INTERSECT
Newsletter of the Washington Regional Network For Livable
Communities
Volume 7 Number 2
March 11, 2003
Support Intersect, join WRN!
Summary:
* WRN Forum April 2: Can We Avoid a Metro Fare Hike?
* Instead of Metro Fare Hikes, Broad Alliance Proposes
Alternative
* Inner Purple Line: Down to the Wire for Federal
List
* D.C. Affordable Housing Advocates Press to Restore
Trust Fund
* Smart Growth After the Elections: Regional Leaders
Peter Shapiro and Jim Graham Take Stock
* Ten Traffic & Air Quality Solutions for Northern
Virginia Proposed by Coalition for Smarter Growth
* Builders Resist Fairfax Affordable Housing Program
Improvements
* New Atlanta Highway Won't Cure Congestion, Study
Says
* In Remembrance of Charles P. Monroe, Arlington County
Board Chair
* Upcoming Events
* Support Intersect, Join WRN - Thank You's &
Contribution Form
WRN Forum Announcement:
Can We Avoid a Metro Fare Hike?
with:
Jim Graham, WMATA Chairman and DC Councilman
Chris Zimmerman, WMATA Board member & Arlington County Board,
Virginia
Marcel Solomon, WMATA Board member, Prince George's County
Representative (invited)
Cheryl Cort, Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
6:30 pm refreshments, 7 pm presentations/discussion
At University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave., Bldg
44 A-03 UDC/Van Ness Metro - from UDC Metro: exit turn left then right
on Van Ness St, second building on the right)
Metro is proposing to raise fares for bus and rail to meet half of
a $48 million operating budget shortfall. Join us for presentations
and discussion about how to best address Metro's funding problems. WRN's
Executive Director Cheryl Cort will present its proposal to meet the
budget deficit without raising fares. Metro board members from Virginia,
D.C. and Maryland will discuss their views on fare hikes, service changes
and opportunities for improved performance of the transit system.
RSVP: staff@washingtonregion.net; Tel. 202-667-5445.
Instead of Metro Fare Hikes, Broad Alliance Proposes Alternative
by Cheryl Cort
A broad alliance of the region's affordable housing, environmental,
smart growth, anti-poverty, and transportation activists sent a letter
February 24 calling on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA or "Metro") to avoid a bus or rail fare increase by
increasing parking fees by $2 and eliminating the 10 percent bonus on
$20 fare cards. An analysis by the Washington Regional Network for Livable
Communities showed that the $24 million passenger revenue portion of
Metro's shortfall can be met without increasing transit fares by raising
Metro parking fees by $2 a day, eliminating the 10 percent bonus on
$20 fare cards, and enhancing feeder bus service and bicycle facilities
for Metro station access.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has proposed a "menu"
of fare and fee increases, and service changes to generate $24 million
in revenues to cover half of the $48 million operating budget shortfall
for fiscal year 2004. Metro plans to cover the other half of the shortfall
through internal cost savings.
WRN has worked with a broad alliance of groups to identify equitable
solutions for increased revenues and avoid raising fares or transfer
fees for bus or rail. Doubling the revenues expected from the $1 daily
parking fee, and $20 and $30 increases on monthly and reserved parking
would generate approximately $17.6 million. Currently, all Metro riders
subsidize parking at a rate of $11 million a year. Metro's proposed
$1 parking fee increase would not cover this subsidy.
WRN's solution also supports increased Metrorail station access by
providing better feeder bus service and bicycle facilities. More market-based
pricing for parking will help allocate a limited supply to those who
have no option but to drive to the station, and thus value parking more.
A recent East Falls Church Metro station access study showed that 50
percent of all park-and-riders drive less than 2.5 miles. WRN argues
that enhanced feeder bus service for nearby residents, coupled with
higher parking fees could free up parking spaces for longer distance
drivers, providing more travel choices for short and long distance suburban
commuters.
As part of the fare strategy proposals, Metro staff recommended enhancing
feeder bus service to alleviate overcrowded trains and platforms during
rush hour. Currently, as suburban parking facilities fill up by 8 am,
feeder bus service drops off at the same time. By extending the hours
of higher frequency bus service, riders can more easily take later morning
feeder buses to reach Metro stations. The $3 million annual cost for
enhanced service can be paid by parking fees.
An additional $10 million a year can be gained by eliminating the 10
percent bonus for purchasing $20 or more fare cards. WMATA's analysis
of the 10 percent bonus recommended cutting this program because its
purpose to attract ridership and encourage high value fare card purchases
has largely been supplanted by employer-based transit benefits program
and SmartTrip cards. Also, a recent study of the New York City transit
system found that similar 10 bonuses were inequitable - mostly benefiting
higher income riders.
Groups signing on to WRN's alternative to a fare hike proposal, include:
CASA of Maryland, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Chesapeake
Bay Foundation, 1000 Friends of Maryland, So Others Might Eat, Metroped
Inc. (Northern Virginia), Advocates for Affordable Housing (Montgomery
County, MD), Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth, and Environmental
Defense.
WMATA is holding hearings through March 13 to gather public input on
the fare hike proposals. To learn about the hearings and more about
the fare hike, visit: www.washingtonregion.net
Inner Purple Line: Down to the Wire for Federal List
by Cheryl Cort
Inner Purple Line light rail advocates are working feverously to win
Maryland Governor Ehrlich's support to advance the transit project for
priority federal funding by the March 14 deadline. Governor Ehrlich
can either put the Inner Purple Line forward, maintain the "placeholder"
established by Congressmen Albert Wynn and Chris Van Hollen, which would
give the Governor about two more months to make a final decision, keep
the study going but wait for the next six year window, or kill the project.
A proposal to build a busway along the Inner Purple Line right-of-way
between Bethesda and Silver Spring was floated by Maryland Transportation
Secretary Robert Flanagan. The busway would be two lanes of pavement
reserved for special 130-passenger buses that would be powered by an
innovative fuel technology. In response, the broad-based Coalition to
Build the Inner Purple Line stated that it welcomes support by the Ehrlich
administration for an east-west transitway along the Georgetown Branch
alignment, serving inner suburban communities of Montgomery and Prince
George's Counties. The coalition indicated that it will support state
efforts to evaluate a bus rapid transit option and to ensure that the
final system selected for the Purple Line corridor best addresses the
needs of our citizens. Light rail, however, is likely to prove the most
appropriate mode to accomplish the transit and hiker-biker corridor's
objectives, according to the group.
Montgomery County Delegates to the Maryland Assembly John Hurson and
Richard Madeleno recently introduced a bill (HB 912) to derail the Inner
Line by barring transit use on the Georgetown Branch right-of-way, a
former rail corridor connecting Bethesda to Silver Spring. Inner line
supporters are working to defeat this bill scheduled for a March 18
hearing in the House Appropriations Committee.
Despite the opposition of County Executive Doug Duncan and the Columbia
Country Club, Inner Purple Line advocates have sustained political support
for the project by building a uniquely broad-based Coalition to Build
the Inner Purple Line consisting of business, environmental, community,
and transportation groups to lobby at the state level, and mobilize
constituents at the grassroots. Latest endorsers of the Inner Purple
Coalition include the American Automobile Association, and the Montgomery
County Sierra Club. This month the Washington Area Bicycle Association
issued a new position paper making clear its belief that the Inner Purple
Line will not destroy the Capital Crescent Trail.
For more information, see: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/PurpleLineNow/ig76xz27d75
D.C. Affordable Housing Advocates Press to Restore Trust Fund
By Janet Brown
Despite snow and slush, more than a hundred D.C. affordable housing
advocates took part in "DC Council Education Day" on February
25. There was a crowded press conference featuring Council Members Jack
Evans, Jim Graham, and Adrian Fenty, who support an adequate housing
budget, and visits to all Council offices, plus a spontaneous visit
to Mayor Anthony Williams.
The object was to garner support for full funding in the FY04 budget,
now under negotiations between the Mayor and Council, for the Housing
Production Trust Fund, the city's chief instrument for building and
rehabilitating housing for very low-income households. ("Full funding"
is 15 percent of real estate and recordation taxes, estimated at around
$22 million for the coming year.)
The message carried by tenants, seniors, homeless, people with disabilities,
smart growth advocates, and religious leaders was that money for the
Trust Fund produces the best return on investment the city can make.
Every local dollar deposited in the Trust Fund leverages $5-10 in outside
funding from private and other sources. The projects awarded in the
Fall 2002 request for proposals will leverage over $145 million in development
financing for District communities, more than seven times the local
investment.
But few officials, including the Mayor, are willing to commit themselves.
They cite revenue shortfalls, competing human needs, and "tough
choices" that have to be made. In light of the Mayor's commitment
of $275 million in new funds for a baseball stadium, housing advocates
have questioned why $25 million for housing for working families is
such a "tough choice."
For more on the Trust Fund, see: http://www.dcfpi.org/2-24-03hous.htm
Smart Growth After the Elections:
Regional Leaders Peter Shapiro and Jim
Graham Take Stock
By Cheryl Cort
"Segregation is directly linked to over-development in the I-270
corridor [in Montgomery County] and under-development around Metro stations
in Prince George's County and the eastside of D.C.," said Peter
Shapiro, chairman of Prince George's County Council and Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board.
Speaking at WRN's Feb. 12 forum, "Smart Growth After the Elections,"
Shapiro emphasized that artificial political boundaries keep the region
from solutions that benefit the core of the region, and lead to lopsided
growth and affluence in outer jurisdictions. Shapiro called the Montgomery
County Inter-County Connector ("ICC") the "Prince George's
County Bypass," and not a healthy regional policy. According to
Shapiro, the solutions to the area's problems of sprawl, traffic and
air pollution need a comprehensive, truly regional approach.
He said the region needs better land use planning that can direct more
transit-oriented development to the eastside of D.C. and Prince George's
County. A regional funding source to support measures like transit-oriented
development in D.C. and Prince George's would greatly help improve the
region's failing air quality, but achieving this is difficult given
the constraints of political boundaries, Shapiro said.
Jim Graham, District of Columbia Council member and chairman of Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), also speaking at the event,
discussed the opportunities and obstacles facing the region. "Metro
is the region's success story," said Graham. "Metro is in
the midst of a transformation. It was originally created to move federal
employees from their homes in the suburbs to jobs in D.C." Graham
envisions the system growing into more of a web like the New York City
or Paris transit system.
Graham sees further extension of Metrorail hours for late night until
3 am on Friday and Saturday nights, and 5 am openings on weekdays and
7 am openings on weekends as the next step. "This is about a redefinition
of the Metro system's relevance to our region," he said. The cost
for such extended rail service hours and supporting feeder bus service
is estimated at $3 million.
According to Graham, great hopes were put on the Northern Virginia
sales tax to fund Metro needs. The 10-year Capital Improvement Plan
was recently dramatically scaled back from $12.2 billion to $1.2 billion.
Graham identified raising low parking fees and reducing parking replacement
requirements for redevelopment projects at Metro stations as good opportunities
to boost needed Metro revenues. Ultimately, Graham sees the need for
a dedicated funding source for WMATA.
Shapiro agreed that it is in everyone's interest to obtain more funding
for WMATA. Shapiro attributed the failure of the Northern Virginia sales
tax referendum to the lack of public trust. An audience member from
Virginia concurred, saying she voted against the referendum because
she doubted enough funds would support transit and too much funding
would be dedicated to road building.
Both Shapiro and Graham expressed apprehension about the effect the
Republican administration in Maryland will have on WMATA. Shapiro said
this calls for more champions at the local level to fight for transit
and transit-oriented development.
Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette was unable to participate
due to illness.
Ten Traffic & Air Quality Solutions for Northern Virginia Proposed
by Coalition for Smarter Growth
By Shannon Brown
Responding to tight budgets and worsening traffic and air quality in
Northern Virginia, Governor Warner called on local governments, smart
growth advocates, transportation organizations and environmental groups
to identify key projects for a new congestion relief program. The program
will select a list of Top Ten Congestion Relief Projects for implementation
in Northern Virginia. Projects will be evaluated in terms of congestion
relief and air quality benefit. Each of the 10 projects selected will
receive $2 million, to be completed in one year.
In consultation with a number of groups, the Coalition for Smarter
Growth proposed ten specific opportunities for addressing the area's
traffic and air quality problems, including:
> Hold design charettes for planned rail stations in Tyson's Corner
and the VRE stations at Woodbridge and Manassas Park.
> Implement bicycle, pedestrian and transit improvements along key
corridors and Metro stations. Give pedestrians a fighting chance against
auto traffic by adding bus shelters, installing sidewalks, improving
crosswalk visibility and adding bicycle lanes. Priority areas include:
Columbia Pike, Bailey's Crossroads, Route 1 (Fairfax) and Duke Street
(Arlington), and the Huntington and Ballston Metro stations.
> Make I-66 HOV-2 in the AM outbound and PM inbound direction during
rush hour. I-66 inside the Beltway should address reverse-commutes as
workers seek jobs in areas not transit accessible.
> Establish roving tow trucks for incident response. Since traffic
accidents and breakdowns cause as much as 50 percent of traffic congestion,
a swift response could cut congestion and air emissions caused by stop
and go traffic.
For more information see: http://www.novaregion.org/novatrans/novatransprojects.htm
Builders Resist Fairfax Affordable Housing Program Improvements
By Shannon Brown
Overcoming building industry efforts to thwart improvements to the
Affordable Dwelling Units Zoning Ordinance (ADU), the Fairfax County
Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Apr. 10, 2003. The
hearing will collect public input on a proposed amendment to the ADU
Ordinance that would bring mid-rise (four-five stories) multi-family
residential buildings under the existing ordinance.
The recommendations, made by a county task force, would require mid-rise
multi-family developments to have 6.25 percent ADUs in exchange for
a 17 percent density bonus. Currently, only low-rise multi-family dwellings
(three stories or less) and all non-elevator multi-family developments
are subject to the ADU program. At this time, the proposed recommendations
do not affect high-rise developments.
The building industry has asserted that the proposed density bonus
will not be enough to cover lost revenue from the 6.25 percent ADU set-aside.
Rejection of the ADU proposal by the building industry was a surprise
to many because the industry is heavily represented on the task force
that formulated the recommendations. In 1998, the building industry
successfully pressured the Fairfax Board of Supervisors to halve the
original 12.5 percent ADU set aside requirement for multi-family developments
to the current 6.25 percent, significantly reducing the impact of the
ordinance.
In July 2002, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted several
technical changes to the ADU zoning ordinance. At that time, the Board
also asked the task force to examine applying ADU requirements to mid-rise
(four-five stories) and high-rise (six or more stories) dwellings that
are currently exempt from the program.
Since 1990, the number of mid-rise developments built in the county
has dramatically increased, while the need for affordable housing units
remains unmet. In a strategic plan submitted to the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development in the mid-1990s, Fairfax County projected
that at least 1,000 new affordable housing units per year were needed
over a 10 year period, for a total of 10,000 units, in order to meet
the county's affordable housing needs through 2005. This figure is likely
to be low given dramatic housing price increases in recent years. Since
its inception in the early 1990s, the Fairfax County ADU program has
produced only 1,436 affordable units. Montgomery County's longstanding
MPDU program, which requires that elevator buildings provide affordable
units, has created over 11,000 moderately-priced units.
Two Fairfax County supervisors, Dana Kauffman and Cathy Hudgins, are
members of the ADU Task Force. Affordable housing advocates are looking
to them to reject the building industry's last minute attempt to derail
this proposal to increase the scope of the ADU ordinance, and to bring
the proposal to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for
approval.
New Atlanta Highway Won't Cure Congestion, Study Says
From: TRANSFER, a publication of the Surface Transportation Policy
Project Volume IX, Issue 3; January 28, 2003, http://www.transact.org
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority announced interim results
of a study which found that the controversial Northern Arc highway proposed
for the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan region is not the best solution
for easing traffic congestion, promoting cleaner air, and saving time
and money for the area's commuters. The study examined three transportation
and land-use planning options for the region to determine the best possible
economic and environmental choice for the state. The study found that
the planning option that favored transit over new highway construction
would provide not just the best environmental benefits to the area,
but also the greatest economic benefit, totaling almost $2 billion for
the region (or approximately $672 per household). This was the first
study to link transportation and land-use planning in the region, acknowledging
that adding new roads or buses alone will not solve the region's congestion
and traffic woes.
The Arc highway proposal has many parallels to the Montgomery County
Inner County Connector (ICC). Environmental and transportation experts
have noted that the congestion relief offered by the ICC is small, but
the environmental and financial costs large. This week, however, Maryland
Governor Ehrlich gained expedited review for a renewed study of the
$1.5 billion ICC from federal officials.
For more information about the Arc analysis, visit: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0103/24grtastudy.html
In Remembrance of Charles P. Monroe, Arlington County Board Chair
WRN staff and board express our heartfelt sadness at the passing of
Charles P. Monroe, 46, Chairman, Arlington County Board. Mr. Monroe
was serving his third year on the County's Board when he unexpectedly
died on January 11, 2003. The last Intersect issue highlighted Mr. Monroe's
tireless fight for affordable housing. His commitment to the concerns
of low income people and affordable housing will be greatly missed.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, Mar. 11, 7pm. & Thursday March 13, 6pm. What's Going on
With Baseball? The two public meetings will update the public and elicit
input on the effort to return major league baseball to D.C. City officials
will brief the public on potential sites for a new ballpark, financing
the facility and public benefits including job creation and economic
development. Visit: www.publicspaceforum.org. The Ballpark Site Evaluation
Project report is available at www.dcsec.com.
Wednesday March 12-13, 6:30pm. Metro Hearings on Proposed Fare Increases.
Metro is holding public hearings to vet a menu of fare options aimed
at raising $24 million in revenues to help stem shortfall in next year's
operating budget. If approved, the fare changes will take place on July
1, 2003. Hearings will be held: March 12, 2003, 7:30 p.m., Oakton High
School, 2900 Sutton High School, Vienna, Va. and March 13, 2003, 7:30
p.m. Alexandria City Hall, City Council Workroom (2nd Floor), 301 King
Street, Alexandria, Va. To testify or submit comments by March 18, contact
WMATA, Tel. 202-962-1300, fax: 202-962-1300, e-mail: publichearing@wmata.com,
for more information, see: http://www.wmata.com/about/MET_NEWS/200301/pr_fareproposal.cfm
Wednesday, March 12, 6:00pm. Southwest Waterfront Plan Public Hearing.
The District of Columbia Office of Planning and the National Capital
Revitalization Corporation invite comments on the Feb. 10 final draft
of the Southwest Waterfront Plan. St. Augustine's Church, 600 M Street
SW. The project proposal is available online at: http://www.planning.dc.gov/news_room/2003/february/02_10_03.shtm
Thursday, March 20, 2003 6:30-8:30pm. Big & Green Lecture: Engineering
a Sustainable Environment. Ashok Raiji, PE, principal of ARUP- a worldwide
engineering firm, uses ARUP projects as case studies to illustrate the
role engineers play in creating a more sustainable environment. The
Big & Green exhibition will be open for viewing after the lecture.
$12 Museum members; $17 nonmembers. Registration required. National
Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW. For registration and more information,
visit: http://www.nbm.org/Events/Calendar/Big_and_Green.html
Wednesday March 26, 11:30 - 12:00 pm. Metropolitan Washington Air Quality
Committee (MWAQC) Public Forum: MWAQC will brief the public on the status
of new air quality plan and take public comments. Metropolitan Washington
Council of Governments, 3rd Floor COG Board Room, NW, Washington, D.C.
for more information, contact: Wyetha Lipford, tel. 202-962-3239.
Thursday, April 03, 2003 7:00 PM. 30th Annual Meeting of the Washington
Area Bicyclist Association (WABA). Join WABA and keynote speaker Whittington
Clement, Virginia Secretary of Transportation, at WABA's 30th annual
meeting. Awards will be presented to regional leaders for promoting
bicycle-friendliness and a moderated question and answer session will
follow. At 6:00 pm, there will be a reception honoring the award recipients.
A $10 donation is suggested for the reception. For more information
visit www.waba.org or email waba@waba.org. National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association (NRECA) located at 4301 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia
(Ballston Metro).
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WRN thanks the following organizational donors and individuals for
their support for WRN's efforts to promote livable communities for the
Washington region: James Sebastian, John Torti, Frederik Van Bolhuis,
Robert Harrison & Holland and Knight, Allen Muchnick, Piedmont Environmental
Council, Barbara McCann, Julia Cuniberti, Lee Kimball, Jon Morgan, Peter
Harnik, Richard Reis & the Verizon Foundation, Kristin Pauly, Jay
Hellman & Hawthorne Rosewick Associates.
._______________________________________________________________________
WRN advocates transportation investments, land use
policies, and community designs that enhance existing communities and the
environment of the National Capital Region.
Comments
and articles welcome.
Washington
Regional Network For Livable Communities
1777
Church Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 667-5445 Fax: (202)
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