Category: Maryland
Event Materials: Prince George’s vision for safer streets, more choices, better communities
On June 5, 2025, an all-star panel discussed county efforts to create more walkable, bikeable, transit-accessible communities with new county and state plans.
Speakers: Prince George’s County Planning Director Lakisha Hull; Carm Saimbre, Maryland State Highway Administration; Prince George’s District 3 County Council Member Eric Olson; and chair of TIEE; Veronica O. Davis, national transportation expert, and author of Inclusive Transportation; moderator: Bernard Holloway, RISE Prince George’s.
View the video recording here.
View Planning Director Hull’s presentation:
The discussion featured Go Prince George’s, a new draft master plan for transportation in the county. This plan implements the newly adopted Urban Street Design Standards for activity and transit centers, and shifts focus to transforming the county’s transportation network by creating more travel options, focusing on the movement of people versus solely the movement of vehicles. A joint hearing by the County Council and Planning Board will be convened in fall 2025. Residents and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide comments on the draft.
The June 5 discussion also included progress by the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) to elevate its focus on addressing pedestrian and bicycle safety. Documents about the Complete Streets policy, statewide progress on implementation of the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, and other safety plans can be found here.
Prince George’s new draft Transit Vision Plan is also open for review. To learn more click here.
Event Materials: More Housing NOW Presentation to MoCo Young Democrats
View slides from CSG’s presentation to the Montgomery County Young Democrats on May 20, 2025.
Learn about Prince George’s Transit Vision Plan
On May 22, 2025, RISE Prince George’s and CSG hosted a discussion on the county draft Transit Vision Plan (TVP), which seeks to create a more vibrant and connected county for all. The Transit Vision Plan is a five-year strategic framework for improving the county’s public transportation, developed through extensive public input. The county is seeking input from the public – go to an upcoming public meeting and check out the website.
Event materials – click here to view the presentation and video recording.
Transit Vision Plan video recording on CSG YouTube channel
Transit Vision Plan website
Demand better solutions for I-495 Southside and Woodrow Wilson Bridge
Say no to highway expansion and more traffic
CSG in the News: Elrich vows to push back on approved More Housing N.O.W. legislation
“Every new home helps, but the Council must also adopt the other tools in the package to meet our county’s great housing need. Most important is the approach reflected by [the ZTA] —making it much easier to build duplexes, triplexes, and small apartments near transit and jobs,” Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, wrote in an email statement to Bethesda Today.
Take action: Support passage of MD transportation reforms!
Thanks to you and other advocates, we have advanced a set of transportation reform bills through the Maryland House of Delegates. Now we need to do a final push to win adoption in the Maryland Senate so Governor Moore can sign them into law!
This legislation to guide Maryland’s transportation priorities is especially important if the state adds new revenues and spending. Key bills in the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee that CSG supports are:
Transit-Oriented Development (HB 80) – MDOT’s amended bill relieves parking mandates and allows mixed use development in proximity to Metrorail, Purple Line, and most MARC stations. It also removes potential obstacles to transit-oriented development plans on state-owned land.
Transportation and Climate Alignment Act (HB 84) – MDOT is supporting this bill that would require the agency to evaluate its transportation projects to ensure they help Maryland meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets and provide alternatives to driving.
Metro Funding Modification Act (HB 467) – Maryland, DC and Virginia came together in 2018 to successfully fund Metro’s capital needs. As a result, Metro service today is faster, more frequent, and more reliable. However, the $500M in annual funding was not indexed to inflation, risking future funding shortfalls and declining reliability and safety. This bill would index the funding to inflation.
Work Group on Reorganization of MTA (HB 517) – Creates a study group to separate the MARC, Purple Line, and Commuter Bus systems from MTA’s local Baltimore transit focus. This would better ensure a focus on modernization and improved operations for MARC and a successful Purple Line service.
More transportation funding – The just released joint Senate/House budget proposal would increase transportation funding by $500 million per year using an increase in the state tax on capital gains and other measures.
Thanks for helping build a better Maryland!
Take action: Urge Congress to act quickly to pass DC Local Funds Act (S.1077)
Urge Congress to unfreeze DC’s spending authority for its own funds
Written Recommendations: MoCo’s More Housing N.O.W. Package
Montgomery County has a strong record of supporting subsidized affordable housing, including making historic commitments to funding for affordable housing these past few years.
We have not been innovators in the same way in making sure our county has homes that are affordable to our middle class, young people, older adults looking to downsize, and others who do not qualify for affordable housing—yet are increasingly unable to find market-rate homes they can afford amongst our limited housing options.
Take action! Contact your representatives to support the Maryland Housing for Jobs Act
The Housing for Jobs Act (HB 503/SB 430) would set regional housing targets based on the number of jobs in a given set of counties grouped by their area of the state. It would set clear standards for approving and denying new housing when counties haven’t met their housing to jobs ration, giving extra credit to localities who create housing near transit and to those who create affordable housing.