Author: Elena Sorokina

Teleworking may mean Metro’s lackluster ridership numbers are here to stay

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

For the first time in years, commuters in the Washington region who ride Metro four days a week outnumber those who ride every weekday — a subtle but significant ridership shift that transit officials fear may have long-term implications for the transit agency.

According to data released Tuesday by Metro’s Office of Planning, there has been a steady decline since 2013 in the average number of monthly trips taken by commuters carrying SmarTrip cards — down from 20 trips per month to 18. And data analysts contend that only about 30 percent of Metro’s recent ridership losses are due to people abandoning the system because of reliability and problems with on-time performance.

Instead, the rise of teleworking may have a more significant impact on ridership, confirming theories raised by transit officials in recent months: Rail ridership during morning peak-period hours on Fridays — a typical teleworking day for the federal government — is usually 15 to 20 percent lower than on days in the middle of the week.

That may play an outsize role in the steady ridership decline that Metro has seen in recent years. And it’s a trend that weighs heavily on Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld. Metro must improve service and reliability, he said, but teleworking is a threat to the agency’s finances — and something over which it has no control.

“It’s not even four days a week now,” Wiedefeld said at a recent meeting, citing new numbers from the federal government on rates of teleworking. “People are coming in twice and three times a month. I can’t change that. That’s going to be what it is.”

Monitoring how riders use the system — and on what days of the week frequent commuters travel — is a relatively new ability for Metro, made possible by the introduction of SmarTrip cards that allow Metro to monitor individual cards to learn about the frequency and timing of use. Metro officials say they intend to use that data to drill down into details that could explain exactly why ridership is ebbing — and how to stem the decline.

The data also paints a sobering picture of the future of Metro: Though officials continue to hope that improving reliability and rehabbing the system’s infrastructure may help win back some riders, there is a growing acknowledgment that the numbers may never return to the boom-time ridership of the early 2000s, when it increased dramatically year after year.

Ridership growth reached its apex in 2008, when it peaked at 750,000 average weekday boardings. Now it hovers just over 600,000 average weekday rides.

Metro’s continued lackluster ridership numbers signal a fundamental shift for the agency’s data analysts and planners, who for years have relied on a simple theory: If the local economy is improving and the Washington region is growing in population, then Metro ridership will also grow.

But now, analysts indicated in the report, it’s clear that the old formula doesn’t work anymore. Anticipating growth on Metro has become a lot more complicated.

“[Metro] needed to rebuild its capacity to monitor and forecast ridership using new data and methods,” analysts say in the report.

 They also suggest that ride-share apps such as Uber and Lyft play a major role in Metro’s ridership woes, particularly when it comes to evening rides after rush hour — when longer average waits between trains make door-to-door car service even more attractive.

And a decrease in federal transit benefits several years ago may also have resulted in some portion of the federal workforce opting to use modes of commuting other than public transit.

However, staffers were blunt in noting that unexpected delays, service interruptions, peak-period meltdowns, ill-timed train offloadings and SafeTrack maintenance projects are a significant part of the ridership problem.

“We realize that it will take some time to regain the trust and confidence of customers needed to return to the system,” the planning staff wrote in the report.

The report, which will be presented at Thursday’s board meeting, said large-scale efforts might be the best solution for the ridership decline long-term. It recommends, for example, that regional leaders take more proactive steps to encourage ridership, such as investing in the construction of housing developments near Metro stations.

They also push for infrastructure improvements that can help public transit operate more efficiently and attract riders with shorter, faster rides — such as installing bus-only lanes and instituting traffic-signal prioritization for buses, as well as fostering pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods that encourage people to walk to their nearby Metro station rather than drive.

Aimee Custis, deputy director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said Metro’s new data suggests that regional leaders are responsible for doing more to help the transit agency regain popularity.

“There are things that must absolutely be fixed in-house at Metro,” Custis said. “But we also must deal with things that are outside of Metro’s control, or we won’t solve this problem.”

Wiedefeld said recently that he remains hopeful that the long-term prospect of development and construction in the region means that boom times may still be to come for Metro. In particular, he said, the completion of the second stage of the Silver Line could bring thousands of new daily riders to the system.

“It will still be a few years before some of that occurs,” Wiedefeld said. “But as they get rid of those car lots and stuff and build 20-to-30-story buildings . . . that will start to drive the numbers up.”

Click here to view the original story.

STATEMENT: Is Virginia Proposing the Best Site for Amazon? CSG statement on Washington region’s Amazon HQ2 bids

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2017

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

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Post reported today that Fairfax and Loudoun counties, with the support of Virginia Governor McAuliffe, intend to propose to Amazon the CIT site next to the Innovation Station on Metro’s Silver Line, while excluding Tysons and other options. Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, issued the following statement:

“While we appreciate that a Metro station site is being offered and that the CIT site provides proximity to Dulles Airport, the Coalition for Smarter Growth is deeply concerned both about the closed-door process and the failure to offer other Metro station locations worthy of consideration and by some measures better suited to absorbing this major employer. The public should have an opportunity to help shape the bids based upon the locations that offer the best combination of transit, and mixed-use walkable urbanism.

“It is a testament to the value of high-capacity transit like our Metro system, that Amazon is joining dozens of other large corporations in selecting transit station locations.  In our region alone, the companies include Marriott, Choice Hotels, Hilton, Nestle, and Capital One. But not all Metro stations are created equal, and not all have the attributes necessary to host this very large employer, particularly one showing a clear preference for good urbanism.

“We agree that in Virginia, Tysons should be a prime site on the table — with four Metro stations and Metro access to two airports, a planned grid of streets, and a plan for funding all of the features and amenities for a mixed-use walkable community. In contrast, the Innovation Station and CIT site are far behind in planning, the station area is divided by the massively wide Dulles Toll Road, and the site is so far out that it’s out of reach of a large proportion of the region’s workforce.”

“In addition, the state and localities should offer Potomac Yard/Crystal City, a transit community with at least three Metro stations (three with National Airport and four if you count Pentagon City), bus rapid transit, VRE, a grid of streets and strong walkable mixed-use network already in place, along with direct access to Reagan National Airport. Crystal City BID and landowners have been proposing direct pedestrian connection from a relocated VRE station to the airport terminal.

“Sites in DC might be too expensive or lack sufficient land area, except perhaps the RFK site or Poplar Point, but should be considered. As for Maryland, the growing urban neighborhood at New Carrollton has Metro, MARC, Amtrak, and good access to both BWI and Reagan National Airports; although like Tysons, it needs to implement a better street grid.  A Prince George’s location would help address regional jobs/housing imbalances, and imbalances in Metro and Beltway traffic flows.

“But the bottom line is that we need an opportunity for an open process with public input where the possible sites in the region are fully vetted to provide the best combination of transit options, urban mix of uses, walkability, and airport access, and that we don’t rush into a site which will impose more costs than benefits to our region. We know from the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission shift of tens of thousands of jobs, that these location decisions can have costly and negative effects on our transportation network and other infrastructure, if they are not fully vetted.”

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 atsmartergrowth.net.

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New Crosswalks Unveiled in White Flint

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

County leaders and residents in White Flint celebrated a milestone in helping to ensure the safety of pedestrians Wednesday evening.

That’s because new crosswalks, equipped with automatic walk signals, were unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony with Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, County Council President Roger Berliner, and the county’s Department of Transportation Director, Al Roshdieh, on the intersection of Nicholson Lane and Executive Boulevard.

These new crosswalks are a part of a larger project, the White Flint Sector Plan, which includes improving the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

“This is a big deal,”  Mark Fitzpatrick, co-owner of Choice Real Estate Group, said. “Me and my family […] we eat here, we do everything in this area so the more you see it changing and improve, it lets us know that they are actually being proactive and care.”

It was the persistence of a grassroots collection of people from Pike Park Pedestrians, with the help of staff from Friends of White Flint and the Coalition of Smarter Growth, that promoted Montgomery County leaders and MCDOT to respond.

Wednesday’s ribbon cutting was just one of dozens of projects MCDOT has planned for the White Flint area.

“This is the first of tangible and physical improvements that are being constructed that we’ve helped work for,” Jay Corbalis, development associate for Federal Realty, said. “It’s more symbolic of the on the ground, safe improvements, we’re making.”

Here’s the worst traffic ‘hot spot’ in the U.S., according to a new study

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Congratulations, Washington-area drivers. You can now claim the worst traffic “hot spot” in the country — a stretch of Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia that averages a whopping 23 traffic jams a day, according to a new study released Wednesday.

Motorists heading south on I-95 between the Fairfax County Parkway and Exit 133 in Fredericksburg lose an average 33 minutes in backups that leave brake lights stretching an average 6.5 miles, according to the report by INRIX, a Kirkland, Wash.-based traffic data firm.

If congestion doesn’t improve over the next decade, the researchers said, that stretch of I-95 will cost local motorists $2.3 billion in wasted time, lost fuel and additional carbon emissions.

Nationwide, continued traffic congestion could cost drivers $2.2 trillion over the next decade, the study found.

Bob Pishue, an INRIX senior economist, said researchers put a dollar figure on backups studied in more than 100,000 “hot spot” road segments in March and April to help public officials target improvements. Being able to prioritize transportation spending, he said, is particularly important since the Trump administration has proposed $1 trillion in infrastructure investments.

Quantifying the costs of traffic congestion, Pishue said, will help government officials weigh the costs and benefits of improving roads or expanding transit in different areas.

Researchers didn’t say how traffic should be alleviated.

“The investments should go into areas that would get the most bang for the buck,” Pishue said. “If those funds go to where drivers are feeling the most pain, it will go a long way in gaining public support” for additional infrastructure spending.

Overall, the Washington region ranked third in the United States, behind Los Angeles and New York City, for the 10-year costs of traffic congestion. Los Angeles motorists face a potential $91 billion, while New York City drivers could lose $64 billion to backups.

Atlanta came in fourth with $29 billion in potential costs over the next decade, and Dallas came in fifth with $28 billion.

INRIX, which collects data from sensors on vehicles and motorists’ cellphones, usually ranks cities’ traffic misery by focusing on motorists, such as how much time they spend in backups.

This time, Pishue said, researchers examined traffic in different road segments.

The Washington area had two other traffic “hot spots” among the 25 worst, the study found. Northbound I-95 from an area south of Fredericksburg to Exit 143 (Garrisonville Road), also in Northern Virginia, came in seventh with 936 traffic jams over the two-month study.

In Maryland, the eastern part of the Capital Beltway between Kenilworth Avenue (Route 201) and just east of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Prince George’s County ranked ninth worst with nearly 700 backups.

John B. Townsend II, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said he wasn’t surprised to hear I-95 in Northern Virginia had earned such a dubious distinction.

The highway’s 29 miles of express toll lanes, which opened in 2014, have given motorists willing to pay a faster, more reliable option and freed up more space in the regular lanes, he said.

They’ve also caused more backups where the toll lanes end and vehicles have to merge into the regular travel lanes.

“In one way they’re a godsend because they’ve lived up to their promise of creating faster commute times on I-95,” Townsend said. “But we’re seeing these slowdowns in the regular lanes. You just get these backups up and down the line . . . At the end of the day, you still save time.”

Kelly Hannon, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said the state will spend $800 million over the next five years to improve I-95 in the Fredericksburg area.

She said traffic is particularly congested there because local motorists who use I-95 as a Main Street for errands mix with regional commuters, tractor-trailers and long-distance travelers.

“Any incident can cause delays very quickly,” Hannon said. “It’s just a very fragile system whenever anything unexpected happens.”

The state has started extending the express toll lanes two miles to the south and plans to build another 10 miles of them south to Route 17 (Exit 133), Hannon said.

It’s also planning to build three new southbound lanes in the median to separate local and through traffic between Exit 133 and Exit 3 (Route 3).

Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition For Smarter Growth said adding more lanes will only attract more traffic. He said I-95’s continued congestion, even in areas with express toll lanes, shows additional lanes only makes it easier for more people to drive.

He noted Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) recently proposed adding express toll lanes on the Beltway, Interstate 270 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Northern Virginia’s roads won’t see relief, Schwartz said, until the region’s growth plans insist on more affordable housing closer to jobs and transit options.

“Without that,” he said, “you’re going to keep the pressure on that highway.”

Photo courtesy of Lina Davidson and the Washington Post. Click here to view the original story.

Your Turn: Washington Athletes Take The Knee, Maryland Toll Lanes and More

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

It’s “Your Turn” to share your views about the stories Washingtonians are talking about. For starters, some Washington area professional football players have joined the nationwide protest to “take the knee” in opposition to criticism of league players by President Donald Trump. In Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan has introduced a plan to widen three of the state’s busiest highways by four toll lanes. The project is reportedly the biggest express lane project in U.S. history, and would be the largest public private partnership on the continent. In D.C., the health department is cracking down on pets at outdoor bar and restaurant patios and a new “dockless” bike share arrives to the nation’s capital.

Call 800-433-8850 to join in the conversation.

Guests

  • Stewart Schwartz Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth;@csgstewart
  • Susan Swift Executive Director, Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance

Photo courtesy of Peter Miller. Click here to read the original story. 

Maryland Gov. Hogan Announces $9 Billion Plan to Widen I-270, I-495 and BW Parkway

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

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.

Click here to read the original story.