Nine major national and regional transportation, environmental, and environmental justice organizations today issued a statement on implementing environmental justice goals for frontline communities near transportation sources, such as major highways, rail yards, and ports. The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) will meet later this week to consider this and other comments as they advise federal agencies on new policy and programs.
Category: Regional and Federal
RELEASE: CODE RED/PURPLE – Time to slash region’s transportation emissions
“The CODE RED and now CODE PURPLE air quality alerts for our region must be a wake up call for our region’s elected officials,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of CSG. “Increased forest fires fueled by climate change are putting human health at risk on top of increases in severe floods, sea level rise affecting our region, more frequent drought affecting food production, and increases in insect-borne diseases.”
Bike bike baby: How Greater Washington can boost the e-bike revolution
Shifting trips to walking and biking through active transportation investments and land use planning is perhaps the most cost effective way to reduce transportation emissions. Plus, e-bikes use a tiny fraction of the limited and often environmentally costly battery minerals that go into e-cars. Many residents can’t afford an electric car (or any new car) – and already shell out a lot on cars, reducing our region’s affordability – but can afford an e-bike.
Comments: 2023 WMATA Budget
The Coalition for Smarter Growth supports WMATA’s FY24 budget proposal, which reflects significant analysis by the agency about how to grow ridership and revenues in a very challenging environment, while also providing affordable fare options for lower income riders.
Event Materials: Redesigning Pennsylvania Avenue
Check out the event recording and presentation materials! Doug Davies (Director Planning + Design) and Kevin Keeley (Senior Planner) of VHB presented their projects for Penn Avenue West and Penn Ave Southeast, exploring the very different designs and challenges along the same corridor.
Visualize 2050: 39 Org Sign-On Letter for distribution to TPB
CSG and 38 other organizations continue to push for regional transportation reforms at the Transportation Planning Board.
New UN climate report points to compact cities, moving people not just electric cars, to cut emissions
This week, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres stated starkly “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.” The agency’s Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window is an alarming read, finding that the adopted policies of all the world’s nations would lead to global warming of 2.8°C over this century – an apocalyptic outcome.
Register for our Diverse Neighborhoods webinar, on July 27!
Join us to learn about how the right policies and investments can allow neighborhoods to grow in a way that support racial and economic diversity. The DC region is one of the most diverse places in the country, but remains largely segregated. We’ll talk about the latest research, the policy implications, and why it matters to yo
RELEASE re SGA’s Dangerous by Design report
“The Coalition for Smarter Growth urges every official in the DC region, Maryland, and Virginia, to read this report and to make safety for pedestrians and bicyclists on our streets a top priority,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director.
I-495/I-270 FEIS Extension Letter
On Friday June 17, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released with a 30-day availability period the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and appendices, totaling 26,500 pages in 74 separate files.1