Category: Better Public Transit

Why D.C.-Area Commuters Say They Are Dropping Metro

Posted on by Will Reckley

Call them the Metro quitters.

Months of consistently unreliable rush hour service have been emblematic of this rough year for the D.C. region’s transit system. An unknown but seemingly growing number of commuters are dumping Metro, giving up their seats — if seats are even available aboard packed railcars — for cars, bikes or walking.

WAMU 88.5 has received scores of emails and tweets from Metrorail riders who are quitting the system after the lousy summer that ended on a regrettably fitting note: on Sept. 21 a transformer fire at Metro’s power substation near Stadium-Armory will cause service disruptions for at least six months on the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines.

“They’ve really completely crushed my faith in them,” says NoMa resident Benjamin Rockey-Harris, 33, one of several ex-subway users interviewed by WAMU 88.5. “I’m much happier walking. It’s working out for me, unlike Metro.”

Ridership down

Weekday rail ridership is down about 6 percent since its peak in 2008, although the trip figures rebounded a bit last year. Among the factors Metro leaders are quick to point to, the recession, rise of teleworking, loss of the federal pre-tax transit benefit, and growth of alternatives like Uber and Capital Bikeshare usually top the list.

But what about riders who have quit the system because the service stinks? Admittedly, that figure is difficult, if not impossible, to accurately quantify.

“I don’t know that we can determine exact percentages and such, but we do know unreliability does have an impact on our customers,” says Jack Requa, the transit authority’s interim general manager since January. “There’s been a decline in ridership. We are certainly trying to determine the reasons for that and anything we can do to offset that.”

Preliminary figures show ridership dipped 7 percent in August from the same month in 2014 — a significant year-over-year loss. And with commuters facing slowdowns and delays on the three lines through Stadium-Armory well into next spring, more riders are expected to quit Metro.

“I’m going to walk”

It’s 8 a.m. on a Monday morning in Washington’s NoMa neighborhood. Rockey-Harris, an IT professional in downtown D.C., stands at the corner of 2nd and L Streets Northeast and makes an easy decision. Instead of turning right to go to the nearby by Red Line station, he continues to hoof it west on L.

“If it worked perfectly it would be 20-minute ride to work, but I’d rather walk 45 [minutes] than deal with the chaos, honestly,” he says.

The chaos he describes will sound familiar to just about anyone who has tried to board a rush hour train lately.

“Metro means that I have no reliability of getting to work on time. I’m going to pay a rush hour fee for a six- or eight-minute wait for a Red Line train, and then possibly not even get on the next train because they’re all six-car trains and they’ll be full,” Rockey-Harris says.

There was no single incident that drove him away from public transportation. Instead it was weeks and weeks of delays, packed trains, and late arrivals to work that convinced him once and for all to give up on Metro. Others share his story.

“I showed up to work 45 minutes late one time, and that was the final straw,” says Matthew Benjamin, 36, a federal worker who lives in Falls Church. He dumped the Orange Line and now rides his bike all the way into his office near Union Station.

“It was the inconsistent times that the trains were running. You couldn’t count on the same train to be there the same time each morning. That made my commute vary back and forth by 30 to 45 minutes at a time. And that wasn’t acceptable,” Benjamin says.

Crumbling confidence

Whatever the reasons for the long decline in trips, Metro can ill afford to lose any customers. The transit authority is projecting budget deficits for years to come as costs continue to rise against stagnant ridership and revenue forecasts. But public confidence — shaken by multiple rush hour meltdowns and major federal safety investigations — in Metro is crumbling.

“I’d rather take the subway but I can’t rely upon it,” says Becky Ogle, a federal worker and disability rights advocate, who drives from Bethesda into Washington every morning. Because she is in a wheelchair, she is concerned not only with train malfunctions and track problems, but broken elevators, too.

“I’m supposed to be at work at the same time my colleagues are, my able-bodied colleagues. But if I get to my station and the elevator’s not working, then usually it takes about an hour to recoup,” Ogle says. “I’ll have to go to another destination with an elevator working and back track on my own through my own rolling, or have Metro pick me up, which takes forever.”

Metro’s lackluster ridership was pinned on several factors, including slower-than-expected growth in Silver Line usage over the second half of 2014, in a recent budget analysis released by transit authority management.

“The general trend over the past three years of lower average weekday rail ridership has continued, with fewer days reaching a ridership total of 750,000 or more, and more days falling below 700,000,” the report said.

When asked what it would take to return to Metro, riders gave a simple answer: better service.

“We have one of the best subway systems in the country. I would just like to see it be on the upswing instead of the downswing,” says Jessica McBroom, a State Department employee who rides her bike to work.

McBroom, a D.C. resident, bikes six miles to visit family in Maryland on weekends instead of waiting upwards of 24 minutes for a train if there is track work.

“Where are we getting with all of this weekend track work?” she says. Metro is more than four years into a six-year, $5 billion rebuilding program.

Some have quit Metro in disgust. Others did so reluctantly.

“I have very fond memories of Metro. My first experiences in D.C. were my dad taking me to RFK to Redskins games as a kid. We took Metro every time and we never had a problem,” says Bryan Davis Keith, a federal employee who now resides in Winchester, Virginia.

“We never had issues with it breaking down or not knowing what was going on…now you are lucky if something doesn’t happen on your commute,” he says.

Instead of driving to the Orange Line station in Vienna, Keith drives all 100 miles into D.C. every morning, taking his chances with I-66 instead of the train.

Rider testimonials

We heard from many other Metro riders with strong feelings driving their decision to abandon it for their commute. Here are some select testimonials.

Staci Pittman

“For me, it was in 2014 when WMATA took a turn for the worse. I was constantly late for work and because I had to leave at a certain time to make my return trip, my days were usually short of 8 hours. On the return trip, a ride that usually takes 20-25 minutes from Bethesda to Union Station could actually take up to 45 minutes which made me miss my MARC connection and often times leaving me stranded once I made it to Odenton because I missed the last neighborhood bus. The situation seemed to worsen in the summertime and there was always single tracking, crowded platforms, burning rail and water issues. A simple trip from Bethesda to Friendship Heights to get an allergy shot during lunchtime often took an hour and a half roundtrip, including waiting times. Everything wore me down as WMATA delays became the rule and not the exception and having one day out of two weeks being on time seemed like a bonus. As much as I didn’t want to, I broke down a year ago.”

Danny Goldman

“I am a Rockville native. I grew up taking the Red Line and had pretty clear memories of using it as a go-to mode of transport into the city. When I came back from overseas a year ago to start grad school downtown, one of the reasons I was excited was Metro. I thought I wouldn’t need a car, it was convenient, and cost effective. I was wrong.

The Red Line has turned into a disaster, costs have skyrocketed, the service and facilities have deteriorated to the point of being a national embarrassment and safety hazard.”

Matthew Becker

“I haven’t quit completely because it’s still more cost-effective, but ever since I started having to take the Red Line to my current job in Bethesda, I’ve found myself using my own car, Lyft, and trying to take the bus further so as to avoid delays on the train. I try to monitor Twitter in the morning and listen to the radio to be aware of delays on the Metro but unfortunately I still have to rely on the train sometimes. As soon as I can move to a work location where I can rely only on the bus, the bike share, or my own two feet, I don’t plan to take the train ever again.”

Leigh Mihlrad

“I used to take an express bus to the Pentagon each day, and then take the Blue Line to Farragut West. I got so tired of the delays, and frequent inability to get on the train, due to how crowded it was, that I now drive to my department’s Arlington Headquarters and then take our free shuttle downtown. It takes slightly less time, even with some traffic on 395.”

Benita Robertson

“When I first moved here I was ecstatic about the availability of public transit and planned to rely on it 100 percent.”

“My enthusiasm declined with the increase of incidents and delays. I am a patient person so I can deal with delays, but what I can’t deal with is fearing for my safety. The final straw was the reduced train speed between Pentagon and L’Enfant plaza in response to much-needed track repairs.”

“Each day as we slowly creep over the bridge I nervously stared down at the water. There have been so many derailments, brake malfunctions and door issues. I am worried that there is a real problem with the tracks and that a major incident is just waiting to happen. I dislike driving. Traffic stresses me out and I’m terrible at parallel parking, but just yesterday I started researching monthly parking in D.C. so I can drive and park during the week. It’s a real shame, especially since I am a self-identified ‘terrible driver’ and strongly feel I shouldn’t be driving more than absolutely required. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take if I can’t rely on metro to be concerned about my safety.”

Maria Khan

“I quit taking the train this past summer after three years of consistently using it as my primary means of getting downtown from Vienna. I got stuck in the tunnel twice for 40+ minutes each time and have since developed a bad case of claustrophobia. I now cannot ride the train without getting an inevitable panic attack about whether I will be able to get off it once I get on due to all the stops and holds it does in the tunnels. The persistent holds for 40+ minutes in tunnels coupled with reports of smoke and fires, it just seemed like too much of a dangerous situation to put myself. I now take I-66 to work and always pass by an Orange Line train stuck on the tracks for no apparent reason and feel bad for the commuters stuffed inside it.”

Jessica Giguere

“I’m actually going to move into the city so I can walk/bike rather than Metro. Money is tight but I’d rather pay more on rent and sacrifice space than what I pay now in Metro fares and time. I spend at least 10 hours a week commuting from the Vienna Metro station to McPherson Square.”

Ryan Jesien

“I was a WMATA commuter from 2005 to 2013. I wouldn’t get on it today if I were paid to. I rode from Braddock Road to Silver Spring for a time period before dropping their horrible service in favor of biking or driving to work.”

“WMATA is corrupt, expensively priced, and unsafe. I would rather put my skull in a vice than ride their train. A dead horse is a more reliable form of transportation.”

Chris Dattaro

“This is the second time I’ve given up on Metro, and I’m never going back. I live in Old Town and was commuting to Rosslyn for a past job but now commute to Georgetown for a new job. Braddock to Rosslyn is 6 stops; Braddock to Foggy Bottom is 7 and all on the BL. Should be easy enough, right?”

“Between the inconsistent schedules and repeated delays it would consistently take over an hour door-to-door. The BL runs trains every 13-15 minutes during Rush Hour which is pretty mind boggling. It also cost me $7 per day roundtrip to take the Metro. If you multiple that out by the 23 work days in September, that costs me $161. So to sum it up:

Metro: $155-161 per month, 60-80 minute commute one way, no control over delays, overcrowded trains due to the infrequency at peak hours. Car: $135 + gas per month, 25-30 minute commute, flexible schedule. I also ride my bike a few times per week when it’s nice outside. The Metro is just garbage. I’ll use it as infrequently as possible and from here on out, mostly just for Caps games.”

Read on WAMU >>

Questions remain on bus-rapid transit in Montgomery Co.

Posted on by Will Reckley

SILVER SPRING, Md. — As the Purple Line gets closer to construction next year, transit advocates are pushing for a bus-rapid transit network to relieve congestion in Montgomery County.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth and Communities for Transit have released a guide that examines how other cities have successfully built such networks.

Montgomery County wants to build an 80-mile network; the first phase would be limited to Md. 355 (Wisconsin Avenue and Rockville Pike), U.S. 29 (Colesville Road and Columbia Pike) and Md. 586 (Veirs Mill Road).

The distinguishing characteristic of a bus-rapid transit system is the bus-only lane, where cars are not allowed to travel. Northern Virginia residents are familiar with this concept; the Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway provides similar benefits to local bus service.

“It can produce a 25 percent travel savings for commuters,” says Pete Tomao, of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “Without other traffic, it can move much faster and reduce delays.”

Bus-rapid transit systems need a couple things to be successful. First, service needs to be predictable and reliable: Commuters are well aware of the regular delays on Metrorail and Metrobus.

“I think every Metrobus rider has experienced the phantom [ghost] bus on their WMATA app,” Tomao says. “That’s why making sure that you have frequent, reliable service is so important. You need to know buses are coming every five to 10 minutes.”

Second, bus-rapid transit systems should offer amenities to make the buses attractive — such as bike racks, Wi-Fi and outlets to charge smartphones and tablets. If the buses are comfortable and modern, people are more likely to give them a chance, Tomao says.

While some people would rather see new lanes everywhere, the biggest controversy has to do with the locations in Four Corners and Bethesda. In both places, there are proposals to take away a current lane for cars and re-purposing it for buses. The concept doesn’t sit well with many drivers.

The timetable is also unclear. For now, county transportation officials are focused on starting construction for the Purple Line. Once that’s off the ground, Montgomery County must decide what it wants to do with the Corridor Cities Transitway. The bus-rapid transit system is likely third on the county list, since it’s still in the early stages.

Money is another hurdle. Like the Purple Line and the Corridor Cities Transitway, the bus-rapid transit system would require state money and state approval, given that the routes would be on state roadways.

Some have privately suggested that while Gov. Larry Hogan supports the Purple Line, he’s unlikely to back any more major transit-based projects in Montgomery County. He prefers road projects to relieve congestion.

Read this at WTOP >>

Bus Rapid Transit Boosters Unveil Wish List for Unfunded Montgomery County System

Posted on by Will Reckley

Two of the groups pushing hard for bus rapid transit in Montgomery County don’t want officials weighing difficult funding questions to forget the features that could make the system a success.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG), a Washington, D.C.-based smart growth advocacy organization, and the Communities for Transit on Tuesday released a 23-page report titled “Best Practices In Rapid Transit System Design,” to guide residents, transit advocates and policymakers in the county.

The CSG argued for the proposed 81-mile bus rapid transit system, officially known as the Rapid Transit System or RTS, back when it was approved in 2013 as part of a countywide roadway master plan.

Now, the group is pushing for dedicated bus lanes, frequent and reliable service, properly spaced stations, boarding areas on the same level as bus entrances and other features it says are hallmarks of successful bus rapid transit projects around the country.

“Those are the devils in the details that we just don’t want to get lost in the conversation about funding,” coalition member Pete Tomao said Tuesday. “This is an equally important task.”

That conversation about funding is now in full swing as a task force organized by County Executive Ike Leggett considers its final recommendations due at the end of the month.

The latest cost estimate from the county for just the first four RTS corridors (state Route 355 north, state Route 355 south, Veirs Mill Road and U.S. Route 29) pegged construction of the system at $1.6 billion and annual operating costs at $51.6 million.

The county’s Transit Task Force is considering recommendations for how to fund that system through an Independent Transit Authority, including the possibility of a countywide property tax increase, special county sales or gas tax and special taxing districts that would tax property owners closest to the RTS stations.

The CSG report examined more than 30 bus rapid transit systems operating across the U.S. and Canada to look for best practices in station design, dedicated lane placement, branding and other operating procedures.

The report didn’t delve quite as deep into funding mechanisms, though it did recommend a dedicated funding source and showed how each system was paid for.

Almost 48 percent of the Los Angeles Orange Line was paid for by state funds. Almost 42 percent came from a voter-approved half-cent sales tax. The City of Los Angeles and the federal government contributed most of the rest of the funding.

That system, which consists of just one line and runs only 18 miles, has seen an average weekday ridership of 29,845 people this year, according to the report.

It also cost $21 million per mile to build, almost half of the $41.1 million per mile projection the county and an engineering consultant made in July about the first four local RTS routes.

Leggett’s first attempt at state legislation to enable an Independent Transit Authority (ITA) failed earlier this year after staunch opposition from civic groups, the main county employee union and some residents wary of a potential tax increase to fund RTS.

Last month, county officials on the Transit Task Force and Gino Renne, president of the county employee union that represents Ride On workers, hammered out an agreement that would mostly keep Ride On employees as government workers and not put them under the control of the ITA.

With many expecting Leggett to make a second attempt at a state bill to authorize the ITA, transit advocates are planning a “Transit Day of Action” Sept. 9 at the Silver Spring, Rockville and Shady Grove Metro stations.

Tomao, who’s helping to organize the effort, said too many people who currently use transit in the  county aren’t aware of what’s being discussed when it comes to bus rapid transit.

The CSG and the Communities for Transit have also been doing advocacy work in other areas. A few weeks ago, Tomao and others were at the Bethesda Central Farm Market, held in the parking lot of Bethesda Elementary School.

“We had a great response from some people who didn’t take transit very much or who only take Metro to go to work,” Tomao said. “When we showed people the proposal, what bus rapid transit does and how it could complement existing systems, people were very receptive.”

Read this at Bethesda Magazine >>

RELEASE: New report identifies key ways to make Montgomery County’s bus rapid transit succeed

Posted on by acustis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2015

CONTACT
Pete Tomao, Coalition for Smarter Growth
202-675-0016
pete@smartergrowth.net

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — In 2013, the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a plan for an 81-mile Rapid Transit network based on modern bus rapid transit. Today, appointed citizen task forces are working with county and state staff and consultants to design the network’s first three corridors. But the success of the system depends on getting the details right in order to provide high-quality, frequent, reliable and rapid service.

A new report, “Best Practices in Rapid Transit Design,” provides a roadmap for what’s needed to make Montgomery County’s Rapid Transit System a success.

DOWNLOAD OR VIEW THE FULL REPORT [PDF]

RTS-Best-Practices-thumbnail

The report, released jointly today by Communities for Transit and the Coalition for Smarter Growth, draws lessons from successful bus rapid transit systems throughout the US and Canada. “As of 2015, there are more than 30 bus rapid transit systems in operation across the US and Canada and more than 25 others in planning. Many have been running since the early 2000s, and have greatly exceeded expectations for ridership and service,” said Pete Tomao, the Coalition for Smarter Growth’s Montgomery County Advocacy Manager. “In Eugene, OR, for example, the Emerald Line has doubled transit ridership in the corridor it serves.”

“Our report is designed to assist the citizen task force members, elected officials and staff in their deliberations,” said Tomao. The report identifies and describes over a dozen features of successful bus rapid transit, including:

  • dedicated lanes for vehicles to bypass traffic
  • frequent and reliable service
  • stops spaced farther apart than local buses
  • 10’ general travel lanes
  • comfortable stations
  • offboard fare collection
  • level boarding
  • easy, safe access for people walking and bicycling
  • real time arrival information.

“BRT systems can produce travel time savings of up to 25% compared to other transit and can move far more people between home, work, school and services along our crowded arterial corridors than can single-occupant vehicles,” said Tomao. “The county’s ability to manage growth and traffic, and to attract the next generation workforce and companies, depends on investing in a well-designed system that attracts passengers because of its quality, efficiency, speed, and reliability.”

“In our research, we’ve found that successful systems around the country consistently share the same features, which we outline in our report and which we hope will be incorporated into Montgomery’s system,” Tomao concluded.

Earlier this year, Montgomery County appointed citizen task forces for each of the network’s first three bus rapid transit corridors: Route 355, Viers Mill Road, and Route 29. The task forces began meeting in Feb 2015 and are split into five groups — MD 355 North, MD 355 South, US29 North, US 29 South, and Veirs Mill Rd. Key decisions include whether to provide dedicated right-of-way, street and station design, fare collection, stop locations and more.  The corridor task forces are separate from the Transit Task Force appointed to recommend how to finance the system and who should operate it.

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 at smartergrowth.net.

About Communities for Transit

Communities for Transit (CFT) educates the public on the planned & unanimously-approved Rapid Transit System for Montgomery County, MD. CFT focuses on community outreach to build awareness of the compelling case for rapid transit as an effective response to our unsustainable traffic problems.  Learn more at communitiesfortransit.org

 

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Fact sheet: Benefits of Rapid Transit for Montgomery’s Veirs Mill Rd corridor

Fact sheet: Benefits of Rapid Transit for Montgomery’s Veirs Mill Rd corridor

Posted on by acustis

RESIDENTS ALONG VEIRS MILL ROAD NEED THE RTS AS A TRANSIT OPTION
• More than 6,000 (15.4%) of commuters along the Veirs Mill Road corridor have commutes longer than 60 minutes.
• Since 1990, the number of residents in this corridor with these mega-commutes has nearly doubled.
• 22.7% of corridor residents take transit to work: nearly twice as many as in 1990. Almost half of these transit riders
take the bus to work.
• The median income of Veirs Mill Corridor residents is nearly $20,000 less than the median income in Montgomery
County overall. Almost 44% of Veirs Mill Road corridor residents are foreign-born.

Fact sheet: Benefits of Rapid Transit for Montgomery’s US-29 corridor

Fact sheet: Benefits of Rapid Transit for Montgomery’s US-29 corridor

Posted on by acustis

RESIDENTS ALONG THE US 29 CORRIDOR NEED THE RTS AS A TRANSIT OPTION
• Almost 9,500 (17.2%) of commuters in the US 29 corridor have commutes longer than 60 minutes.
• Since 1990, the number of residents in this corridor with these mega-commutes has nearly doubled.
• 17.5% of corridor residents take transit to work: nearly twice as many as in 1990. Almost half of these transit riders
take the bus to work

Fact sheet: Benefits of Rapid Transit for Montgomery’s 355 corridor

Fact sheet: Benefits of Rapid Transit for Montgomery’s 355 corridor

Posted on by acustis

Today, transit access is more important than ever. Residents along the 355 corridor need the RTS as a transit option.
• Nearly 12,000 (14.5%) of commuters along the 355 corridor have commutes longer than 60 minutes.
• Since 1990, the number of residents in this corridor with these mega-commutes has more than doubled.
• 18.1% of corridor residents take transit to work: nearly twice as many as in 1990.
• The median income of 355 corridor residents is over $8,000 less than the median income in Montgomery County overall. Nearly one t…

D.C.-area motorists lose their ‘gunslinger’

Posted on by Winstina Hughes

For 21 years, Lon Anderson has considered himself a “gunslinger” against traffic jams, a “gladiator” against drunken driving and the “staunch defender” of nearly 4 million beleaguered motorists.

As director of public and governmental relations for AAA Mid-Atlantic, Anderson has been the Washington region’s most visible and influential motorist advocate, verbally flogging area governments to crack down on unsafe drivers, fix dangerous roads and ease some of the worst gridlock in the nation. His weapon: catchy, go-for-the-throat sound bites that the media — and lawmakers — simply can’t ignore.

He’s accused “money-grubbing” District officials of turning one particularly profitable speed camera into “an old-fashioned, money-making, motorist rip-off speed trap right out of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard.’ ” Public officials in “Rip Van Maryland,” he says, have snoozed while Virginia has added express toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and built the Silver Line Metrorail extension.

His table-smacking interjections of “Outrageous!” have drawn gavel-pounding from legislative committee chairmen and earned him the nickname “the reverend.” Friends describe him as passionate — and laughingly agree with one veteran transportation journalist’s description of Anderson years ago as “the Billy Graham of the roadgangers.”

“He’s been a real mainstay in the region and one of the main voices for better transportation,” said former Montgomery county executive Doug Duncan (D). “A lot of people complain about it, but very few people advocate for solutions. He’s been that voice for a long, long time.”

Anderson, 66, is set to retire from AAA at the end of this month, but not before he lets a few more zingers fly at the government agencies he blames for the Washington area’s teeth-gnashing traffic.

“You don’t get to have the worst congestion in the United States without decades of bad decisions,” he said recently at AAA Mid-Atlantic’s offices in downtown D.C. “If they make a bad decision, I’m going to pounce on it and throw a punch.”

Yes, cycling has surged in the District, and suburbs are seeing millennials and empty-nester baby boomers gravitate to more walkable, transit-oriented communities so they can drive less — or not own a car at all.

But 72 percent of Washington-area residents still commute by car, and another 12 percent who use carpools or buses also rely on the roads. While many people think of AAA as a roadside assistance service, it also is one of the most influential advocacy groups in transportation politics. Anderson reminds politicians that his group represents 3.7 million motorists in the District, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“On the power index, he was at the higher end,” said Jim Dinegar, president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. “He represented a very powerful group, and he gave voice to it. . . . If, by God, Lon opposed your legislation, he’d come at you with everything AAA had — and that was quite a bit. And if he supported you, he’d throw the full weight of the organization behind you.”

Anderson has his detractors, mostly among transit and cycling advocates who clashed with him over street space for bike lanes and his calls for another Potomac River crossing beyond the chronically congested American Legion Bridge.

Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition For Smarter Growth, said Anderson is “very good with a quip” but “out of date” on transportation policy. Schwartz said the “outer Beltway” bridge Anderson wants would suck up billions of dollars needed for mass transit and lead to more sprawl development and, in turn, more traffic.

“Almost more than anyone else,” Schwartz said, “he’s never met a highway he didn’t like.”

Moreover, Schwartz said, Anderson has had an “inherent conflict of interest” because AAA relies on dues-paying motorists.

“That means he’ll support policies that result in more people driving more,” Schwartz said. “That could color your comments on transportation policy.”

But others say they have seen Anderson, along with AAA Mid-Atlantic, evolve from no-holds-barred road advocates to supporters of a more balanced approach that includes the need for better transit and pedestrian and bike safety. AAA Mid-Atlantic supported construction of the Silver Line and has embraced plans for a light-rail Purple Line in Maryland.

“I think there was an evolution in his thinking,” said David Snyder, vice mayor of Falls Church and a longtime member of the region’s Transportation Planning Board. “The reality is you can’t simply put down more asphalt.”

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), another longtime transportation board member, said Anderson and his group became “less strident” over the years.

“I think they realized that if you want to drive your car,” Mendelson said, “the whole system has to work.”

The way Anderson sees it: More people riding mass transit means fewer clogging the roads for those who have to drive. In turn, more free-flowing roads provide better transit service for bus passengers. He notes that he’s an avid walker — he works to get in his 10,000 steps daily — and that AAA Mid-Atlantic recently extended its roadside assistance program to bicyclists.

“But will walking and cycling replace the need for roads to offer mobility to cars and buses?” Anderson said. “No. . . . And transit can’t replace the need for automobiles.”

Anderson has had much of his influence as a vocal critic. One of his biggest beefs: His belief that the District government has declared “war on motorists” by placing some speed cameras to make money for the city rather than improve safety. The number of parking tickets the city writes also gets him riled up.

“People come to Washington to see the cherry blossoms,” he said in a booming voice, “but they have a better chance of seeing pink [citations] under their windshield wiper.”

He is unapologetic about seeking media coverage to promote his group’s agenda. He said he knows from his early years as a journalist — he was a reporter for the Frederick News-Post and once owned a weekly newspaper in Damascus — what reporters are looking for: accurate, quick information and frank quotes.

He made himself so available to reporters that his wife, Claudia Tidwell, said she is most excited at the prospect of soon dining out without her husband leaving the table for a restaurant parking lot interview.

“This is a town where everyone wants to be in the media and be quoted,” Anderson said. “If you want to rise above the chatter, you’ve got to be good.”

His biggest disappointment: leaving the job without persuading Virginia lawmakers to make driving without a seat belt a primary offense. Under current law, police can only cite motorists for failure to wear a seat belt if they stop them for another violation first.

Among his proudest accomplishments: persuading Maryland lawmakers to strengthen the state’s vehicular homicide law and leading a successful campaign in the 1990s for safety barriers on the George Washington Parkway after a string of fatal head-on collisions.

Addressing his team of 16 AAA employees at his recent retirement party, Anderson grew teary and barely choked out, “We’ve saved a lot of lives.”

Anderson said he and his wife will move soon from Silver Spring to West Virginia, where they plan to spend more time hiking in the mountains than stewing in traffic. He might even try his hand at blogging.

“I think,” he said, “I still have a few things to say.”

Robert Thomson contributed to this report.

Read the original article here. 

Prince George’s hospital plan approved by county, awaits key state clearance

Posted on by Winstina Hughes

It could be at least four years before a proposed regional hospital and medical campus opens at Largo Town Center, but the central Prince George’s community is already bracing for a development that could boost health-care options as well as the overall local economy.

Officials hope it lives up to their vision of creating a more urban, pedestrian-friendly community.

The $650 million, 231-bed hospital, which is under state and county review, promises to deliver a more urban street grid with smaller blocks to encourage foot and bicycle travel around what is primarily a car-oriented Metro station just outside the Capital Beltway.

Residents and transit advocates say the project, which has a tentative 2019 opening, can’t come soon enough to an area known for its big boulevards, giant parking lots and bus stops on sidewalk-free roads. They say the proposal offers the type of transit-oriented development that they have long sought.

“We have fought this battle for more years than I care to think about. This plan brings us far closer to where we need to be,” Chuck Renninger, president of the Largo Civic Association, told county officials discussing the project last month. “We need to get phase one up and operational as quickly as possible so that phase two and three can come quick enough.”

Recently, the project received the county planning commission’s blessing to move toward construction, an important step in the county’s land-use approval process. The realization of the project, however, is still contingent on a crucial state review that has already dragged on for a year longer than the county had hoped.

Maryland’s health-care commission must sign off on a “certificate of need,” which includes design plans and financial projections. After going back and forth with the applicant for a year, the commission finally docketed the case in April and the panel is weighing the needs, benefits and competition created by building the hospital. As part of the review, the commission is considering the concerns of two hospitals protesting the project’s scale.

A step to sway statistics
For the county, however, building the medical facility is the first step in remedying pressing health-care disparities for its residents, who have long complained about having to travel outside the county for care because of the limited options.

The new facility, which would be operated by the University of Maryland Medical System, would help tackle statistics that show Prince George’s residents have higher rates of chronic diseases — including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, asthma and cancer — than people in neighboring counties. Studies also suggest that the county’s mortality rate is higher than that of Montgomery and Howard counties.

The new medical campus would replace the 100-bed Prince George’s Hospital Center in
Cheverly, which has struggled financially and requires frequent subsidies from the state and county. It would have a 10-story building at the center, housing an ambulatory care center, a cancer center, a women-and-children’s center and a resident program.

The project “represents turning a page on a chapter that has been, in a lot of ways, a drag on the county,” Brad Frome, an economic development aide to County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D), told the planning commission last month, citing the conditions of the existing hospital. “This is really a foundation stone for the creation of a new health-care system that we look to have in the county.”

Later phases would bring more medical offices, a nursing home, hotels and more housing around it, officials say, touting the project as a driver for economic development promising to revive the Boulevard at the Capital Centre, which has struggled for years to fill and keep storefronts open.

The hospital project could spur $3 billion in economic activity for Prince George’s, according to a recent report that suggests it could help build a mixed-use development around the Largo Town Center Metro station that includes about 3 million square feet of commercial space, nearly 1 million square feet of retail, 653 hotel rooms, a 150-bed nursing home and more than 4,000 residential units.

At build-out, that means $150 million in state and local tax revenue, 16,000 new jobs and 4,340 households with an estimated $312.5 million in income, according to the report.

Approval hurdles
The project is expected to move through the county’s approval process without delay by early fall, which leaves state approval as the main hurdle between now and its projected 2019 opening.

The state commission docketed the case in April. A commissioner is expected to review it soon and could make a recommendation by the end of the year.

As part of its review, the commission is considering comments from Doctors Community Hospital and Anne Arundel Medical Center. Both oppose the size of the project, citing its potential impact on their operations.

Doctors Community, a 218-bed facility in Lanham, about six miles from the proposed medical center, estimates that it would lose nearly 400 admissions annually. Fewer admissions could lead to a shortfall of more than $1 million annually, the hospital said.

“A new hospital is needed, but the right hospital, not this proposal,” Doctors Community attorneys Peter P. Parvis and Jennifer J. Coyne said in a May 4 letter to the state panel. The Prince George’s Regional Medical Center “did not meet its burden of proving that the need for a hospital this large and this expensive exists, or that the hospital is financially feasible.”

Anne Arundel Medical Center, the third-busiest hospital in Maryland with 384 beds and an emergency heart-attack-response center about 22 miles east of the Largo site, cites the county’s “difficulty attracting and retaining a strong medical community of physicians.” The center estimates the project will result in
420 fewer discharges and questions the proposed cardiac surgery services at the new facility.

Thomas Himler, budget director for Prince George’s, said the new facility hopes to attract county residents who seek medical care elsewhere in Maryland, the District and Northern Virginia. Despite the objections of the two competing hospitals, he said, the county expects approval by the end of the year.

The medical center is tied to about 26 acres immediately east of the Boulevard at the Capital Centre, adjacent to the Largo Town Center Metro station and just off the Capital Beltway, north of Central Avenue. It would be funded with $450 million in bond financing, including about
$200 million each from the state and the county.

Transit potential
At the center of all that growth is the Metro station, which opened in 2004 as the Blue Line’s eastern-most terminal. The new Silver Line also ends there. Although the station now ranks in the bottom half in the system in terms of performance and has nearly 5,000 daily passenger boardings, it has the capacity to handle significant ridership growth, officials say.

Largo has the potential to be an example of successful transit-oriented development in a county that has 15 vastly underdeveloped Metro stations, planners and transit officials say. The community could develop into a downtownlike area similar to Silver Spring, with a large medical community anchoring diverse business and housing options. The housing stock is already growing, with at least one multifamily complex under construction across the street from the hospital site.

Having the hospital less than a quarter-mile from the Metro platform would make it an attractive choice for workers and patients, officials say.

Margaret Bowles, 75, a retired teacher who lives about three miles from the hospital site, said she goes to Holy Cross Hospital in Montgomery County for specialty care and has friends who travel to the District for health care.

“People go down to George Washington [University Medical Center] and they never take their car. They hop on the Metro and go downtown because the Metro stop is right there. It is perfect,” she said. “Before this project, we had not had the vision that we probably should have for development around the Metro station.”

The success, she said, hinges on building it right, with pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in mind.

The county-approved plan calls for sidewalks along both sides of the Boulevard, Arena Drive and Lottsford Road. Pedestrian plazas, seating areas and bicycle pathways also are part of the design. County planners said the streets will be narrow to foster a pedestrian-friendly environment.

Advocates for transit-oriented development, including Metro and the nonprofit Coalition for Smarter Growth, have pushed for wide, well-lit pathways connecting the station to the hospital and the surrounding commercial spaces to make it as easy as possible for workers and patients to take transit.

“Having a very large employment center at the station will absolutely change that ridership at Largo,” said Stan Wall, Metro’s director of real estate and planning, noting that the project also could benefit Metro’s plans to eventually develop 12 acres of land it owns at the site.

The medical center alone could generate 650 new daily entries at the Metro station, according to the transit agency’s office of planning. That would mean $750,000 in new revenue for the transit agency. But even more riders and revenue would stem from the development that would follow the hospital construction, Wall said.

Cheryl Cort, policy director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, agrees that keeping in mind the pedestrian and bike traffic will ensure good circulation between the hospital’s front door, Metro and the shops at the Boulevard at the Capital Centre.

“We want to make sure it’s done to the full benefit,” she said.

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