A Message from Solutions Not Sprawl: May 20 Update

The Techway/Truckway Bridge battle is moving forward. The latest developments are found in the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA,) the COG¹s ŒOrigin and Destination Study, and the VA sales tax. These are the latest efforts to move this bridge project forward without a lot of public scrutiny.

Solutions Not Sprawl (SNS) coordinated a meeting with the RTA/MDOT consultants last week. We joined Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Environmental Defense, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Surface Transportation Policy Project, and Sierra Club to make a presentation to the RTA consultants. We discussed the current study scope, and made suggestions that addressed land use and congestion factors, job/housing imbalance, regional air quality concerns, modeling issues, the requirements for public input, the authority of local elected officials, and local zoning rules. We had a good meeting and our points are now included in the study scope.

SNS attended a meeting last Friday at the Council of Government office downtown, with the RTA/MDOT consultant and the Joint Legislative Commission. The RTA consultants made a report on the status of the study and they advised the legislators from MD, DC, & VA that it was possible an RTA may not be the best way to address regional traffic problems. They are looking at 12 other RTA¹s around the country, and they are investigating several options such as: possibly improving the existing government agencies, or improving our existing regional authority-COG TPB. Their final report is due in August.

The RTA is dangerous because, it could be the vehicle for building unpopular bridges & road projects, and it sounds harmless. However you don¹t need to look further than the RTA in Atlanta, it has the power of eminent domain and the word is out not to start bulldozing neighborhoods until after the November elections. The only RTA that would be good for our region is one based on the Portland example, and our elected officials have not expressed interest in the Portland transit/land use model.

Please stay tuned on this very important and complicated issue, it is under the radar screen and it could build the bridge. We need to do a lot of public education on this during the summer. A vote is likely before the Joint Legislative commission in the fall, and the full general assembly at the start of the next session.

Chairwoman, Sen. Jennie Forehand opened the RTA meeting to talk about the Olympic bid and used that as the primary reason to expedite an RTA. Co-Chairman John Hurson followed this report with a suggested resolution that would move the RTA forward. There is tremendous pressure to move this fast.

This is another way of saying, let¹s study the bridge. VDOT¹s Thomas Farley reminded everyone of lessons learned in the FHWA study (Wolf study.) One of them was people really get upset when you draw lines at potential crossing points, why not do a origin and destination pair study? It is a quiet way to study a bridge by looking at the license plates moving back and forth at rush hour from Dulles toll road and I 66 to 4 locations in MD: North of 118 on I 270, the Southern stretch of I 270, I-495 east of I 270 split, and I-95 north. Other data included the time crossing the Potomac River Bridge. Again this is under the radar screen, and most people don¹t know what an origin and destination study is, so we have to get the word out this summer. VDOT¹s Farley went so far as to say that Gov. Warner would be happy to share his $400,000 on a study of the American Legion Bridge. When a elected official spoke up and asked for that money to be used for regional studies that went beyond western Montgomery County, Mr. Farley said that the governor probably wouldn¹t want to spend money outside of the Potomac River Crossing area. SALES TAX + COG Study + RTA = Bridge

• We are going to do a lot of issue education and outreach over the summer and into the fall, to homeowners and civic groups to gain support for the upcoming votes. We need to expand our list of SNS member groups, and would appreciate any suggestions you might have about new folks to contact.
• We are going to organize a letter to the editor rapid response team, do you want to join a group of SNS volunteers every other week to meet and draft short responses to the articles and editorials on the bridge?
• We need to broaden our outreach to the business community. Can you suggest contacts in business community who would support a smart growth approach in our region, and not the sprawl development/highway approach?
• We want to design a ŒTechway/Truckway¹ Route map that highlights communities, historical and environmental points of interest. Anyone want to work on this handout that could be used in the proposed route tours?
• I am updating my list of SNS volunteers and I would appreciate it if you would help with the following: Name: Email: Phone: Address: How you would like to help: Thanks again for everything you do, we are successful when we are all working on this. If you have any questions please contact SNS staff: Tina Brown, 202-588-5570 or email, Tina@smartergrowth.net

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