Posts by Stewart Schwartz — Guest Contributor
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Tell Maryland’s comptroller to put the brakes on the Beltway/I-270 widening project
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn are bulldozing ahead with their proposal for massive toll lane expansion on the Capital Beltway and I-270. This deal is fundamentally flawed in multiple ways. Keep reading…
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How can Virginia balance traffic flow with a sense of place on Route 1?
A study of Virginia’s Route 1 finds that people want “to create destinations, … not a throughway.” They also want better pedestrian and bicycle safety, and really want transit, but they also want to see traffic flow faster. What’s the best way to balance these? Keep reading…
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Bus rapid transit, light rail, and a longer Yellow Line are choices for Route 1
Better transit could one day come to Virginia’s Route 1 between the Beltway and Woodbridge. A transit study looked at transit options and narrowed down the choices to curbside or median Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), light rail, or a hybrid of BRT and extending Metro’s Yellow Line. Keep reading…
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Shocking rhetoric from John Townsend and AAA
This week’s Washington City Paper cover story quoted AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend calling Greater Greater Washington editor David Alpert “retarded” and a “ninny,” and comparing Greater Greater Washington to the Ku Klux Klan. Many other reporters, people on Twitter, and residents generally have clearly stated in response… Keep reading…
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Follow the money in Virginia’s transportation bill
Virginia’s complex transportation funding bill, HB2313, is headed to Governor McDonnell for his signature and potential amendments. The bill is a prime example of political sausage, seeking to satisfy Republican and Democrat, urban and rural, transit and road constituencies. It also represents poor public policy by undermining the “user pays” principle,… Keep reading…
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Floor debates begin on flawed McDonnell transportation bills
Governor McDonnell’s transportation funding bills (HB2313 and SB 1355) are on the floor of the Virginia House and Senate today and tomorrow. The McDonnell Administration is facing objections on many fronts, but the Republican majority quickly pushed the bills through committee. Votes to pass the bills must take place before “cross-over” on midnight… Keep reading…
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Move forward and be smart about Montgomery BRT
Rockville Pike is the best place to first launch a “gold standard” Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, says a recent report. The report is less certain about other potential routes, but that shouldn’t stop the county from investing in top-quality BRT on key corridors, and being smart about how to phase in BRT and other bus improvements elsewhere. Our region must… Keep reading…
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Highway would fuel sprawl, pave over history at Manassas
In July 1861, the Union and Confederacy met at Manassas (Bull Run) in the first great clash of armies in the Civil War. On August 28-30, 1862, the armies clashed in the Second Battle of Manassas. Exactly 150 years later, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is proposing a highway through the historic landscape of Manassas, with particularly harmful impact on the landscape… Keep reading…
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McDonnell’s roadblocks threaten Silver Line’s phase 2
Virginia Governor McDonnell says he fully supports the timely completion of Phase 2 of the Silver Line. Yet his administration’s political roadblocks are the biggest threat to the project. In a Washington Post op-ed this weekend, McDonnell wrote, “Unfortunately, the project has been marked by many controversies, ranging from escalated costs, the prospect… Keep reading…
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Small transport projects can be best and build a better region
To hear some people talk, the only way to “solve” traffic issues in the Washington region is to go big or go home. But smaller local projects could have a much bigger impact on making the region a better place to live, and an easier place to navigate. Individuals like Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton or organizations like the 2030 Group prey on… Keep reading…