund $32 billion in emergency operating funds, it will deepen the economic pain already felt by millions throughout the country. In this time of uncertainty, grief, and loss, Congress must put aside their differences and work together to fund transit or this region will emerge weaker on the other side of the virus. 

The undersigned business groups, transit agencies, unions and elected officials urge you to commit this critically needed funding for transit. Our riders, our economy, and our region depend on it.

Virtual Stream Walk & Talk

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

If you missed our virtual stream walk with the Audubon Naturalist Society and Fairfax County staff, you can watch the presentation here.

From ANS: On September 10th, 2020, Fairfax County staff Charles Smith & JoAnne Fiebe led us on a virtual walk-and-talk of an area around Mount Vernon Plaza, part of Little Hunting Creek, one of the sites of a proposed “ecological spine“. This concept, introduced in Chapter 3 of the Richmond Highway Urban Design Guidelines, envisions how streams can be made part of the community again. Instead of burying streams and building on top of them, how can redevelopment integrate streams and their riparian buffers into walkable, bikeable areas where people and nature can thrive in urban settings?

Tune in to the webinar to hear about the vision for the Route 1 redevelopment and hear about how redevelopment can be tied to creating healthier streams, and therefore a healthier world for us.