Category: Better Public Transit

Letter to Governor Hogan opposing I-270/495 expansion

Posted on by Emily Maurer

December 3, 2019

The Honorable Larry Hogan

State of Maryland

Governor

100 State Circle

Annapolis, MD 21401 

Re: Capital Beltway and I-270 

Dear Governor Hogan: 

We are writing to share our strong and continuing concerns with your proposals for the Capital Beltway and I-270. We urge you to delay further action at the Board of Public Works and any steps toward a public-private partnership, until you conduct a comprehensive alternatives and impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

As we have noted before, MDOT failed to study an integrated transit-oriented development (TOD), transit and demand management alternative to your proposed toll lanes. This is important because your proposal will increase, not decrease driving demand, whereas a transit- oriented development approach that includes buildout of development at Prince George’s 15 Metro stations, Montgomery’s 13 stations, and selected MARC stations will reduce vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled while providing the competitive placemaking environment so much in demand by people and corporations today. Transit components of this alternative include the Purple Line, Metro capacity expansion, MARC expansion, and bus rapid transit (BRT) networks. The Council of Governments recently determined that TOD, BRT, and Metro all performed best in improving the performance of our highways. 

If the Amazon decision to locate in Arlington near two Metro stations tells us anything, it’s that transit-oriented development (TOD) is our future. In fact, the WMATA Connect Greater Washington study shows that build-out of the DC region’s Metro stations would so shift travel modes and trip patterns that we would avoid having to add 1000 lane miles of new roads and thousands of parking spaces. At the same time, Metro would go from needing public operating subsidies to annual operating surpluses because the trains would be full in both directions and all day due to the amount of development at the suburban stations. 

Your proposed toll lanes will fail because of induced demand: the new capacity created by the toll lanes, especially through diversion from the general-purpose lanes, will not last. The general-purpose lanes will fill up again as people decide to live farther away from work to take advantage of the initial time savings or decide to switch to driving from other modes or to drive more often. At the same time, vehicles seeking to reach the new capacity will add to traffic on all connecting roads. Additionally, toll lanes have termini, and the congestion which occurs at these termini, where multiple new lanes merge into the regular lanes, is regularly substantial; the congestion is merely moved “down the line” by some miles. By fueling more long-distance living and commuting, toll lanes add to vehicle miles traveled, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, water pollution, and traffic. Last, but not least, they raise serious equity concerns. 

As the Virginia experience has shown, the 12-lane highways that result from adding four toll lanes to the Beltway and other highways are a massive, generational alteration of our landscape and come at high cost to homes and neighborhoods, people and health, and the environment. You have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Maryland, yet the toll lanes will increase driving and emissions. In contrast, the comprehensive TOD, transit and demand management alternative will reduce vehicle trips, vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. 

We have been extremely concerned about the process that has been applied to the toll highway proposals, as have the Comptroller and Treasurer, members of the legislature, the local community and local elected officials, and the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The failure to complete the NEPA process including full alternatives and impacts analysis, creates significant risks for the project, both legal and financial. 

The Comptroller promised the project would not be approved by the Board until the EIS is complete. Your proposed timeline assumes an agreement will happen in February of 2021 even though the NEPA process from the upper portion of I-270 has still not begun. Moreover, the Department of Legislative Services recommended that the P3 statute be amended to prohibit the submission of a pre-solicitation report prior to the availability of an environmental impact statement which has not yet been released. 

The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) has twice decided unanimously not to concur with the alternatives for the project. To this date–the public and M- NCPCC still don’t have origin-and-destination data, stormwater management impacts, financial assumptions, toll rates and other critical information that is important for this solicitation proposal to be approved. 

For all of the reasons we outline in this letter, we once again urge you to delay further action at the Board of Public Works and any steps toward a public-private partnership, until you conduct a comprehensive alternatives and impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and to ultimately adopt the more effective and sustainable transit-oriented approach that we have outlined here. 

Sincerely, 

Denisse Guitarra | Maryland Conservation Advocate | Audubon Naturalist Society 

Brian O’Malley | President & CEO | Central Maryland Transportation Alliance 

Stewart Schwartz | Executive Director | Coalition for Smarter Growth 

Ed Rich | President | Greater Farmland Civic Association 

Lois Hybl and Richard Willson | Co-Presidents | League of Women Voters of Maryland 

Pamela Goddard | Senior Program Director, Mid-Atlantic Region | National Parks Conservation Association 

Josh Tulkin | Director | Sierra Club, Maryland Chapter 

Kimberly Golden Brandt | Director | Smart Growth Maryland

CSG & partners call for progressive MCDOT director appointee

CSG & partners call for progressive MCDOT director appointee

Posted on by Jane Lyons

A copy of the letter below was sent on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 to the Montgomery County Council and County Executive. The PDF can be found here.

 

Dear Council President Navarro and County Councilmembers:

We thank and commend Al Roshdieh, the departing Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) Director, for his public service and the commitment he has shown to promoting sustainable, safe, multimodal transportation options. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

When considering an appointee for Mr. Roshdieh’s successor, we urge the Council to ensure that the next MCDOT director is a leader in implementing modern transit, green and complete streets that are safe for all users, and transit-oriented development. The next director must be committed to achieving the county’s Vision Zero and climate goals, reducing vehicle miles traveled, and making major shifts in mode share to transit, walking, and bicycling. We also believe the next director should pledge to be a frequent transit user.

Specifically, we ask that the next director be committed to the following priorities:

  1. Hold MCDOT accountable to the county’s Vision Zero initiative.

People want to safely bike and walk in Montgomery County. However, in 2019 alone, more than 300 people have been injured or killed due to inadequate pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and the prioritization of cars on our roadways. This is up 14 percent since 2018, with 38 percent of crashes on county roads. Since the Vision Zero resolution was passed in 2017, at least 50 people have died.

MCDOT is the lead agency on many of the most critical pieces of the county’s Vision Zero initiative, and it is the responsibility of the director to hold the department accountable to those goals. This requires tough choices that will substantially cut traffic fatalities, such as remaking  arterials and roads into streets that encourage walking and biking through road diets, including protected bicycle lanes, fewer and narrower vehicle lanes, tighter turn radii, pedestrian refuges, bumpouts and well-marked crosswalks and other infrastructure improvements.

Vision Zero implementation should be especially prioritized around schools, where children are at high risk of injury or death simply when trying to walk or bike to school. In addition, providing safe pedestrian and bicycle access to future Purple Line stations, and during construction, is essential. We also hope that the new MCDOT director will collaborate with the Planning Department to implement the Bicycle Master Plan and forthcoming Pedestrian Master Plan.

  1. Commit to implementing the county’s planned bus rapid transit (BRT) network in a timely manner.

The groundbreaking of BRT on Route 29 and funding for preliminary engineering of BRT on MD-355 and Veirs Mill Road are steps in the right direction. MCDOT must continue to prioritize the creation of a gold standard BRT network. We need a visionary BRT system that addresses the county’s economic development, social equity, and greenhouse gas emission reduction challenges.  

When designing BRT, MCDOT must prioritize dedicated lanes; off-board fare collection; frequent, reliable service; and stations with real-time travel information. These standards are essential for generating high ridership, improving the commutes of all users, and creating a key economic asset. Phase 1 of the planned BRT network alone is projected to bring in over $871 million in net fiscal revenue over 25 years.

  1. Maintain and expand transit opportunities through RideOn and external collaboration.

Ride On has the second highest ridership of any suburban bus system in the country at over 22 million trips in 2017. MCDOT been innovative through programs like Ride On Extra, and can build upon those successes. We encourage the next director to support a redesign and upgrade of the combined Ride On and WMATA bus network to ensure service is frequent, reliable, equitable, and customer-focused. There may also be opportunities to better integrate with other transit services, like MetroRail, MARC, BRT, MetroBus, and TheBus.

The director will need to collaborate and coordinate with outside agencies to effectively expand transit opportunities, such as BRT routes and road diets on state roads and the construction of new Metro entrances. Transit opportunities will not grow without close collaboration with such agencies as the Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

  1. Further the county’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2035.

MCDOT must work to meet the mobility needs of residents throughout the county with environmental sustainability in mind. Meeting the county’s climate change goals requires transportation projects and programs that promote sustainable transportation options. Moreover, MCDOT should not support highway expansion projects, such as Mid-County Highway Extended, which incentivize single-occupancy vehicle trips and damage the natural environment. Finally, the director should strive to move all MCDOT vehicles towards electrification and continue to increase electric vehicle infrastructure. 

In conclusion, the next director should have as a key objective creating a transportation system that supports the environment and people. We recognize that for the future director to implement these priorities, MCDOT requires support from the operating and capital budgets passed by the County Council. Therefore, we also call on the County Council to prioritize funding for these crucial projects.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Signed,


Jeffrey Weisner

President, Steering Committee

350 Montgomery County

 

Denisse Guitarra

MD Conservation Advocate

Audubon Naturalist Society

 

Julio Murillo

Government & Strategic Relations Specialist

CASA

 

Jane Lyons

Maryland Advocacy Manager

Coalition for Smarter Growth

Barbara Noveau

Executive Director

DoTheMostGood Montgomery County

 

Diane Hibino, Kathy McGuire

Co-Presidents

League of Women Voters of Montgomery County

 

Walter Weiss

Administrator

Montgomery County Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions

 

Michael DeLong

President

Montgomery County Young Democrats

 

Shruti Bhatnagar
Chair

Sierra Club, Montgomery County Group

 

Maurice Belanger

President

Takoma Park Mobilization

 

Johanna Wermers

Transportation Representative

The Climate Mobilization

 

Margaret Schoap 

Organizer

Transit Alternatives to Mid-County Extended

 

Greg Billing

Executive Director

Washington Area Bicyclist Association


CC: County Executive Marc Elrich

 

Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montgomery_County_Transit_Ride_On_2017_Gillig_LF_Advantage_Diesel.jpg

CSG in the News: DC Circulator to end free rides, charge $1 fare again

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

DC Circulator to end free rides, charge $1 fare again

By Sophie Kaplan, The Washington Times – Monday, September 30, 2019

Starting Tuesday, it will cost a dollar again to ride the DC Circulator, but some city officials are looking at ways to reinstate the free ride.

“We have seen tremendous benefits from the free circulator I am hopeful that the [D.C.] Council will act to keep it free,” said Jeff Marootian, director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

Mr. Marootian said the free downtown bus service made transit more affordable and reduced single-occupancy car trips, adding that he has seen an increase in circulator ridership.

But council member Mary Cheh, chair of the Transportation Committee, questioned Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision in February to make the DC Circulator free without a thorough consideration of how it would affect businesses, Metro and bikeshare, or whether it was an equitable way to spend city funds since the bus’ routes mostly lie downtown and serve tourists.

“And there was no evidence that a free circulator would lead to decreasing cars on the road, it is illogical to think that would happen,” Mrs. Cheh said, adding that a dollar fare wasn’t deterring people from driving in the first place….

Cheryl Cort, policy director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said that bus services are “critical to extremely low-income residents in our region,” noting that almost half of bus riders have a yearly income of about $30,000.

The DC Circulator serves about 16,000 people daily, while Metrobus transports about 400,000 a day, according to a study by the Bus Transformation Project, an ongoing regional effort to improve bus service.

“Increasing the price differential between Circulator and Metrobus, rather than lowering fares across the board, distorts how riders use the system, and can create a sense of inequity,” the Coalition for Smarter Growth’s report card on the D.C. bus system.

Ms. Court said free rides for all public transit is ideal, but she encourages lawmakers to consider at least offsetting the cost for low-income riders.

Miss Bowser announced in February that the DC Circulator would be free for that month, and she then made it a permanent change in her budget proposal. The circulator, along with the DC Streetcar and Capital Bike Share, are the only transit options over which the District has sole control.

However, the D.C. Council rejected her proposal to allocate $1.3 million for the free ride citing a lack of analysis for the decision, which Mrs. Cheh called a “thoughtless giveaway.”

Read the full Washington Times story here.

 

RELEASE: Coalition Champions Release Bus Transformation Strategy

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 5, 2019

Contact Stewart Schwartz: 703-599-6437

Washington DC: The Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) applauded today’s release of the Bus Transformation Strategy. Serving on the Executive Committee for the study, CSG worked with business, union, government, community leaders, and the consulting team to arrive at four key recommendations illustrated in this table:

1 Frequent and Convenient Bus Service  Provide frequent and convenient bus service that connects communities and promotes housing affordability, regional equity, and economic growth.
2 Bus Priority on Roadways  Give buses priority on roadways to move people quickly and reliably.
3 Customer Experience  Create an excellent customer experience to retain and increase ridership.
4 Task Force to Implement the Strategy  Empower a publicly appointed Task Force to transform bus and lead the implementation of a truly integrated regional system.

“We urge elected officials, transit agency directors, and government staff to put the bus first! We strongly support priority bus lanes, more frequent and reliable service, a better customer experience, and more affordable fares for those who need it,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “We also believe that route redesign studies incorporating both WMATA and local buses are essential to developing a network that provides more frequent, reliable service with higher ridership while not sacrificing the coverage for those most in need.”

“Buses are key to an effective and expansive transit network for our region, one that provides better access to jobs and opportunity, an alternative to traffic, and reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change,” said Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager for CSG who leads CSG’s long-standing campaign for bus rapid transit in Montgomery County.

“We need to start right away on prioritizing buses,” said Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for CSG.  “Our study with MetroHero of DC bus performance confirmed the concerns in the Bus Transformation Study – buses were moving slower and becoming less reliable, scoring a ‘D’ in our analysis. The recommended solutions in our companion report track closely with those in the Bus Transformation Study and the Greater Washington Partnership’s transit report.”

“The public is strongly supportive of better bus service,” said Schwartz, “The Bus Transformation surveys of over 8000 area residents and riders found that people overwhelming want to see dedicated bus lanes, more frequent service, free transfers from bus to rail, and more affordable fares.”

“The Coalition for Smarter Growth will be partnering with other advocacy organizations and business leaders in urging local elected leaders to expeditiously implement the Bus Transformation strategy,” concluded Schwartz.

The Bus Transformation Project website hosts the Executive Summary, Full Report and supporting documents.

___________

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our 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.

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RELEASE: Coalition calls on DC area leaders to transform the bus

Posted on by Kara Young

 

 

 

Press Release

For immediate release: July 25, 2019

Contact: Stewart Schwartz, 703-599-6437

 

Coalition calls on DC area leaders to transform the bus

Washington DC: Bus services in the DC region carry 621,000 riders per day, almost as many as Metrorail. Yet, bus service is in trouble as buses are slowed by road congestion, competition from services like Uber and Lyft (which are adding to that congestion), and are seeing declining ridership. These are key concerns highlighted in the WMATA Bus Transformation Study being briefed to the WMATA board today. The Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) served on the study Executive Committee with leading business executives, a union representative and two other non-profit leaders. The study also included strategic and technical advisory committees comprised of government staff and advocates.

 

“CSG recently teamed with MetroHero on our own study of DC bus performance and confirmed the concerns in the Bus Transformation Study – buses were moving slower and becoming less reliable, scoring a ‘D’ on in our analysis,” said Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

 

“The public is strongly supportive of better bus service,” said Stewart Schwartz, CSG’s Executive Director. “The most recent survey by the Bus Transformation Study of 2905 area residents and riders found that people overwhelming want to see dedicated bus lanes, more frequent service, free transfers from bus to rail, and more affordable fares.”

 

“We’ve always known what makes bus service effective – fast, frequent, reliable service, with affordable fares, good user information and safe, comfortable conditions at bus stops and on buses,” said Cheryl Cort. “The recommendations in our DC Bus Report Card, in the Bus Transformation Study, and the Greater Washington Partnership’s bus study, and WMATA’s 2018 study, all point to these same priorities.”

 

Recent press has highlighted some of the negative reactions by local and state jurisdictions to ideas in the Bus Transformation Study regarding potentially shifting some more local routes and service to the jurisdictions from WMATA. The jurisdictions, many of which have established their own bus systems over the years, expressed concerns about taking on the routes and the potential costs. However, they also generally supported the service improvement recommendations in the report.

 

“We urge the jurisdictions and WMATA not to get tied up in a fight over who runs which routes. Riders and potential riders want them to focus on service – how to make the buses faster, frequent, more reliable, easier to use, and more affordable for lower income residents,” said Schwartz. “Rather than arguing over who should run what, we need leadership that makes bus transformation a top regional priority.”

 

“We cannot address our region’s traffic challenges, improve access to jobs, or fight climate change, unless we make bus the mode of choice across wide swaths of our region. Rail and bus transit must be tied to compact, walkable, mixed-use, mixed-income development as much as possible if we are to address these challenges,” said Cort.

 

The study has six main elements with 27 recommendations. Three main customer facing elements are:

  1. Bus system should be customer-focused and an easy-to-use option that people want to ride
    1. Recommendations include marketing, better bus information including maps and bus route naming, mobile apps, free transfers, lower fares, and more employers offering transit benefits.
  2. Prioritizing buses on major roads is the fiscally responsible way to move the most people quickly and reliably.
    1. Recommendations include commitments by jurisdictions to giving buses priority, enforcement of priority lanes, and parking limits to provide for bus lanes.
  3. Frequent and convenient bus service is fundamental to accessing opportunity, building and equitable region, and ensuring high quality of life
    1. Recommendations include bus network redesign

 

The Coalition for Smarter Growth will be partnering with other advocacy organizations and business leaders in urging local leaders to follow-up release of the Bus Transformation report with concrete actions to dramatically improve bus service.

 

___________

 

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our 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.

 

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CSG Testimony on MD 355 and Veirs Mill BRT advancing to preliminary engineering

Posted on by Jane Lyons

July 16, 2019

Re: Supplemental appropriation and amendment to FY20 Capital Budget and FY19-24 CIP – $3,000,000 for Bus Rapid Transit: MD 355 (Support), and Supplemental appropriation and amendment to FY20 Capital Budget and FY19-24 CIP – $1,000,000 for Bus Rapid Transit: Veirs Mill Corridor (Support)

By Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager

 

President Navarro and Councilmembers, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I am here on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities. We support a robust bus rapid transit system on MD 355 and in the Veirs Mill corridor.

For MD 355, we urge the Council to recommend Alternative B, dedicated median BRT lanes, and to incorporate Alternative C, dedicated curb BRT lanes, in the southernmost segment in Bethesda. Median bus lanes are the gold standard for BRT, producing the highest ridership, frequency, and reliability. These are the characteristics that will make BRT a choice mode for current transit riders and attract new riders.

Given the high ridership projections, economic development potential, and the long-standing support from community groups and business leaders, we believe that Segment 2 (White Flint/Twinbrook) should be included in the first construction phase, followed quickly by the segments north of Shady Grove. Prioritizing White Flint and Twinbrook will serve the most riders, as well as help spur anticipated investment and business development greatly needed by the county that will not occur without significant transit upgrades.

However, Alternative B does not offer dedicated BRT lanes south of Tuckerman Lane to the Bethesda Metro station (Segment 1). We prefer all-day dedicated curb lanes in both directions for this section but would accept the Alternative C recommendation for a peak direction only lane – as an initial phase. High-quality bus transit access to the job centers located along this corridor is critical. Any segment with dedicated curb lanes will require regular enforcement to ensure that cars do not use the lanes and slow down BRT service.

Regarding the alignment of northernmost segment through Clarksburg, we recommend the Snowden Farm Parkway alignment since it is the only option that does not require a road extension or widening, has the most potential for transit-oriented development, and is the only option that offers access to a grocery store.

In addition to favoring median BRT lanes, we strongly encourage and prefer the conversion of existing travel lanes to BRT to save time and right-of way-acquisition costs. We also concur with the Planning Board recommendation to initiate further service planning and network redesign for effective integration of BRT and local service. Effectively integrating BRT with local service will help to maximize ridership, accessibility, and affordability.

The county should also plan for improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure near BRT stations. Pending construction of the BRT, the county must continue to invest in streetscape enhancements, off-peak street parking, safer pedestrian crossings, and sidewalk and bikeway improvements along MD 355. These are urgent and necessary in order to meet mobility, Vision Zero, emission reduction, and economic development goals.

Finally, we strongly urge that preliminary engineering advance concurrently for both the entire Veirs Mill BRT project and MD 355 BRT. The Veirs Mill corridor has the highest ridership of any bus route in the state of Maryland, and current transit service does not meet the high demand. There is an equity and social mobility issue at stake – nearly 10 percent of the corridor lives below the poverty line, 22 percent do not speak English proficiently, and half of households have one or fewer cars. Veirs Mill BRT is an important step towards bridging the east-west economic divide, and should not be delayed any longer.

In fact, given the urgency to change course and fight climate change, the county and state should place both the entire 355 and Veirs Mill BRT projects on a fast track.

Thank you for your time.

CSG in the News: Metrobus Gets Low Marks For Speed And Schedule Reliability

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

by Jordan Pascale, WAMU | JUL 11.2019

For a month, Metrobus has been under the microscope. MetroHero, an app created by local transit enthusiasts to help track trains and buses, partnered with the Coalition for Smarter Growth to examine routes for speed and reliability. Now the Metrobus Report Card is out and the results are not good. The group gave Metrobus a “D” grade.

Stewart Schwartz and Cheryl Cort of the Coalition for Smarter Growth said they want to use the results to advocate for more traffic signal prioritization, among other measures, to speed buses up and keep them running on time.

“The bus performance scores aren’t great, but it’s our hope that our findings spark more action on dedicated bus lanes and other bus improvements,” Schwartz said.

The report says more riders will take the bus if service is reliable, trip times are predictable and buses come frequently.

See the full WAMU story here.