Category: Transit-Oriented Development

StreetsCamp 2015

StreetsCamp 2015

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

Advocacy knowledge + technical knowledge = power!

StreetsCamp was a one day summit held on June 20th, 2015 to provide participants with the tools to make our streets better: safer for walking and bicycling, transit-friendly, and more.

StreetsCamp includes both subject matter and advocacy skills workshops on everything from how to plan a neighborhood campaign, to safe street design for walking and cycling, to the ins and outs of zoning codes. 

How does it work?

You will hear from leaders in sustainable transportation and urban planning, but StreetsCamp is more than just workshops. Every attendee is a part of shaping and leading the day. Be prepared to get involved and meet people!

In the morning, local advocates and experts lead sessions on topics like campaign strategy, organizing, messaging and media, telling your story, safe street design, and more.

In the afternoon, StreetsCamp turns into an ‘unconference’ . That means session topics and activities will be suggested and organized by YOU and everyone attending!

Presentation materials

Not every session at StreetsCamp incorporated a PowerPoint presentation or handouts, but for those that did, we have compiled the materials here.

Telling Better Stories About Public Transportation, Paul Mackie, Mobility Lab

So You Think You Can Blog (Blogging 101), Aimee Custis & Abigail Zenner, Greater Greater Washington

Street Design Secrets Revealed, Dan Emerine, CNU-DC

Transit Today, Tomorrow, and the Future: There’s More to It Than Metrorail, Kristin Haldeman & Allison Davis, WMATA

How Safe Routes to School Are Driving Change in the Greater Washington DC Region, Matt Colvin & Keith Benjamin, Safe Routes to School

How Could We Get a Majority of People to Bike? Bike Infrastructure Best Practices, Jess Zdeb, Toole Design Group

Blogging 102, Dan Malouff & Aimee Custis, Greater Greater Washington

StreetsCamp 2015 was made possible by these partners:

Greater Greater Washington

Coalition for Smarter Growth

Georgetown University School of Urban and Regional Planning

Congress for New Urbanism, DC Chapter

Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Mobility Lab

Smart Growth America

National Complete Streets Coalition

Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling

Washington Area Bicyclists Association

All Walks DC

Sierra Club

Letter of Support to US DOT for Potomac Yard Metro

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

I am writing to express our strongest possible support for the City of Alexandria’s application under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FY 2015 National Infrastructure Investments discretionary grant program (formerly “TIGER”) for the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station. The project involves construction of an infill station on the Blue and Yellow Metrorail lines in the City of Alexandria, which is one of the core jurisdictions in the Metropolitan Washington region. The station would serve a major redevelopment site within five miles of downtown Washington, DC.

Purple Line: How to grow without leaving folks behind

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

“The discussion is about how to ensure that the Purple Line is doing what it should to bring people together with jobs and services and still protect those who might not earn a lot of money, but want to benefit from the transit without being unable to afford it,” adds Cheryl Cort, policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Testimony: DC Zoning Update on alternative language September 2014

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

We support most of the proposed changes in the hearing notice for subtitle C, but specifically want to express opposition to the DC Office of Planning proposal to: “Remove the Priority Bus Corridor from the areas within which required parking may be reduced by up to 50% as a matter of right as originally advertised.” Instead, we support the alternative language: “In the Alternative: Retain the Priority Bus Corridor as an area within which required parking may be reduced by up to 50% as a matter of right, as originally setdown on September 9, 2013.”

Tour program: The Silver Line, Reston, & Tysons: A New Chapter

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

[PDF] Decades in the making, Phase 1 of the Silver Line has arrived in Fairfax County and new buildings are appearing at the Wiehle-Reston East and Tysons Metro stations. We have a rare opportunity to witness a new phase of the county and the region as old suburbs are retrofitted and new walkable, urban, and sustainable destinations emerge.

Testimony to WMATA Board on Takoma station development

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

We ask that WMATA approve the proposed changes to the WMATA facilities at the Takoma Metro station and advance the joint development agreement. Having closely followed this issue since 2000, I am gratified that we have come to such a good compromise – addressing all the key issues raised with the previous proposal.

Testimony to DC Zoning Commission on McMillan (Parcel 1)

Posted on by Elena Sorokina

We wish to express our support for the healthcare building on Parcel 1 as part of the adaptive reuse of the McMillan Sand Filtration site. The scale of the medical buildings responds to the scale of the hospitals on the other side of Michigan Avenue, with the highest point closest to the similar height at Children’s Hospital. The healthcare building uses Cell 14 as an acre of open space next to North Capitol Street to buffer its massing from nearby rowhouse neighborhoods.