“It is a really important step forward for the city,” said Cheryl Cort, the policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth, who detailed her position on the zoning rewrite, which covers more than parking requirements, in a blog post at Greater Greater Washington.
“Everything tells us that people are driving less and are owning fewer cars. Every day we have another transportation option and there are all these new ways for people to get around,” Cort said.
The Friends of White Flint displayed the designs next to what the Sector Plan recommended. Together with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the Friends group encouraged supporters of a more pedestrian-friendly road design to write to county officials. So far, more than 350 people have written emails calling for an Old Georgetown Road design that matches the Sector Plan, according to the group.
Stewart Schwartz of the DC-area’s Coalition for Smarter Growth contested the idea that street redesigns have to be put on hold. ”The traffic engineers are nervous about the interim period,” he said. “They don’t recognize that congestion always provides a feedback signal. If there’s congestion, people change the time of day of their commute; they change the mode of their commute; and you’re likely to see more transit riders. What this points to is the need to move faster in redesigning these places and incentivizing redevelopment.”
By 2017, officials want D.C. to be a World Health Organization-defined “age-friendly” city for older adults. A report released by the Coalition for Smarter Growth today finds that, while the city has policies in place that work toward this goal, there are many improvements to pedestrian and transportation infrastructure needed.
The city has made strides in recent years to improve public transportation and the street environment for both pedestrians and cyclists with new bike lanes, improved crosswalks and new forms of transportation. CSG finds there is more work to be done, especially when it comes to accommodating older adults who make up 11% of the current population and will soon be joined by the aging cohort of Baby Boomers who account for 17% of the D.C. population.
DC is doing a lot to be a more age-friendly place, but there are still many ways the city could do more. In particular, local policymakers and planners can focus on three areas to help DC’s older adults get around more easily: pedestrian safety, public transit, and alternative transit options. All of these, along with better mobility management options, will make it possible for seniors to have better choices and feel more comfortable in their communities as they age.
Of course, there is no place like home. But when you’re an elderly resident of the District, sometimes it seems that there is no place to go without significant barriers. Senior citizens make up 11% of Washington DC’s population. And living in a city that requires mobility to take advantage of brings more challenges with advanced age. To keep the capital amenable to the elderly while on the go, it seems necessary to focus on three things: pedestrian safety, public transit, and alternative transit options.
The city has had a long backlog of sidewalks that need repair. “A poorly maintained sidewalk is a tremendous barrier to a senior who is fearful of tripping and falling,” says Cheryl Cort, policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
Many government officials see public-private partnerships as a convenient solution to their infrastructure woes. Enlisting investors and private sector know-how gets roads, bridges and other projects built long before government could do the work on its own.
Some county officials hope the large bus situated front and center at this year’s Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is a glimpse of the not-so-distant future.