Thank you. My name is Kelly Blynn, and I am the Next Generation of Transit organizer for the Coalition for Smarter Growth. I came to the Coalition after five years at the climate organization 350.org and several years of youth and student organizing on climate change. Needless to say, I see climate change as the defining issue for my generation, and it motivates me to work for walkable, transit-accessible communities that we know enable people to live lower carbon lifestyles.
Category: Testimony & Letters
King Street Bike Lanes testimony to Alexandria City Council
Thank you. My name is Stewart Schwartz, and I am the Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. We are a 17-year-old non-profit and the leading voice for smart growth in the DC region, with expertise in transportation, land use and affordable housing. As a professional, and as a full-time resident of Alexandria for over 20 years and part-time for a few more, I have participated extensively in Alexandria planning including Potomac Yard, the Wilson Bridge, Beauregard, Braddock Metro, and more. I am very familiar with the stretch of King Street in question.
Testimony to the Alexandria City Council
Thank you. My name is Stewart Schwartz, and I am the Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. We are a 17-year-old non-profit and the leading voice for smart growth in the DC region, with expertise in transportation, land use and affordable housing. As a professional, and as a full-time resident of Alexandria for over 20 years and part-time for a few more, I have participated extensively in Alexandria planning including Potomac Yard, the Wilson Bridge, Beauregard, Braddock Metro and more. I am very familiar with the stretch of King Street in question.
Testimony for Seven Corners Task Force on Draft Plan for Seven Corners
We believe that Conceptual Design #4 offers the most effective, community-friendly, and favorable economic development approach. We do not recommend variants of Concept #2 or #5. Concept #4 knits together Seven Corners across Route 50 with pedestrian and bicycle friendly bridges, it reduces interchange impacts through the use of diamonds, it disperses and reduces the traffic load at the main intersection of Route 50 and Route 7, and it maximizes the land available for productive economic activity.
Testimony for Seven Corners Task Force
Members of the Seven Corners Task Force:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input and for your hard work on a draft new plan for Seven Corners. We appreciate your commitment to revitalization through creation of a walkable, bikeable, mixed-use and transit-oriented community. Our comments focus on just three issues: the street grid, transit, and affordable housing.
Testimony before the Hon. Phil Mendelson Chairman, Committee of the Whole Regarding: Performance Oversight Hearing for the Office of Planning
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a regional nonprofit based in D.C. I have worked with the Office of Planning on a variety of issues important to our city for many years including: community plans, development review, and Inclusionary Zoning. I have also been involved in the Comprehensive Plan revision in 2006 which led to the process to update our 1958 zoning code starting in 2007.
Testimony to the Committee on Economic Development and Housing on DHCD and DMPED Performance Oversight
Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG). The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization working locally in the Washington, DC metropolitan region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our 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.
Testimony to Montgomery Co Council on FY15-20 Capital Improvements Program Transportation Budget
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the FY15-20 Capital Improvements Program. My name is Kelly Blynn and I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading non-profit group advocating for transit and walkable communities in the DC region, which counts thousands of supporters in Montgomery County.
State Transportation Priorities Letter – Establishing a new transportation projects priority list to meet Prince George’s and Maryland’s goals
Dear Executive Baker:
We the undersigned smart growth, environmental, transportation and civic organizations working in Prince George’s County urge you to make the most of the new opportunity offered by the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013 to invest in a County that is truly smart, green and growing.
Testimony Re: The Public Oversight Roundtable on Parking in the District
We want to commend this committee and the Mayor for advancing a commuter benefits provision in the Sustainable DC Act which would allow workers to opt for pre-tax transit commute benefits or enable workers to receive a transit rather than parking commute benefit offered by his or her employer. We are eager to continue to work with the committee to refine this bill to cover most employers since compliance does not cost the employer anything, and to add a “parking cashout” provision which gives walk and bicycle commuters the option to cashout a parking subsidy if one is provided by the employer.