Annapolis, MD – Over 150 community members, business leaders, and elected officials gathered in support of the Purple and Red Lines in Annapolis Monday night to call on legislators to keep fighting for the two transit projects, both of which are nearly ready to begin construction and create jobs for Maryland residents. With delays from the Hogan administration posing a threat to nearly $2 billion in federal funding for the two projects combined, a broad coalition of business, community, and elected were united in their message to legislators and the Governor that neither delay nor cancellation of these critical projects is acceptable.
Category: Press Releases
STATEMENT: Praise to Governor Hogan for keeping jobs-creating Purple Line on track
MARYLAND — Reports today indicate that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has initially retained state funding for the long-planned for Purple Line in his first state budget. Based on those reports, Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz applauded the decision in the following statement: “We were pleased to see that both Purple Line and Red Line funding remaining in Governor Hogan’s first Maryland budget. The Purple Line is a good deal for Maryland, good for jobs, good for the economy and good for commuters.
RELEASE: DC housing advocates call on Mayor Bowser to start tenure with important move to increase affordable housing
EMBARGOED until 9:00AM
January 7, 2015
Contact: Cheryl Cort, Coalition for Smarter Growth
O 202-676-0016 x 122
M 202-251-7516
E Cheryl@smartergrowth.net
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, DC housing advocates called on Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Zoning Commission to strengthen Inclusionary Zoning, an affordable housing program that requires lower priced units to be produced as a part of most new developments.
The groups released a letter (PDF) calling for lowering income targeting to better serve low and moderate income households who are priced out of DC’s ever more expensive housing market. The groups noted that a strong Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) program is an important part of a robust set of tools to address DC’s growing affordable housing crisis. Among the organizations calling for improving DC’s IZ program are: Coalition for Smarter Growth, Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Jews United for Justice, City First Homes, PolicyLink and Somerset Development.
“This policy has great potential to help address the needs of working people who are priced out of the District of Columbia. Now is the time to strengthen Inclusionary Zoning to ensure it is a more effective tool to make living in DC within reach for moderate and low income workers,” said Joslyn Williams, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO.
After years of delay, the housing program is beginning to produce hundreds of units. Given that DC is even less affordable than it was when the policy was established in 2006, the housing activists urged the Zoning Commission to revise the policy to ensure that it is meeting the city’s growing need for more affordable housing.
For more than a year, the Zoning Commission and the Mayor Gray administration had expressed their intent to revise the policy, but have delayed any action. The groups urged the city to act now, citing the recent report by the Urban Institute reviewing the DC IZ program performance to date, and its recommendations for improvements.
“DC’s Inclusionary Zoning affordable housing program is fundamentally sound but needs to be strengthened. Most importantly, we need to create more homes at lower income levels through this policy to better meet the needs of city residents facing the greatest housing challenges,” said Cheryl Cort, Policy Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, and a founding member of the Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning, the group that won the original policy in 2006.
In a letter submitted to the Zoning Commission and Mayor Bowser, the advocates asked that the Zoning Commission act to strengthen the Inclusionary Zoning program to ensure it can best achieve its goal to create a mix of low and moderate income affordable housing throughout the District. Citing a continued strong housing market, rising prices, and stagnant and falling incomes, the group asked for several changes to the current policy. These proposed changes include: lowering the income limits for moderate income IZ units, increasing the share of low income units produced, increasing the total percentage of IZ units required, and ensuring bonus density is available to provide compensation for the cost of the affordable units.
“DC’s Inclusionary Zoning program is on the right track, but needs to be improved to ensure we are reaching those who most need the help,” said Jacob Feinspan, Executive Director, Jews United for Justice.
The letter submitted to the DC Zoning Commission and Mayor Bowser, was signed by:
Cheryl Cort, Coalition for Smarter Growth
Joslyn N. Williams, President, Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO
Ed Lazere, DC Fiscal Policy Institute
Jacob Feinspan, Jews United for Justice
Angie Rodgers, People’s Consulting
Jim Steck, City First Homes
Jim Campbell, Somerset Development
Tad Baldwin, retired housing developer
Kalima Rose, PolicyLink
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.
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RELEASE: Cancellation of Arlington’s Columbia Pike Streetcar
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2014
CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
202-675-0016 ext.121
703-599-6437 (mobile)
stewart@smartergrowth.net
ARLINGTON, VA — Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz issued the following statement today in response to news that the Arlington County Board has cancelled the Columbia Pike Streetcar:
“The Coalition for Smarter Growth is disappointed by the Arlington Board decision, but far more so by the deeply negative, and frequently inaccurate, campaign against the streetcar. Arlington’s proven smart growth track record had given us confidence in their analysis and ability to create a great transit corridor. The streetcar’s ridership capacity was integral to the plan to use density bonuses to preserve thousands of units of affordable housing.
The most sustainable way to handle growth, manage traffic and fight climate change is through high-capacity transit and transit-oriented development (TOD). Failure to invest in modern high-capacity transit will mean more traffic and less economic development. Therefore, we have to keep fighting for transit projects and funding across the DC region.
Looking ahead, the question is whether the most strident opponents of the streetcar will support continued investment in mixed-use TOD, transit, affordable housing, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. The Coalition for Smarter Growth will continue to work with all Arlingtonians and residents across the DC region to advance the smart growth policies and investments that increase transportation choices, expand housing affordability, fight climate change, and clean up our air and water.”
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.
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RELEASE: CSG applauds progress in DC’s Inclusionary Zoning program and pushes to strengthen policy
WASHINGTON DC — Coalition for Smarter Growth Policy Director Cheryl Cort issued the following statement today in response to the Gray Administration’s release of the DC inclusionary zoning annual report and the administration’s proposed revisions to the program:
RELEASE: Columbia Pike Streetcar will prevail because it is the key to economic growth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2014
CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
(703) 599-6437
VIRGINIA — It would be reading too much into Arlington voters’ intentions to ascribe the election of John Vihstadt to a full term on the Arlington Board over Alan Howze primarily to the debate over the Columbia Pike streetcar. Streetcar opponents linked the price tag of the streetcar to general concerns over government spending and the state of the economy. But a hard look at the streetcar and the record of transit and transit-oriented development in the region demonstrates that new transit investments are a critical economic development tool for Northern Virginia.
A 2013 study for the US calculated that the economic value of transit for a jurisdiction could be up to $1.5 to $1.8 billion.[1] A study this year estimated around 50,000 new jobs created for every $1 billion invested in transit.[2]
In the Washington region, a recent study found that 84% of current office development is within ¼ mile of Metro stops.[3] A 2011 WMATA study noted that the real estate located within ½ mile and ¼ mile of Metrorail stations generated approximately $3.1B and $1.8B in property tax revenues, respectively, for the Washington area in 2010.[4] People and companies have certainly been voting with their feet and flocking to walkable, transit-oriented communities in DC, Arlington, and Alexandria.
In Arlington County, just 11.4 percent of its land area — in its two Metro corridors — generates 50% of its property tax base, producing revenues for the schools, libraries, recreation centers, police, and fire services. In the 1970s, Arlington allocated an extra $100 million and the federal government an extra $200 million to put the Orange Line underground, and in the process the county generated billions of dollars in real estate value, stemmed an economic decline, and created the most vibrant and successful transit-oriented corridors in the nation.
The Streetcar — a joint project of Fairfax and Arlington — promises similar economic benefits and is the lynchpin for the economic revitalization of the Columbia Pike Corridor and Bailey’s Crossroads. The streetcar is projected to bring between $3.2 and $4.4 billion in real estate investment to the Columbia Pike corridor, as well as attract 6600 new jobs, and an increase of $375-735 million in countywide revenues.
It is also the foundational piece for Arlington’s vision for Columbia Pike: preserving affordable housing is linked to development incentives and revitalization which are linked to modern streetcar and the capacity it provides. Bus ridership has reached near maximum capacity at 17,000 riders per day, and the streetcar is needed to carry more people per hour.
Finally, on a per-mile or per-user basis, the streetcar costs less than other projects. The Beltway HOT lanes, for example, cost $1.4 billion for 14 miles and an estimated 66,000 users per day. Maryland’s ICC cost $2.6 billion for 18 miles and an estimated 30,000 users per day. The streetcar’s upper estimated cost is $261 million — for Arlington’s 5-mile segment with an estimated 26,000 users per day.
So, we are confident that the streetcar will continue to stand up to scrutiny and prove to be the best investment for the Columbia Pike Corridor. We see overall support for walkable, transit-oriented communities as remaining strong, and the results of the transportation referendum in Fairfax County bear this out. Over 71% of voters supported a bond package of which 83% percent went to bicycle and pedestrian investments.
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.
[1] http://www.citylab.com/work/2013/08/public-transit-worth-way-more-city-you-think/6532/
[2] http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/Economic-Impact-Public-Transportation-Investment-APTA.pdf
[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/every-foot-matters-when-it-comes-to-real-estate-near-metro-researchers-say/2013/12/10/7e042f6a-6120-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html
[4]http://www.wmata.com/pdfs/planning/WMATA%20Making%20the%20Case%20for%20Transit%20Final%20Report%20Jan-2012.pdf
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PRESS RELEASE: Maryland electoral shocker may not be such a shocker for transit
MARYLAND — While much of Maryland’s political watchers may still be reeling over Republican Larry Hogan’s historic upset last night of Democrat Anthony Brown, those grappling for new pieces of conventional wisdom may find themselves surprised on at least one key issue. Despite what many said during the heat of the campaign, long-planned new transit projects like the Purple Line or Baltimore’s Red Line are not dead in the water because of Hogan’s victory. Nor should they be when one looks at the merits of each project as well as Hogan’s key campaign focus – the economy.
RELEASE: Opening of Silver Line prompts public attention to safety issues for pedestrians and bicyclists
FAIRFAX, VA — With the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line, news stories and social media are drawing attention to the unsafe conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists on many of the roadways surrounding the stations. While the number of people parking at the new Silver Line stations is much lower than expected, the number of bicyclists has been surprisingly high, with bike racks at the Wiehle-Reston East station filling up quickly, and cyclists voicing the need for more bike lanes to safely reach the stations.
RELEASE: The Silver Line Will Transform Land Use in Northern Virginia – A Smart Growth Win Bringing Benefits for the Environment, Commuters, and Economy
For Immediate Release: July 24, 2014
Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, CSG, 703-599-6437 (cell)
Chris Miller, PEC, 540-347-2334
Stella Koch, ANS, 703-628-6983
FAIRFAX, VA — “The opening of the Silver Line on Saturday, July 26, is important for many reasons, but none more important than how it will transform land use in Northern Virginia,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “That transformation will be most prominent in Tysons where a traffic-choked suburban office park with two large malls is planned to become a walkable, urban center with 100,000 residents and 200,000 jobs, but it will also be seen in Reston, Herndon and Loudoun.”
Fairfax drew from the successful experience of Arlington County when creating the transit-oriented development plan for Tysons. As a result of Arlington County’s award-winning smart growth planning for their Metro corridors traffic has declined on surrounding arterial streets even as millions of square feet of development and thousands of housing units have been added. The TOD corridors also generate over 50 percent of Arlington’s tax base on just 11 percent of the county’s land area.
“Fairfax Chairman Bulova has said that transit-oriented development is the future of Fairfax. In addition, the region as a whole — in the Region Forward plan — has committed to TOD as the most sustainable way to grow,” said Rick Keller, Transportation Vice-Chair for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Investing in high-capacity transit like the Silver Line, along with walking and bicycling-friendly transit-oriented development will reduce regional air pollution and the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing increasingly destructive climate change.”
“Tysons is also a great water-quality story,” said Stella Koch, Northern Virginia Conservation Associate for the Audubon Naturalist Society and member of the Tysons Task Force which negotiated the initial Tysons plan. “Tysons today is dominated by buildings and parking lots with minimal control of stormwater and that stormwater gouges-out and pollutes area streams and the Potomac River. We achieved a win-win in Tysons where developers will construct millions of square feet of development while providing levels of stormwater management we’ve never had — controlling the first 1 inch of stormwater, representing 90% of the typical rain events.”
“We see great benefits for commuters and the opportunity for an economic win-win for Loudoun County and the region,” said Chris Miller, President of the Piedmont Environmental Council. “The limited east-west commuter roads in Loudoun require investment in high-capacity transit as an effective alternative to sitting in traffic. Moreover, by meeting the demand to live and work near transit, Fairfax and Loudoun will fuel economic growth while correspondingly allowing for the rural economy to be protected and flourish with new local food production, access to recreation, and protection of our water recharge areas.”
“Our organizations have worked for over 25 years to promote a regional vision of transit and transit-oriented development, so the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line and the accompanying redevelopment at these first five stations represents an important smart growth milestone,” said Schwartz. “Looking ahead, we will continue to campaign for well-designed mixed-use development at underutilized Metro stations in every jurisdiction and for smart new transit investments in key commercial corridors tied to walkable, mixed-used development. This is simply the most efficient way to grow and enhance our quality of life, by managing traffic, reducing air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting overwhelming market demand for walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods.”
Walkable, transit-oriented development is in demand from millenials, downsizing empty nesters, retirees and corporate leaders. Currently, developers can’t build enough residential units near transit to meet demand leading to affordability challenges. Meanwhile, 84% of new office development in the pipeline in the DC region is being built within 1/4 mile of a Metro station.
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RELEASE: Dangerous by Design – with 843 pedestrian fatalities in 10 years, still work to do for safe streets in DC region
Washington, D.C. – A new report, Dangerous by Design, released today by the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, provides information on pedestrian fatalities and injuries and ranks every state, metro region and county based upon the degree of danger faced by pedestrians. Comparatively, the Washington, DC region is safer for pedestrians than many other regions in the nation, ranking 35 out of the 51 largest metro areas (with 1 being the most dangerous). At the same time, the report found that 843 pedestrians were killed in the region from 2003 to 2012 — an unacceptable number no matter the DC region’s current ranking – and the dangers for pedestrians along suburban arterial roads is particularly high.