Category: Press Releases

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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RELEASE: Annual Congestion Report is Flawed, Biased, and Ignores Smart Growth Solutions

Posted on by acustis

WASHINGTON DC — Once again, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has issued its annual congestion report and has ranked the Washington DC region number one for congestion. “TTI’s annual congestion report is great for grabbing headlines, but the report is deeply flawed and biased in not accounting for the congestion avoided by hundreds of thousands of DC area residents due to our smart growth policies and transit investments,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “The report exaggerates congestion, underplays the major declines in driving by large demographic groups, and ignores the wide ranging economic, social, and environmental benefits of smart growth policies and transit, pedestrian and bicycle investments.”

STATEMENT on WMATA leadership failures by Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz

STATEMENT on WMATA leadership failures by Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz

Posted on by acustis

WASHINGTON DC — In view of the report by Acting General Manager Jack Requa yesterday regarding WMATA’s significant failures with regard to rail track repair that led to the recent derailment, the Coalition for Smarter Growth calls again for unified action by our elected officials and priority hiring of a General Manager who is an experienced and successful manager, a transit system veteran, and above all, a leader who can build morale and personal commitment among staff, demand and generate top performance, and create a culture of safety, positive customer service, and pride.

RELEASE: Housing advocates commend DC Council resolution urging action to expand affordable housing production through Inclusionary Zoning

Posted on by acustis

Today, housing advocates applauded nine DC Councilmembers for introducing a resolution encouraging the DC Zoning Commission and Mayor Bowser to strengthen a promising market-based affordable housing program. At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman, along with eight of her colleagues, introduced the resolution. The measure encourages the Zoning Commission and Mayor Bowser to act to strengthen the city’s Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) program, which sets aside a certain number of permanently-affordable units in most new residential construction.

Purple and Red Line Join Forces in Annapolis for Transit Night

Purple and Red Line Join Forces in Annapolis for Transit Night

Posted on by acustis

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.

STATEMENT: Praise to Governor Hogan for keeping jobs-creating Purple Line on track

Posted on by acustis

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

Posted on by acustis

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

Posted on by acustis

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

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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: