CSG writes to convey our support for the Huntington Metro Station plan amendment, which lays the groundwork to transform the Huntington Metro station area into an inclusive, walkable, bike-friendly, transit-oriented community.
Category: Virginia
Huntington Metro TOD for the win!
With your help, we did it! The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in support of the plan amendment that will make way for the Huntington Metro Station area to be redeveloped into an inclusive, walkable, bike-friendly, transit-oriented community.
PW Digital Gateway Environmental Coalition Opposition Letter
We, the undersigned thirty (30) organizations, write to you today regarding Comprehensive Plan Amendment #CPA2021-00004, the PW Digital Gateway. On behalf of our millions of members and supporters in Prince William County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and nationwide, we urge you to vote “No” on this proposal.
LTE: Opinion: NVTA regional transportation plan unaffordable and ineffective
Prior to midnight Monday, September 19 comment deadline, twelve non-profit organizations submitted a joint letter urging the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to reject its proposed $76 Billion TransAction 2045 long-range transportation plan.
CSG COMMENTS: NVTA TransAction Plan
We urge you to review and consider the joint letter of 12 Northern Virginia organizations regarding TransAction 2045. These are not new concerns – we have pointed to the shortcomings for some time. We also urge you to reject this TransAction plan and create a new more effective, affordable and sustainable plan.
NVTA TransAction Joint Letter
We write to you today in support of regional transportation planning that identifies cost-effective, sustainable, and equitable solutions to improve mobility and helps inform investments through NVTA’s 6-year program.
CSG/CASA Comments: Culmore Pedestrian Safety Improvements
The Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) and CASA write to provide comments (attached and below) to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) on recommendations for pedestrian safety improvements in the Culmore community presented at the Aug. 4th public meeting.
Help make sure Route 7 safety improvements happen in Culmore!
Wow! Over a hundred residents, including school-aged children, attended the Route 7-Culmore Pedestrian Safety public meeting demanding that Fairfax County and VDOT make it safer for their families and neighbors to walk and bike in the community.
On the positive side, officials announced at the meeting the possibility of several safety enhancements – a speed study, a crossing study, and potential sidewalk connections. However, we are very concerned these studies will take years to implement and that the short-term fixes they’ve already done to Route 7 are totally inadequate to truly keep people safe now.
Please email your comments before the August 26 deadline demanding more robust short-term fixes and asking that they prioritize and fund the longer-term projects ASAP.
Community feedback shared during the meeting was very much aligned with the findings of the walkability survey conducted by CSG and CASA in Spring 2022. Residents living in the Culmore community overwhelmingly feel unsafe walking and biking along Route 7 citing poor lighting, dangerous driving, and the lack of connected sidewalks, bike infrastructure, and safe crossing options as core problems.
We are urging several quick fixes that are critical for making the area safer now while longer-term plans are developed, including:
- Installing a temporary, in-street sidewalk connection with jersey barriers or flex posts until a permanent one can be built in front of the gas station where the woman was struck and killed in December
- Reprogramming the traffic signals to give pedestrians a head start and more time to cross Route 7 at all intersections in the corridor
- Lowering the speed limit and adding driver speed feedback signs
- Adding more high visibility crosswalks across Route 7 as well as side streets and driveways along the corridor.
- Providing brighter pedestrian-scale lighting along Route 7 and in the neighborhoods
You can email comments to VDOT and Fairfax County using our action form here asking for these needed quick fixes and safety improvements. Personalizing the email with your own experiences would make an even stronger statement. Comments are being accepted through this Friday, August 26.
CSG in the News: Critics irked by long-term transportation proposal
“A plan that we could never afford is not a plan. And if we can’t afford it, and dozens of the projects can never be built, then the NVTA can’t claim that their plan would reduce congestion,” said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
CSG Comments: DRPT Southside Beltway
The Coalition for Smarter Growth appreciates DRPT’s involvement in the I-495 southside corridor issue. Our organization has been engaged for over two decades in the transportation and land use issues that connect Prince George’s County and Northern Virginia. Please consider our comments on the I-495 Southside Transit & TDM Study.