Category: Resources

Montgomery County: Testimony regarding the White Flint Development Tax District Transportation Infrastructure Improvements

We would like to express our support for the White Flint Sector Plan and urge the Council and County Executive to create a feasible transportation infrastructure financing plan to move this effort forward without delay. We call on the Council to work with the Executive to establish a financing plan that is fair, accelerates redevelopment, and rightfully places this high value Metro-oriented development plan as a top priority for County and state transportation spending. The urgent need to create a workable, timely transportation financing plan requires us to rethink our spending priorities.

Testimony to the COG/BOT Commission on WMATA Governance

As you know I have been very critical of how this panel was established and by its failure to include rider representatives and members of non-business stakeholder groups, therefore my appearance should not be seen as endorsement of the panel. It is a great loss to this panel not to be able to tap into some of the great expertise that we now find among the riders and whose intelligent and creative analysis you can see in outlets such as Greater Greater Washington.

Alexandria: Comments on BRAC Transportation Issues

I attended the BRAC-133 meeting last night and I regret that our other commitments have not allowed us to evaluate the transportation issues and Transportation Management Plan for the Army’s Mark Center project. Last night’s meeting and a quick review of the TMP raise the following issues that we believe need to be evaluated:

Virginia: Commonwealth Transportation Board 2011-2017 Six-Year Plan

First, our oil dependency and the world of higher energy prices that we can expect — with just 5% of the world’s population we use 25% of the world’s oil; 70% of that goes to transportation. The spike in gas prices in 2007 showed our vulnerability and is seen by some as the final straw that broke the back of the speculative real estate market. Gas prices increased 3-4 times what they were in 2000 and this broke many families’ budgets. Commuter buses were swamped and transit ridership continued to grow even after prices fell back. The cost to own a car according to AAA can be $7000 to $8000 per year. The family that has to own two or three cars is spending money that it could be saving for college educations or to invest in a business.