Author: Elena Sorokina

A big step toward ending Montgomery’s housing moratorium!

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Yesterday, the Planning Board voted to update the county’s draft growth policy (aka the Subdivision Staging Policy), which seeks to time public infrastructure like schools and transportation with population growth. Among other changes, the Planning Board draft would eliminate the counterproductive housing moratorium throughout most of the county, while adjusting fees and taxes to ensure adequate funding to meet increases in school demand.

This decision is thanks, in large part, to you! CSG’s supporters sent over 50 letters to the Planning Board, and our supporters and allies showed up strong at the Planning Board’s public hearing. Check out CSG’s public testimony for more background.

This isn’t the end though — the County Council has the last say. They will review the Planning Board’s recommendations and vote on a new growth policy by November. We’ll keep you updated on actions you can take!

Until then, please consider making a donation to sustain our work advocating for more housing in Montgomery County!

Other changes proposed by the Planning Board:

  • Developers would be required to pay Utilization Premium Payments when a school’s projected utilization three years into the future exceeds 120 percent
  • Impact taxes would be lowered from 120 percent of the cost of a seat to 100 percent, and further lowered to 60 percent in certain areas with high-capacity transit and employment centers
  • Recordation taxes at the time of home sales, would be progressively increased to the to provide additional funding for school construction and affordable housing
  • Any development located in an Opportunity Zone would be exempt from impact taxes
  • Multiple updates to transportation tests would prioritize walking and biking as transportation modes and improve safety
  • And more! If you’re interested, you can find the most up-to-date information here.

Again, thank you to all those who sent in letters or testified! In September, we’ll update you on the Council’s review and hearing schedule so you can join us again in supporting this progressive update to the county’s growth policy.

Webinar: Understanding ADU Zoning in DC

Webinar: Understanding ADU Zoning in DC

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Want to build an accessory dwelling unit in DC, but unsure of the zoning review process? 

Watch our July 29, 2020 webinar on the zoning code with Mamadou Ndaw, Supervisory Engineering Technician, DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). 

View Mamadou Ndaw’s, DCRA, powerpoint presentation here.

View Cheryl Cort’s, Coalition for Smarter Growth, powerpoint introduction to DC zoning for ADUs and second dwellings here.

Active Transportation Webinar: Complete Streets in Arlington

Active Transportation Webinar: Complete Streets in Arlington

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials and advocates in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are working to create safe streets for all. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation. Stay tuned for our Active Transportation Summit in Spring 2021!

CSG Letter on Proposed Property Tax Changes

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 27, 2020 

The Honorable Sidney Katz

Montgomery County Council

100 Maryland Avenue

Rockville, MD 20850 

Re: Property Taxes 

2020.07.27-CSG-Letter-on-Proposed-Property-Tax-Changes-Final-1Download

Dear Council President Katz and Councilmembers: 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposals to alter the rules for property tax increases. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the DC region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. 

We support a fix to the artificial constraints imposed by the current property tax cap, and want to ensure that the Council and County Executive have the authority to budget in a way that meets the community’s needs, particularly for social services, affordable housing, and public transportation. The county requires improved flexibility to meet unexpected challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the increased need it has created. 

At the same time as needs rise, Montgomery County has not been able to benefit from growth in the tax base, growth which is supported by a history of successful public investments in infrastructure, schools, and transportation. Continuous public investment and services are vital in order to maintain a high quality of life, spur further economic development, and battle external threats, including public health and climate crises. 

Therefore, we support proposals to remove the property tax cap and to require a supermajority of at least two-thirds of the council to raise the general property tax rate, not a unanimous vote as is now the case. We also support setting equal limits on rate increases for owner-occupied residential properties and for residential rental properties, since landlords pass property tax increases onto tenants in the form of higher rents. Homeowners and renters should be treated equally – renters should not face a higher pass-through cost of tax increases than homeowners. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

Jane Lyons

Maryland Advocacy Manager

Coalition for Smarter Growth 

CC: Montgomery County Councilmembers County Executive Marc Elrich

CSG Testimony Re: Montgomery County Complete Streets Design Guide

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 21, 2020 

Montgomery County Planning Board

8787 Georgia Ave

Silver Spring, MD 20910 

Item 12 – Complete Streets Design Guide (Support) 

Testimony for July 23, 2020 

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager 

2020.07.21-CSG-Complete-Streets-Design-Guide-Testimony-FinalDownload

Good evening and thank you to Chair Anderson and Planning Commissioners. My name is Jane Lyons and I’m speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We enthusiastically support the Complete Streets Design Guide. 

Thank you and congratulations to the staff who worked on this project – who has yet again solidified Montgomery Planning as a national leader in creative suburban planning. We are pleased that the Complete Streets Design Guide is clear in prioritizing safety, sustainability, and vitality, and provides a roadmap for how to balance competing needs. When we prioritize street space correctly, streets can become an engine for healthy people, a healthy economy, and a healthy environment. 

The biggest challenge in actualizing safe, green, vibrant streets is reengineering the county’s arterial roads, especially in lower income neighborhoods where traffic fatalities are more common. The vision in Thrive 2050 is for these arterials to become safe, green, multimodal boulevards, and this document will be a critical guide for those changes. 

A few constructive comments: 

• Page 55: We’d like it to be clear that a sidepath is always preferable to bikeable shoulders. 

• Page 57: We recommend that bikeways be listed as a high priority for downtown boulevards, downtown streets, town center boulevards, and town center streets. 

• Page 82: Bus shelters, in addition to BRT stations, should consider opportunities to provide additional passenger amenities such as seating, local area information, wayfinding, and real time traveler information. 

• Page 88: We urge the county to update its policy for snow events. Especially in downtowns and town centers, the county – not the building owners – should be responsible for clearing snow on sidewalks, sidewalk ramps, and sidewalk-level bicycle facilities. 

• Page 232: Public engagement should also include on-the-street direct outreach strategies, as well as strongly encourage paid community focus/advisory groups to ensure diverse input for major decisions. 

• Finally, we ask that the design guide be open to amendment upon the completion of the Pedestrian Master Plan and Vision Zero Action Plan. 

Implementing the Complete Streets Design Guide is key to achieving the county’s Vision Zero goal, as well as improving connectivity and helping shift mode-share away from single occupancy vehicles. We look forward to the comprehensive update of the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways that is necessitated by the guide, along with its implementation throughout new projects, resurfacing, construction, and maintenance. Wherever possible, we encourage the Planning Board, MCDOT, DPS, and the Council to codify the guide into law and regulation. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Keep transit moving by wearing a mask!

Keep transit moving by wearing a mask!

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Public transit has been a lifeline for essential workers who keep our society and economy moving. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that masks work to keep people safe. Reports from countries like Japan and France suggest that public transit is relatively safe, so long as passengers wear masks, don’t talk, maintain distance, and agencies maintain regular cleaning.

Click here for a great graphic from the Mayo Clinic on which masks work and which don’t. Avoid N95 masks with vents, as they do not prevent virus transmission. See below for how to correctly wear a mask.

Image credit to Sanford Health News

All transit agencies in the DC region require masks. WMATA and Ride On both offer disposable masks and hand sanitizer to riders free of cost, but please do your best to remember your own mask!

By wearing a mask, you will be protecting your fellow passengers, your transit operators, and yourself! As the CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield recently announced, transmission will decrease sharply if we can all commit to wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.

We know, masks aren’t always comfortable, especially in the hot summer months in the DC area, but masking up is a relatively easy way to make a positive impact in your community and keep transit moving. So wear your mask, travel with hand sanitizer, and please continue to stay safe and healthy. We will get through this together!

For more information on transit safety in the age of COVID-19, check out these resources:

Bloomberg: Japan and France find public transit systems safe

NY Daily News: Transit: safe and vital to reopen

The Atlantic: Fear of Transit is Bad for Cities

Keep transit moving by wearing a mask!

Posted on by Elena Sorokina
Header image: Elvert Barnes, Flickr; body image: Sanford Health News

Public transit has been a lifeline for essential workers who keep our society and economy moving. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that masks work to keep people safe. Reports from countries like Japan and France suggest that public transit is relatively safe, so long as passengers wear masks, don’t talk, maintain distance, and agencies maintain regular cleaning.

Be sure to wear the mask correctly on your face, and avoid touching it whenever possible. Avoid N95 masks with vents, as they do not prevent virus transmission.

All transit agencies in the DC region require masks. For those in Montgomery County, Ride On buses are equipped with limited supplies of disposable masks available to riders without masks, but please do your best to bring your own! 

By wearing a mask, you will be protecting your fellow passengers, your transit operators, and yourself! As CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield recently announced, transmission will decrease sharply if we can all commit to wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.

We know, masks aren’t always comfortable, especially in the hot summer months in the DC area, but masking up is a relatively easy way to make a positive impact in your community and keep transit moving. So wear your mask, travel with hand sanitizer, and please continue to stay safe and healthy. We will get through this together!

Active Transportation Webinar: Active Transportation during COVID-19

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Click here to watch our Active Transportation Webinar featuring transportation officials in the Northern Virginia region discussing how they are responding to COVID-19. The event was cosponsored by Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and George Mason University’s Department of Parking and Transportation.

Sligo Creek Trail Crossing Safety Improvement Sign-on Letter

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Mr. Tim Smith

State Highway Administration

707 North Calvert Street

Baltimore, Maryland  21202

Dear Mr. Smith,

We, the undersigned, request the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) implement pedestrian and bicyclist crossing improvements at highways MD-212/Riggs Road and MD-410/East West Highway which intersect M-NCPPC Sligo Creek Trail and highway corridors near the park trail.

These popular Sligo Creek Trail crosswalks at state highway intersections present a significant threat to vulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists as a consequence of inadequate signal facilities, excessive driver speed for conditions, substantial crossing distances, several multi-threat travel lanes, exposure from high vehicle volume, lack of shoulders and center median (MD-410), and obstructed crosswalk visibility. In short, these crosswalk systems are compromised.

We request the following suite of Safe System elements be implemented by MDSHA to provide adequate crosswalk safety:  

  • Narrow Travel Lanes
  • Remove Visibility Obstructions and Barriers
  • Build a Pedestrian Island Refuge (MD-410)
  • Extend Bike Lanes (MD-212)
  • Implement a Road Diet (MD-212)
  • Implement Context-Driven Safe Speed
  • Upgrade the Crosswalk Beacons

These Safe System elements work together as an ensemble to keep vulnerable crosswalk users and drivers safe. These recommended Safe System elements are summarized in Table 1.

This is a major safety issue.

  • Vulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists on key trail crossings, which include school children, are currently exposed to high speed, high volume (23,000 vehicles per weekday) traffic, crossing several dangerous multi-threat lanes with inadequate or non-existent shoulders.  The crossing systems are also compromised by obstructed sightlines from the presence of blind (sag) curves, utility poles, and bridge wall visibility blockages.  
  • These compromised trail crossing systems have resulted in numerous documented Maryland State Police crashes resulting in the crossings being identified as medium to high pedestrian and bicyclists crash “crash hot spots” in the MDOT Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (2019).

The design ignores equity and land use contexts.

Sligo Creek Trail is a major part of our transportation system.

Our request is consistent with MDOT/MDSHA’s “context driven” engineering guidelines. These MDSHA guidelines include safe speed limits, continental crosswalks, and specialized signals. Similar Safe System elements are being implemented by MDSHA through the MD-500/Queens Chapel Project. Prioritizing Sligo Creek trail crossings is also congruent with MDOT policy goals promulgated by the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (2019).

Finally, our Sligo Creek Trail crossing Safe System recommendations are consistent with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) recommendations, MDOT/MDSHA urban mobility-focused streetscape policy, and MDSHA cost-effective pedestrian safety countermeasures currently being undertaken.

Thank you for your urgent attention to making the M-NCPPC Sligo Creek Trail crossings safe.

Sincerely,

Capital Trails Coalition

Coalition for Smarter Growth

Table 1.  Crosswalk System Deficiencies, Risks, and Recommended Safe System Elements

Crossing System DeficiencyRiskRecommended Safe System ElementMD212 /Riggs RoadMD410 /East West Hwy
Excessive Crossing Distance, Pedestrian & Bicyclist Exposure, Streetscape Encourages High Driver SpeedPedestrian & Bicyclist Exposure, Unsafe Driver Speed especially with presence of blind curves and obstructionsNarrow Travel Lanes, Decrease Exposure, Encourage Drive Safe Speed, Decrease Stopping DistanceXX
Crosswalk Barriers, Utility Poles, Bridges, Walls, and Blind CurvesDrivers and Vulnerable Crosswalk Users fail to see each other, increasing risk of crashesRemove obstructions and barriers, improving visibilityXX
Speed Limit Excessive for Trail, School, and Shopping Urban EnvironmentLikelihood of death for Pedestrians and Bicyclists struck by vehicles traveling faster than 30 mph is HighImplement Safe Speeds consistent with Context-Driven multimodal, urban conditionsXX
Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Excessive Crossing Distance, Streetscape Encourages High Driver SpeedDrivers Vision of Vulnerable Users Blocked, Significant Exposure to Vulnerable Users, Streetscape Encourages High Driver SpeedBuild a Pedestrian Island Refuge (24 inch wide) in Median, Reduce Exposure from Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Encourage Driver Safe SpeedX
Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Excessive Crossing Distance, Poor Driver/Vulnerable User VisionDrivers Vision of Vulnerable Users Blocked, Significant Exposure to Vulnerable Users, Streetscape Encourages High Driver SpeedExtend Bike Lanes on MD212 from Sargent to MD410/East-West Highway Intersection, Reduce Exposure from Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Encourage Driver Safe SpeedX
Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, Excessive Crossing Distance, Poor Driver/Vulnerable User VisionDrivers Vision of Vulnerable Users Blocked, Significant Exposure to Vulnerable Users, Streetscape Encourages High Driver SpeedImplement Road Diet (6 ->4 Travel Lanes), Extend Crossing Queuing Area using Curb Extensions/Bump-Outs as supported by highway Volume/Capacity, Encourage Driver Safe SpeedX
Crosswalk Width (6ft) does not provide early warning of presence of Vulnerable Users in CrosswalkDrivers speed and braking distance is excessive for conditions; risk of collisions elevatedWiden Crosswalk width from 6ft to 10ft, an, Encourage Drive Safe SpeedX
Existing Circular Yellow Beacon Provides Inadequate Vulnerable User Crosswalk Safety for Highway Speed, Crossing Distance, Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, High Vehicle Volume and Vulnerable User Demand, Lack of Shoulders and Median, and Obstructed VisibilityNumber of Crashes at and near crosswalks is high, risk of serious injuries and fatalities is significantUpgrade crossing signal to Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon / HAWK or Full Signal (preferred) to provide adequate crosswalk safety for Vulnerable UsersX
Existing Circular Yellow Beacon Provides Inadequate Vulnerable User Crosswalk Safety for Highway Speed, Crossing Distance, Multi-Threat Travel Lanes, High Vehicle Volume and Vulnerable User Demand, Lack of Shoulders, and Obstructed VisibilityNumber of Crashes at and near crosswalks is high, risk of serious injuries and fatalities is significantUpgrade crossing signal to Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB), Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon / HAWK (preferred) or Full Signal to provide adequate crosswalk safety for Vulnerable UsersX

RELEASE: Advocates Alarmed at 18,000 Page Environmental Impact Statement on Gov. Hogan’s I-495 and I-270 Widening Plan

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

July 10, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, July 10th, 2020

CONTACT:

Lindsey Mendelson, Maryland Sierra Club
lindsey.mendelson@mdsierra.org | (240) 706-7901

Jeanne Braha, Rock Creek Conservancy
jbraha@rockcreekconservancy.org | (301)-312-1471

 
Advocates Alarmed at 18,000 Page Environmental Impact Statement on Gov. Hogan’s I-495 and I-270 Widening Plan

MARYLAND- Today, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released an 18,000 page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on Gov. Hogan’s plans to expand I-495 and I-270 with two private toll lanes in each direction. The DEIS outlines the impacts of the plan on the region’s air, water, parks, noise levels, traffic and other categories.

Residents and community organizations have just started to sift through the 90 pound document to assess the damage that the over $11 billion project could cause to Maryland’s environment, health, and economy, especially in the midst of a global pandemic and economic downturn. Advocates are concerned that the DEIS, despite its size, does not adequately examine key alternatives to the widening such as public transit and better land use planning nor effectively examine telecommuting’s role in reducing congestion. 

In the last two weeks, over 40 organizations and U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin asked for the comment period to be at least 120 days to accommodate the public’s ability to comment during the pandemic and complete the approximately 600 hours it would take to read through the document completely. Despite this request, the public comment period remains at 90 days, which would not be enough time for a person reading 40 hours a week to get through all the pages of the document.

“The Draft Environmental Impact Statement weighs 90 pounds. That alone indicates that this project warrants intense scrutiny. We are concerned that this massive highway project will exacerbate harm to our health and environment. The Sierra Club and other organizations have been denied, delayed or charged  $300,000 for public information requests that would have shed more light on this project.  We need more time to comment on this controversial proposal.” –Josh Tulkin, Director, Maryland Sierra Club

“Experience shows that highway expansions increase, not decrease, driving demand. By fueling more long-distance living and commuting, toll lanes are a massive, generational alteration of our landscape and come at high cost to homes and neighborhoods, people and health, and the natural environment.” – Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager of the Coalition for Smarter Growth

“The $11 billion I-495/I-270 expansion is too big and will affect too many lives over the next 50 years for Marylanders to accept an 18,000 page draft environmental impact statement that offers vague assurances that pollution and flood risk won’t increase and parks and communities will be protected. We urge MDOT to give the public the time it needs to review this draft statement and to release the secret traffic and revenue studies being used to justify this massive, high-risk project.  Maryland cannot afford a repeat of the crisis plaguing the Purple Line, the Hogan administration’s first public-private partnership. –Brad German, Co-Chair, Citizens Against Beltway Expansion

“This proposed expansion threatens our national parks, including Greenbelt Park, C&O Canal, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Suitland Parkway, and Baltimore-Washington Parkway, without solving the region’s transportation needs. Should this proposal move forward, over 300 acres of local parkland – including valuable green space in an increasingly urban area — could be paved over. Instead of pursuing this new and costly highway expansion, the National Parks Conservation Association urges the Maryland Department of Transportation to examine the many alternatives available that will address our transit needs without sacrificing our parks.”-Pamela Goddard, Mid-Atlantic Senior Program Director, National Parks Conservation Association

Rock Creek is just one of the many special places that will be impacted by the proposed $11 billion expansion of I-495 and I-270. These impacts will extend far downstream, including into the creek through the nation’s first urban national park, Rock Creek Park. The public deserves a full range of alternatives for these sensitive waterways, habitat corridors, and public lands and time to fully consider them.-Jeanne Braha, Executive Director, Rock Creek Conservancy

“How precious is breathing? How important is it to preserve natural spaces and protect the health of residents of this region? We at the Audubon Naturalist Society want MDOT and the SHA to tell us, because the delivery of this 90-pound EIS for an $11 billion project with only 90 days to review it suggests that our health and well-being are not a top priority. Taxpayers deserve better.” –Denisse Guitarra, Maryland Conservation Advocate, Audubon Naturalist Society 

“MDOT gave assurances that the public would have an opportunity in the DEIS process to actively participate in the consequential decisions related to the I-495 & I-270 project.  However, in releasing an 18,000-page DEIS in the middle of a health and fiscal emergency, and then failing to provide adequate time for document review, MDOT shows disregard for public input. No one knows what post-pandemic commerce, employment, and traffic patterns will look like — the entire effort should be paused until the pandemic subsides.”-Linda Rosendorf, Don’t Widen 270.

Had the Governor and the Maryland Department of Transportation followed a process that allowed for sufficient constituent input and alternative proposals before announcing this massive, destructive plan, the citizens of Maryland would not be in the position of pointing out the obvious. The plan is deeply flawed and may very well cause more harm than good.- Cecilia Plante, Maryland Legislative Coalition. 

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