Category: Resources

RELEASE: Transit advocates call on MTA and Purple Line constructors to negotiate an agreement

Posted on by Jane Lyons

For immediate release

May 20, 2020

Contact:

Jane Lyons

410-474-0741

jane@smartergrowth.net

Transit advocates call on MTA and Purple Line constructors to negotiate an agreement

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is urging an agreement between PLTC and MTA that will ensure timely completion of the Purple Line. On May 1, 2020, the Purple Line Transit Constructors (PLTC), the group of constructors responsible for building the Purple Line, announced that they will be exiting the project due to delays and cost overruns. 

“The project is already a year behind schedule due to many factors, including lawsuits that have now been resolved. However, failing to negotiate an agreement and having to find a new construction team will undoubtedly result in even more delays and costs,” says Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“The Purple Line already has and will continue to spur economic investment along the corridor, including major investments in affordable housing. New economic activity will bring residents new shops, restaurants, and other amenities,” said Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“The timely completion of the Purple Line will yield many transformational economic benefits, such as establishing an east-west connection between job centers; creating new employment opportunities; and providing people a quick and reliable way to access schools, retail, and other important services,” said Lyons.

“We urge the State to do all it can to negotiate an agreement that keeps the Purple Line’s construction on track. The Purple Line remains of great value for the over 230,000 Marylanders who live along the corridor, and public investment in this project will be repaid many times over by the economic activity it supports,” said Schwartz.

“We thank Maryland and PLTC for the hard work and dedication they have invested in this project so far. Both parties have invested significant amounts of time and resources into the Purple Line. The longer the project is put off, the longer it will take for both the state and its residents to fully see and feel the economic benefits that the completion of this project will bring,” concluded Schwartz.

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The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington, D.C. 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.

STATEMENT: Call to Action for Local Officials on Equity and Sustainability

STATEMENT: Call to Action for Local Officials on Equity and Sustainability

Posted on by Emily Maurer
Call to Action 05.21.2020Download

For immediate release

May 14, 2020

Contact: Stewart Schwartz | 703-599-6437 (cell)

Cheryl Cort | 202-251-7516 (cell)

A call to action for sustainable and equitable communities in the wake of COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed long-standing inequities and highlights the need and opportunities for fundamental reforms. The saying, “never waste a crisis,” is true and we urge our elected officials, government staff – all of us — to work together and take-action now to address the following 10 priorities:

1)    Provide living wages and health protection for essential workers – people who work in public safety, health care, transit, grocery stores and the food supply network, pharmacies, trash collection, teachers, day care and elder care, and a range of other occupations are our essential workers, and should be paid a living wage and provided the health protection and security they need.

2)    Provide affordable housing and a real economic safety net – far too many people live day-to-day with no margin of safety and need a living wage and rental assistance; affordable, clean, and secure homes; health care; day care; affordable transit; and the opportunity to save and climb the economic ladder. 

3)    Provide equitable access to health care and healthy environments – far too many people lack access to good health care and need nearby and equitable access to primary care and specialists, fresh healthy food, parks and recreation, safe places to walk and bike, and clean air and water.

4)    Address racial disparities now – the racial disparities in COVID-19 illness and death, and in access to health care, job losses, share of workers in essential services with exposure risks, exposure to air pollution from highways, and risk of eviction and homelessness have never been more starkly exposed and must be addressed with the equivalent of a Marshall Plan.

5)    Slash air pollution – air pollution has long contributed to respiratory and cardiac illness and has recently been found to contribute to higher levels of COVID-19 illness. We are seeing dramatic drops in air pollution due to the big decline in driving, with clear blue skies across the world, and should not waste this opportunity to slash air pollution from cars, trucks, and industry.

6)    Slash greenhouse gas emissions – similar to other pollution, emissions of CO2 during stay-at-home orders have plunged — to 1995 levels. Oil demand has also declined 30% to 1995 levels. The health and economic causes of the decline are absolutely nothing to cheer, but the decline reminds us of the imperative and the opportunity to rapidly shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles, green buildings, and reduced driving through transit and walkable communities. Moreover, the societal and economic disruption of the pandemic illustrates why we must head off the disruption that would come from uncontrolled climate change – in which a warmer planet will fuel more disease pandemics along with rising sea levels, flooding, droughts, fires, and human dislocation.

7)    Provide streets for people – the disappearance of traffic on city and suburban streets, the booming demand to walk and bike, and the lack of enough safe space for walking and bicycling, starkly illustrates how much of our public space is consumed by cars. We have a unique opportunity to widen sidewalks, and install protected bicycle lanes and dedicated bus lanes, creating more livable communities with fewer cars, and reduced air and noise pollution.

8)    Expand parks and open space – we are learning how important it is to have nearby parks and greenways for our health and well-being, and that too many people lack parks and trails that they can safely walk to. We need to expand our park, greenway and trail networks as part of walkable, sustainable communities.

9)    Save, restore, and expand transit – Transit, especially our buses, has been critical during COVID-19 to getting health care and other essential workers to their jobs. We’ve seen that transit is truly an essential public service. We need personal protection for transit drivers and riders, and enhanced, frequent cleaning. Looking ahead, the economic recovery of our cities and our metropolitan region will depend on the restoration of transit – which supports growth with less traffic and pollution. We will also need expanded transit to fight climate change. We must prioritize funding for transit, dedicated bus lanes and network redesigns for frequent, reliable service, and expanded access to transit for those most in need.

10) Invest in urban placemaking – The past two decades have seen a boom in our cities, towns and urbanizing suburban communities because of the economic, social, creative, health, and environmental benefits, including fighting climate change. Contrary to the charges of those who advocate against cities, what we are facing now is a health crisis and a failure to plan and act to stem a pandemic, not a failure of walkable urban places. We are social creatures and coming together has been key to the progress of civilization, innovation, the arts, and society. Looking ahead we must continue to invest in urban places while addressing the areas where we have fallen short, in affordable housing, equitable access to health care, healthy food, parks and safe streets, and in frequent, reliable and affordable public transit. 

In summary, we call on our leaders to place top priority in the following areas for social and economic equity, opportunity, and action:

  • Racial and social equity                 
  • Affordable housing
  • Tenant protection
  • Living wages
  • Worker safety
  • Health care
  • Healthy food
  • Day care and elder care
  • Education and teachers
  • Safe streets
  • Parks, greenways and trails
  • Transit
  • Clean air and clean water
  • Climate change
  • Walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented urban places

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CSG Comments on Montgomery’s Resolution to Approve FY21 Transportation Fees, Charges, and Fares

Posted on by Jane Lyons
2020.04.28-Resolution-on-FY21-Transportation-Fares-FinalDownload

Resolution to Approve FY21 Transportation Fees, Charges, and Fares

Testimony for April 30, 2020

Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager

President Katz and Councilmembers, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on the Resolution to Approve FY21 Transportation Fees, Charges, and Fares. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the D.C. region advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities.

Firstly, we would like to thank the county for suspending Ride On fares thus far during the novel coronavirus crisis. This action has protected transit workers and riders. Transit continues to be an essential public service right now, ensuring that our front-line workers are able to get to work and that those without private vehicles are still able to get food, prescriptions, and other necessary goods.

Therefore, we urge the county to continue Ride On fare suspension throughout the duration of the public health emergency. Fare revenue this quarter is already nearly half of the budgeted fare revenue, and even under normal circumstances is less than 10 percent of total revenue in the Mass Transit Fund.

We also urge you to begin thinking about transit after COVID-19. There is an opportunity to “reopen” the county’s transportation network in a way that increases our climate resiliency, furthers racial and socioeconomic justice, and aids in our economic recovery. These functions cannot be achieved without transit. We don’t have to go back to the same congestion, dangerous roadways, and air pollution.

Further, once the immediate public health threat has been addressed, we will need to rebuild trust in public transit so that ridership may recover. To do that, transit must be attractive, easy, frequent, and safe. We urge you to consider:

  • Suspending Ride On fares in perpetuity;
  • Redesigning the Montgomery Ride On and WMATA bus network through a public process to improve service in a budget neutral way;
  • Expanding public employees’ telework allowances;
  • Rebalancing road space to prioritize walking, biking, and transit; and
  • Increasing routine bus cleaning.

Thank you for your consideration.

RELEASE: Broad Alliance Tells White House: Transit Workers Need Better Protection From COVID-19

Posted on by Emily Maurer

For immediate release

April 22, 2020

Ben Fried, TransitCenter: 347 675-5592

David Roscow, ATU: 202 487-4990

Dozens of unions, business groups, economic justice organizations, and local transit advocates from across the nation wrote today to Vice President Mike Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, demanding better federal coordination to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for transit workers.

As of this week, the coronavirus has claimed the lives of nearly 100 transit workers in the United States.

The victims include Scott Ryan, 41, a bus operator at Community Transit in Snohomish County, Washington; Patrick Patoir, 57, an MTA worker in New York for 33 years; Jason Hargrove, 50, a Detroit bus operator; Eugenia Weathers, a school bus driver in Lexington, Kentucky; and Michael Hill, a conductor and 30-year SEPTA veteran in Philadelphia.

The federal government can and must take stronger steps to prevent such loss of life.

Bus and train operators, maintenance workers, and cleaning staff at transit agencies around the country are putting their lives on the line as they enable essential travel for millions of Americans, ensuring the continued provision of food, medical care, and other basic goods and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without strong federal coordination to procure PPE for transit workers, they face needless risks on the job.

Based on guidance from infectious disease experts, the organizations demand the White House coordinate provision of N95 masks and other protective gear for frontline transit workers whose duties put them in close proximity to passengers, or require exposure to hazardous disinfectants. The groups also urge the CDC to issue stronger guidance for transit agencies, including recommendations on how to ventilate transit vehicles to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

These measures must be put in place to protect the transit workforce, which in turn will strengthen the overall effort to control the pandemic and minimize the spread of COVID-19. Nearly 3 million Americans classified as essential workers typically commute on transit, according to a TransitCenter analysis of U.S. Census data.

Protective gear for transit workers will have a strong multiplier effect, since reducing risk will increase the availability of the transit workforce, leading to greater provision of transit service, less crowding on transit vehicles, and lower rates of transmission among transit riders and thus the general population.

The alliance signing on to the letter reflects the broad public interest in protecting transit workers, encompassing labor, business, transportation, economic justice, environmental, and community-based organizations from dozens of states.

Supply chain issues affect every industry seeking protective gear. However, the need for transit workers is so urgent, and the consequences of further delay so dire, that federal action must be pursued as soon as possible. These protections will save the lives of transit workers, as well as the lives of nurses, doctors, food distribution workers, and other essential workers who rely on transit.

“Transit workers deserve every protection the government can muster,” said TransitCenter Executive Director David Bragdon. “Better coordination and provision of equipment will protect the health of hundreds of thousands of transit workers, and keep millions of other workers safe on their way to essential jobs.”

“More than 300 of the transit agencies where our members work have failed to implement critical changes needed to keep their workers and riders safe, even as a second wave of this deadly virus sweeps across the continent,” said ATU International President John Costa. “We are proud to carry emergency service, healthcare, grocery, and retail workers, and those who need care. But, as ATU International President, I cannot in good conscience encourage my members to go into the line of fire without the armor and provisions they need.”

The full letter can be read here.
Thoughts about where we live on this Earth Day

Thoughts about where we live on this Earth Day

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

Where we live and how we design our communities matters

Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, when millions of people took to the streets to demand better stewardship of the planet that is our home. While we may not be able to gather in the same way on this day, we can reflect on actions we can take.

Just as natural systems on our Earth are interconnected, so too are land use, housing, transportation, and our environment. Reliance on cars is the single largest source of carbon emissions in the U.S. and a major contributor to respiratory illnesses, however, by designing our communities to reduce reliance on vehicles we can create a safer, healthier world.

That’s why CSG has campaigned for walkable, transit-oriented communities. We recently released a presentation and fact sheet summarizing the benefits of transit-oriented communities for fighting climate change.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, people are rediscovering the value of walking and bicycling, and the need for parks, greenways, and safe streets for our quality of life. Dedicating more space for bicycling and walking on our streets will allow for better physical distancing and reduce air pollution and carbon emissions.

Just as we need to focus on stopping future pandemics with science, preparation, and global cooperation, we will need to do the same if we are going to address the existential threat of climate change. We are social creatures and our walkable cities, towns, and urban neighborhoods offer important social, economic, and environmental benefits that we will continue to depend upon as a society.

So, thank you for supporting CSG and more sustainable communities. We wish you the best on this Earth Day and hope that you and your families are safe and healthy.

All the best,
Stewart, Cheryl, Jane, Sonya, Emily and Alina

Photo credit: Jane Lyons