The following comments on the Draft Programmatic Agreement (PA) for the Tri-County Parkway (TCP) are submitted on behalf of the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Piedmont Environmental Council, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Parks Conservation Association. Our organizations recognize the irreplaceable value of Manassas National Battlefield Park (Battlefield).
Category: Transportation
Comments on Arlington County’s Columbia Pike Plan and Streetcar
The key to a sustainable and equitable future for our region is a network of transit-oriented communities which mix a range of housing with jobs and services. We need the next generation of transit including streetcar, light rail, and bus rapid transit to expand high capacity transit service to more of our region, expanding access to jobs, reducingvehicle trips and fighting climate change. TOD not only maximizes transit trips but it also maximizes walking and bicycling trips as demonstrated by recent Council of Governments’ travel surveys.
Connecting the Dots: An Outer Beltway Before You Know It
A recent history of the Outer Beltway.
Testimony on SB 971 – Maryland Transportation Financing and Infrastructure Investment Act of 2012
The groups listed above support a vibrant transportation fund, and we recognize that the current economic downturn has hit the transportation trust fund hard. However, we believe that transportation revenues should be increased only if every new dollar is invested more wisely.
Happier, Healthier, Sexier, and Smarter: Transportation and the Secret of Life
The “Happier, Healthier, Sexier, and Smarter: Transportation and the Secret of Life” forum was held on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. View a video recording of the event or download and view presenter Jeff Tumlin’s presentation.
Letter to Secretary Ray LaHood and Secretary Sean Connaughton
The Environmental Assessment for the I-95 HOT Lanes Project is inadequate and should be redone to evaluate the full range of alternatives and impacts for the I-95 corridor and consider the full range of costs and benefits for alternative approaches. A decision involving $1 billion or more in publicly subsidized spending and the transfer of public right of way to a private company to collect tolls for up to 75 years merits far more thorough analysis. We urge you to reject this Environmental Assessment.
Testimony for the Alexandria Commercial Add-on Tax
The Coalition for Smarter Growth and our partner group the Audubon Naturalist Society support the proposed commercial add-on tax for transit, bicycle, pedestrian and local street needs.
Maryland: Comments in Support for Senate Bill 623: Transit Review and Evaluation
We would like to express our strong support for SB 623. This bill will help the state and local transit and transportation agencies save limited funds while providing better transit service. By moving buses faster (or light rail vehicles), transit agencies can simultaneously save money, improve service for passengers, and attract new riders and fares. This bill would direct MDOT to establish the tools needed to assess when and where to deploy roadway operational improvements for transit vehicles so that we can take full advantage of efficiencies and make the most of existing transit service. Road-running transit service can realize cost savings, travel time reductions, and reliability improvements through a suite of measures that can be applied incrementally or all at once.
Letter to Secretary Connaughton and the Commonwealth Transportation Board
Letter to Secretary Connaughton and the Commonwealth Transportation Board
Letter expressing concerns about the Tri-County Parkway, as well as the proposed north-south corridor in Northern Virginia as a Corridor of Statewide Significance.
Maryland: Testimony on Transportation Trust Fund
Our position on HB 1001 is derived first from the Transportation for Maryland principles which call for smarter investments of our limited transportation funds. We believe that before we can ask Marylanders to pay more, we must ensure that we know our money will be used wisely. The proposed bill does not address how proposed increased revenues will be used. We need assurance that the new funding will be used to meet the state’s most urgent needs such as maintenance and support smart growth outcomes. Simply putting more towards money the existing list of transportation projects will not achieve this goal, nor will we ever have unlimited money to maintain our existing transportation system and build new facilities to support our community and economic development objectives. We must choose wisely.