The Vulnerable Road User Protection Act will provide a needed data-driven approach to safety that aligns with Maryland’s Vision Zero commitment to eliminate traffic deaths. A quarter of Maryland traffic deaths involved people walking or biking.
Category: Maryland
Testimony: Support for HB 386 — Metro Funding Modification Act (MD)
The Metro Funding Modification Act will ensure that critical tri-state capital funding for WMATA is adjusted for inflation and scaled to meet state-of-good repair needs starting in FY29. The funding will also enable timely modernization of outdated rail system infrastructure.
Testimony: MD 214 PSAP project plans fail to address pedestrian safety (MD)
The proposed concepts to address pedestrian safety on this segment of MD 214 are greatly disappointing and fall far short of where we believed we were headed with this project.
Testimony: CSG Support for Silver Hill Apartments (MD)
This worthy project could bring 250 affordable apartment homes to a vacant site that is only a quarter-mile walk to the Suitland Metro Station.
All Things Montgomery: January 2026
In last month’s All Things Montgomery, I recounted a very eventful 2025. Today I’d like to point you to some important work for us to undertake in 2026.
Find the list of plans taking place this year below, and learn how you can get involved to ensure the housing and smart growth wins we secured in Thrive are reflected in our county’s plans for the future!
Event materials: Does more housing make housing more affordable?
On January 22, 2026, we talked to leading housing experts about the relationship between housing production and affordability, and explored policy tools to provide stable, affordable housing across a range of incomes.
This was the third webinar in our series on our region’s housing needs, and how researchers, policymakers, and advocates can work together towards solutions.
Webinar: Does more housing make housing more affordable?
This Thursday, Jan. 22, we’re talking to housing experts to explore the relationship between housing production and affordability.
Maryland can make progress on housing and transportation
Maryland faces real challenges including high housing costs, unsafe streets, aging transit systems, economic doldrums, and impacts from climate change. This legislative session, we have the opportunity to address these interconnected challenges with smart growth reforms.
Event materials: Maryland Housing Needs & Solutions: Why is housing unaffordable, and what can we do to fix it?
At this webinar on December 8, 2025, we discussed two recent reports offering insight into why housing is so unaffordable, what its impact is, and what to do about it with a Maryland all star cast ⭐️:
- Kathryn Howell, PhD, Director of the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland College Park & Associate Professor, Urban Studies & Planning Program
- Dani DiPietro, Policy Research Director, Office of the Comptroller of Maryland
- Natali Fani-González, Council President and District 6 Councilmember, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Moderated by Scott Gottbreht, PhD, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Strategy, & Research, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
View the reports, presentations and event recording here:
- Presentation: Maryland Housing Needs Assessment 2025 Update
- Presentation: Housing and the Economy, MD Comptroller
- 2025 State Housing Needs Assessment, prepared by the National Center for Smart Growth for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
- Housing & the Economy Report, the Comptroller of Maryland
- View the event recording on CSG’s Youtube channel
Press Release: CSG Commends Council’s Approval of the University Boulevard Corridor Plan
The Coalition for Smarter Growth thanks the Montgomery County Council for voting today to pass the University Boulevard Corridor Plan.