A 2010 study funded under the Transportation Planning Board’s Transportation/ Land-Use Connections (TLC) program identified the key transportation infrastructure improvements that will be necessary to support high-density, transit-oriented development in the area and it recommended strategies for how Charles County, where Waldorf is located, might pay for such improvements.

An unincorporated community with a 2010 population just shy of 68,000, Waldorf was identified in the 2006 update to the Charles County Comprehensive Plan as a prime candidate for urban redevelopment. County planners have long had a policy of trying to concentrate new development in designated development districts as a way to preserve the more rural parts of the county. Downtown Waldorf is one such district.

In 2010, the County completed the “Waldorf Urban Design Study,” or WUDS, which lays out an ambitious plan for the revitalization of downtown Waldorf along US Highway 301 just north of Leonardtown Road. Among the WUDS recommendations: new zoning to allow higher-density, mixed-use development; and, design guidelines to create consistency and quality in design for building architecture, streetscapes, site landscaping, and other physical elements.

The WUDS also outlined a conceptual transportation network to support the urban design strategy that includes attractive and functional streets that help to disperse rather than concentrate traffic volumes, and a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly environment that puts the emphasis on people rather than automobiles.

The 2010 TLC study awarded to Charles County by the TPB — the “Waldorf Urban Transportation Improvement Plan” — took the conceptual framework laid out in the WUDS and identified the specific roadway, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit network improvements that would be needed to support the high-density development that WUDS recommended and to make Waldorf truly walkable. The study also identified the key projects most needed to attract developers and to catalyze development, how much those improvements might cost, and how the County might pay for them.

In all, the study found that the improvements needed to carry out all of the WUDS recommendations would cost nearly $75 million. However, the cost of a limited number of short-term, high-priority projects that the study said would be most needed to attract developers and advance the WUDS vision was found to be approximately $24.5 million. The priority improvements were focused on reconstruction and streetscaping of the three main existing roadways in the area — Old Washington Road, Leonardtown Road, and Acton Lane.

The study noted the likelihood that the County would have to bear nearly all the costs of any project used as a catalyst and constructed in advance of substantial private sector redevelopment of the area. Given the short-term needs and the existing economic conditions at the time, the study recommended a mix of public and private sector financing solutions, including tax increment financing (TIF), a special tax assessment district, general obligation bonds, and public-private partnerships.

To date, the findings of the 2010 TLC study have enabled the County to make significant progress on its plans for redeveloping downtown Waldorf. The transportation improvements that were recommended in the study have been added to the County’s capital program budget, the study has served as an example for studies of needed water, sewer, and utility upgrades in the area, and the Maryland Transit Administration’s first steps in seeking federal approval for high-capacity transit to Waldorf was made stronger by the County’s demonstrated commitment to planning and redevelopment.

The TPB’s Transportation/Land-Use Connections program — which has funded 56 similar studies around the Washington region since it began in 2007 — has enabled Charles County to identify and prioritize needed transportation and land-use improvements in downtown Waldorf. These improvements will help better accommodate future growth while making the most of both the existing transportation infrastructure and the limited resources available to maintain and grow the transportation system.

The TPB Weekly Report is a regular feature on The Yardstick.

The TPB Weekly Report is an online publication designed to provide brief, timely summaries of recent research, analysis, outreach, and planning by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB). Follow the TPB on Facebook and Twitter.

Metro Washington and the U.S. as a whole are suffering from a major infrastructure deficit. The longer we take to fix it, the more costly it’s going to become. Current methods of funding and financing infrastructure – such as stagnant fuel taxes and federal legislation held hostage to political impasse – are no longer doing the trick. That’s why several groups got together recently to host a forum on the potential for infrastructure banks to help solve our regional and national infrastructure crisis.

China and the U.S. have very different systems of government, but very similar environmental and climate problems. Two Americans recently took part in a fellowship program aimed at promoting U.S.-Chinese exchange on these major issues. Their thoughts informed this post on the similarities and differences between the world’s largest nation and the world’s wealthiest nation in dealing with climate and environmental problems.

Bike to Work Day 2012 is just four days away! This one-day event can create 1,000+ new daily commuters in metro Washington every year. Catch up on other recent TPB Weekly Report posts by searching “TPB” at www.RegionForward.org.

With likely cuts to government spending and employment in the near future, the DC region stands to be hit harder than most. The need to diversify metro Washington’s economy is not a new idea, but the urgency is increasing. That’s why MWCOG is working with non-profits, educational institutions, businesses, and governments at every level to develop a regional Economic Growth & Competitiveness Call to Action Report. At the launch of the Report’s development, Dr. Stephen Fuller argued that fostering innovative small businesses, improving the transit network, and leveraging DC’s international stature were key to the region’s continued economic success.

During the month of April, Region Forward celebrated Earth Month 2012 by highlighting green and sustainability initiatives and events in metro Washington. From organic farming to 100% wind-powered cities, jurisdictions throughout the region are helping the environment in diverse and unique ways.  

Bringing conservation to the congregations. GreenDMV is working with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies to help churches in metro Washington be more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint. The EPA estimates that if the nation’s 370,000 congregations reduce energy use by 10 percent, they would save nearly $315 million and provide 1.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity without additional cost or pollution!

Looking beyond the grade. When the American Lung Association recently released its annual State of the Air Report, several local news headlines declared: DC region receives an F for ozone pollution. But there’s more to the story than this one letter grade. The report evaluates and ranks US cities on the basis of their ozone and fine particle pollution. While it found that most counties in metro Washington received a failing grade for ozone pollution, it also recognized the progress being made to improve the region’s air quality.

Lastly, a couple recent Global Fridays posts highlighted issues ranging from countries cheating on their emissions reductions figures and the impact of urban planning on race relations to urbanism’s role in fostering innovation and nuclear power as a means of creating energy independence.

Happy reading!

The actions include adoption of the agency’s first set of bylaws, an end to the customary annual rotation of its Board Chair, an agreement among the Governors of Maryland and Virginia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia to meet annually to review the performance of the system, and an effort this year by the three jurisdictions to advance similar laws setting new conditions on how Board members are selected and serve. 

The first phase of the TPB’s research effort came in 2010, when public and private sector leaders concerned about a decline in the performance of the Metro system formed a task force sponsored by the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to review WMATA’s governance arrangements and to recommend improvements. Staff at the TPB conducted a review of best practices on transit board governance and examined WMATA and other transit and public sector agencies for the task force’s report, Moving Metro Forward, which was released in November 2010. The report focused on issues like the composition of the WMATA Board and the roles of its Chair, Board members, and chief executive. 

Accompanying the task force’s report was a separate study of WMATA’s governance structure by the agency’s Riders Advisory Council (RAC), which advises the Board on issues affecting Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess service.

Following the release of both reports, the WMATA Board committed to modernizing and strengthening its governance structure. As part of this effort, the Board adopted bylaws defining the responsibilities of the Board members and Chair. The Board also agreed to end the custom of rotating the Chair every year. As a result, Fairfax County Supervisor Catherine Hudgins is currently guiding the Board for the second consecutive year. WMATA also redefined its General Manager as its Chief Executive Officer, giving the person serving in the position clear authority to oversee the agency’s day-to-day management.

At the same time that the WMATA Board began making its own changes to its governance structure, the Governors of Maryland and Virginia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia jointly established a Governance Work Group (GWG) to consider the recommendations of the task force and to implement improvements. The GWG asked the TPB to conduct a second phase of research, this time examining the governance practices of WMATA and 13 of its peer transit agencies around the country, among them: MTA in New York; MBTA in Boston; and, BART in San Francisco. 

The TPB’s Research Report for the GWG, released in June 2011, focused on what the roles and responsibilities of Board members should be, what processes should be set up to better incorporate public input into the Board’s decision-making, how Board members are appointed by their respective jurisdictions, and funding needs.

The research found WMATA broadly in line with its peers except for WMATA being the only agency with indefinite terms for its members. Staff also noted that WMATA’s tri-state structure adds a unique dimension to maintaining a balanced Board. Like WMATA, most agencies had Boards with a blend of elected and appointed officials. The majority of agencies had Boards with between seven and 10 members. Five agencies had a requirement that board members have specific experience relevant to governing a transit agency, and three required board members to use the transit system on a regular basis.

This year, Maryland, Virginia, and the District worked together to advance legislation they developed jointly to introduce term limits for Board members and require that members have relevant experience in such fields as transit planning, finance, or public safety. The legislation also mandates regular attendance at Board meetings and regular use of the Metrorail and Metrobus system. The Governors of Maryland and Virginia have signed their bills into law, while the legislation has been introduced in the District Council.

The three jurisdictions have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding that their transportation executives will work together to review and balance the Board’s composition — for the first time regionally coordinating their WMATA board appointments. They also committed to an annual meeting of the Governors of Maryland and Virginia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia to review WMATA’s performance.

The TPB’s research has made a productive contribution to how WMATA and the region’s Metro system is governed, a matter which will require ongoing regional attention and coordination in the months and years ahead.

The TPB Weekly Report is a regular feature on The Yardstick.

The TPB Weekly Report is an online publication designed to provide brief, timely summaries of recent research, analysis, outreach, and planning by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB). Follow the TPB on Facebook and Twitter. 

The report evaluates and ranks US cities on the basis of their ozone and fine particle pollution. While it found that all the counties in metro Washington, except for Prince William County, received a failing grade for ozone pollution, it also recognized the progress being made to improve the region’s air quality. 

The report noted that since 1996, our region had 40 fewer high ozone days—a major achievement—considering our population more than doubled in the past two decades. In addition, it highlighted that of the 25 metro areas with the most ozone pollution, 18 of them (DC-Baltimore region included) reported the fewest unhealthy ozone days in 2010.

But despite this progress, the report’s data reminded us that most of our region’s residents join the nearly 4 in 10 people in the United States living in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone. 

In regard to another form of pollution, the ALA report had good news—metro Washington did not appear on its list of cities with the most fine particle pollution. The region’s level of fine particles now meets the federal standard although the region has yet to be officially re-designated as in attainment of the standard.

Air quality has been improving due to federal, state and local efforts to clean up the air. Federal rules require cleaner cars and trucks and cleaner fuels, emissions controls on power plants, and cleaner consumer products, such as paints, solvents and adhesives.

State measures have included emissions limits on power plants, such as Maryland’s Healthy Air Act, and automobile inspection and maintenance programs. Local governments also promote the use of clean products for lawns and gardens as well as regional programs at MWCOG that benefit air quality.

As the ALA report said, we should celebrate our air quality progress but remain committed to further action. Our growing, prosperous region means more people, more energy consumed, more cars and more traffic. The region’s ability to make further progress in reducing ozone pollution depends on reducing power plant emissions, switching to cleaner fuels, and reduced driving by using alternate transportation.

In addition, changing federal standards for ozone and fine particle pollution remain a challenge. The Washington region has met ozone standards set in 1990 and 1997, but the 2008 ozone standard is the most stringent yet. EPA is also preparing to announce a tighter standard on fine particles in the next few months.  

Cleaner air means less sick time away from school or work for the region’s population at risk from air pollution, including 2 million children under 18, almost one million adults over 65, and 1.1 million people with respiratory disease such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.

Clean Air Partners and Commuter Connections are two regional programs that make it easy for residents to receive daily air quality forecasts (sign up for Air Alerts at www.cleanairpartners.net) and to avoid driving alone by using transit, ride-sharing, or teleworking (www.commuterconnections.org). Visit their sites and learn more about how you can help the region continue its progress in improving our air quality.

Since the TPB launched the “Reach-a-Ride” website and call center in December 2011, more than 1,300 searches of the online database have been made, and nearly 180 phone calls have been received on the toll-free hotline, which users can call during regular business hours for assistance from a live agent.

“Reach-a-Ride” is the first resource of its kind in the Washington region, bringing together in one place information about all of the private and public providers of transportation services for residents and visitors with specialized needs. Such services range from ramp- or lift-equipped taxis for users of mobility devices to “door-through-door” escort services for people with significant physical or cognitive limitations.

For people who need specialized transportation services, finding the right provider that serves their area can be difficult. Many other regions around the country are now undertaking similar efforts to collect and consolidate information on specialized transportation providers, as more and more options become available but information remains fragmented and difficult to find.

The TPB’s “Reach-a-Ride” database includes the name, phone number, website (if applicable), and detailed information about service areas and available services for all known providers in the region. Users can search the database online or with the help of a call center representative to find providers that serve their origin and destination, and that offer the service they need.

In order to ensure that the website was easy to use and was accessible to people with visual impairments, the TPB held focus groups with users from the website’s target audience and collaborated with the American Foundation for the Blind. A Spanish-language version of the website was also created to serve the region’s largest group of non-English speakers.

To spread the word to people for whom “Reach-a-Ride” would be most helpful, the TPB used innovative marketing strategies, including distributing pharmacy bags to reach older adults and distributing pamphlets via check-cashing stores to reach lower-income individuals.

The TPB launched “Reach-a-Ride” using a 2008 grant under the Federal Transit Administration’s Job Access and Reverse Commute program — or JARC — which supports initiatives to improve access to job sites and job-related activities for people who are transitioning from welfare to work or for others with limited incomes. A related FTA program — New Freedom — supports initiatives to expand transportation options for people with disabilities.

The JARC grant to launch “Reach-a-Ride” consisted of $467,000 in federal funds from FTA and $117,000 in contributions from local agencies. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) provided the majority of the local matching funds. Providing the public with better access to information about alternatives to WMATA’s heavily-subsidized MetroAccess paratransit service could help reduce the number of people who rely on the service simply because they are not aware of other options.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) also contributed to the project.

Six months after being launched, the TPB’s “Reach-a-Ride” website and call center are making it easier for people with specialized transportation needs to find the services they require and to find providers that serve their area. Access to such information should make it easier for these people to gain access to the employment, education, healthcare, and other opportunities available to them in the Washington region.

The TPB Weekly Report is a regular feature on The Yardstick.

The TPB Weekly Report is an online publication designed to provide brief, timely summaries of recent research, analysis, outreach, and planning by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB). Follow the TPB on Facebook and Twitter. 

Region Forward’s third and final week of celebrating Earth Month 2012 featured a collection of green initiatives from some of metro Washington’s largest and smallest jurisdictions.

Montgomery County developed an online guide, My Green Montgomery, to provide residents resources and tips on living “greener.”  In Fairfax, a collection of green initiatives such as watershed management and transit development have been put together as a part of a larger, countywide agenda.  

Our Frederick County highlight focused on local agriculture—the County possesses the highest number of organic farms in Maryland and tripled its nursery and greenhouse crops in just five years.  The City of Alexandria boosted the annual amount of recycling it takes in and added more hybrid vehicles to its transit fleet.

The City of Greenbelt also developed a fleet of green vehicles and its sizeable tree canopy earns it the distinction as a Tree City USA. We also learned that to save water and energy in its Community Center Natatorium, Manassas Park utilized solar blankets.

For more information on each of these green highlights, please see excerpts below from press releases and web sites of the localities. 

Montgomery County

MyGreenMontgomery.org is a resident’s one-stop resource for living a green life in Montgomery County, MD. The website features ‘how-to’s’ for green projects, green rebates and tax credits, an event calendar, and local resources to get residents involved in making their community a more sustainable place to live. http://montgomerycountymd.mygreenmontgomery.org/

Fairfax County

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has put together an environmental agenda that encompasses a number of green initiatives, such as Watershed management, green buildings, transit development, a green vehicle fleet, and others. The County has made a number of environmental achievements, including the appointment of a citizen-led Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) to advise the Board on environmental concerns. The EQAC is also currently looking for a high school student to serve a voting member starting this July through June 2013 (applications are due by April 27). http://1.usa.gov/zbSQ4B and http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/environment/eip/bos_environmental_agenda.pdf

Frederick County

Frederick County thrives from its agricultural industry, ranking first statewide in the number of organic farms. Between 2002 and 2007, the county more than tripled its nursery and greenhouse crops, boosted its vegetable production 43%, and boosted increased its Christmas tree production acres 16%.  The Dairy Industry continues to be the largest production Ag sector in the county with over $50 million in annual gross sales.  Direct-to-consumer Agriculture is the fasted growing Ag segment in the county combining both organic and non-organic food and fiber. Direct-to-consumer Agriculture is the easiest way for the people to help keep farms viable in this region.  Both Organic and non-organic food and fiber are available along with many Agritourism opportunities. Visit http://www.discoverfrederickmd.com/IndustryFocus/agriculture.htm to download a copy of the Frederick Farm Guide or to get the link to the county’s Virtual Farmers Market.

Alexandria

Alexandria had one of its highest ever recycling rates (41.4%) in 2010, collecting over 77,000 tons. Alexandria’s transit system, DASH, also purchased 10 new hybrid buses and 5 hybrid trolleys in 2011. The City hosted an Earth Day event on April 21, with green building learning sessions, educational exhibits, demonstrations, hands-on activities for children, and more. http://alexandriava.gov/SolidWaste and http://alexearthday.org/

Greenbelt

For the past decade, the Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters have designated the City of Greenbelt as a Tree City USA community. Greenbelt also has 54% of its waste recycled, a tree canopy at 62%, and a fleet of environmentally responsible vehicles in service. http://www.greenbeltmd.gov/green_steps/index.html

Manassas Park

Manassas Park has implemented the use of solar blankets in the Manassas Park Community Center Natatorium to both trap heat and prevent water loss from evaporation. This innovation has decreased the Center’s water loss by 68% and improved heat efficiency to 100%, such that it can now turn off its gas feed during off hours and further reduce its monthly energy costs.

Let’s think of my block as a region. I’ve lived in my house – Copeland City – for more than twenty years. For all of that time, until last month, my house has sat ten houses into the block next to a vacant lot – Vacant Lot City. As Copeland City mayor, so to speak, I had done all kinds of things to improve my city. But no matter what, my property value didn’t rise significantly until a developer came in and put a house on Vacant Lot City. With that improvement, all of the adjacent jurisdictions benefited. All boats rose. The improvement of the lowest element of our city-block region improved the entire region. 

Regionalism seems like it should be common sense. What happens in one part of the region has a real and measurable impact on the rest of the region. Especially in our region – which is so interconnected that in some places you literally cross a street to move from one jurisdiction to the next – it seems incredibly short-sighted to be so insular as to only focus on one’s own jurisdiction. 

I was chagrined to hear a high level D.C. city official imply that the District would be interested in collaboration with other jurisdictions toward a Region Forward goal – but only after the city had achieved its own exclusive successes. I was further dismayed when Steven Pearlstein reported in The Washington Post that a Fairfax County official noted that the county would be remiss if it didn’t pursue the relocation of the FBI headquarters to Springfield. Prince George’s County – a county in very real need of economic enhancement – was also in contention. I would assume that the Fairfax County official knew that. 

For WRAG, working under a regional frame doesn’t mean that we will forget the unique needs of any one jurisdiction. What we hope to do is to put those specific needs within a regional context and demonstrate where there might be value in learning from the experience of others. 

Last month, for example, the Fairfax County School Board asked the Montgomery County School Board for advice on how to start its search for a successor to Superintendent Jack Dale, recognizing that Montgomery County recently went through this process. It was a small step perhaps, but certainly a powerful example. WRAG is encouraging similar collective thinking by introducing the region’s education leaders to the funding community. In May, the Public Education Working Group is hosting Dr. Patrick Murphy, Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools. Dr. Murphy has a vision for improving the quality of education in the region. I hope you’ll join us to hear from him – his vision has applicability far beyond Arlington. 

The power of a regional lens will occur to each of us at different points. Maybe it will be the need for shared criteria across jurisdictions in assessing the needs of the elderly. Maybe it will be coordination of core training of firefighters in one jurisdiction and EMT providers in another so that each jurisdiction doesn’t have to duplicate what others are doing. Maybe it will be the shared communication system that MWCOG is promoting so that the traffic fiasco of snowmaggedon doesn’t happen again. 

In This Could Be the Start of Something Big: How Social Movements for Regional Equity are Reshaping Metropolitan American, the authors note, “In many places, groups are discovering that the regional scale is valuable for understanding the roots of social problems, for developing valuable solutions to social problems, and for building significant social power.” 

As philanthropy works to fight those deep social problems that threaten our region, the value of a regional lens continues to be a filter worthy of your consideration.

As part of the Climate Fellows Program exchange, they visited government agencies and sites such as the Environmental Protection Bureaus at Chongqing and Xi’an, environmental firms, business organizations, and academic institutions such as the China University of Political Science and Law. Their observations helped shape this post.

Thinking about China and the United States, try to answer the following questions: which country ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement adopted in 1997 that set individual targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions? And which country is the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO_2­)? The answer to both of these questions is China, which ratified the Kyoto Protocol in August 2002 and surpassed the United States in CO2 emissions in 2006. The US, however, barely trails behind China as the world’s number two producer. China and the US are also the world’s largest consumers of energy.

Delegates to the second Annual New Energy Cities Summit at Peking University in Beijing, including speakers Danielle Murray, Renewable Energy Program Manager for the City of San Francisco; Jeff King, Principal Environmental Planner at MWCOG; and Emil King, District Department of the Environment

Both countries face similar environmental challenges, including improving air quality and reducing heavy fossil fuel dependency all while trying to sustain economic growth. The difference in government structure, however, makes the nature of addressing these challenges different.

Local governance in China, for example, differs markedly from what has evolved in America, with a major difference being the centralization of urban governance. Independent suburbs don’t appear to exist in the metropolitan-scale “city” governments in China. For example, Chongqing covers an area that not only encompasses 8-10 million urbanized citizens, but the surrounding 23 million rural and semi-rural residents as well.  

The growth and development realized in Chongqing in the last 10 years is truly astonishing.  They are on track to add millions more urban inhabitants in the coming decade, a development challenge of a scale not faced in the United States in recent times.

From ICMA’s standpoint, it is striking to note the absence of any professional management profession or framework.  The two most impactful leaders at the city level are the central party leader and the Mayor, which have remarkable power over development outcomes. Those roles are also, as recent developments in Chongqing underscore, highly vulnerable to corrupting influences.

Local governments also lack the ability to tax and raise enough revenues for large-scale projects.  Too often, as a result, they respond by organizing large, potentially ill conceived and unproductive development projects because they induce short-run economic growth and activity and are responsive to central government mandates.

There are differences at the national level too.  Whereas in the U.S. the two-party political system and the political process often impede action, China’s system allows the government to act on large-scale initiatives without delay. However, projects conceived to be responsive may not ultimately have strong linkages to relevant and desired outcomes.

China has a number of model city initiatives, much like the Region Forward plan, in which formal awards and acknowledgements are given to cities for meeting national goals and “model city” standards.  Their performance is not measured just on meeting environmental performance targets, but on a broad list of measures such as economic growth and development. Local government leaders strive to achieve model city status, which requires effectively balancing the economic development, social management, and environmental goals.

And to further complicate the situation, there are also new and powerful contending forces that clamor for attention and flex their muscles to influence political decision-making – including the emerging middle class, wealthy business interests, non-governmental organizations, grassroots protestors, and international investors.

Rick Cole, City Manager of Ventura California speaking with Ruby Lu of the China Power Investment Corporation

In spite of the mounting obstacles, however, there is hope for tackling major environmental issues, which the Chinese see as an urgent priority. Some of the work under consideration includes putting in place large heat exchange systems to work in coordination with the wastewater systems to ultimately help fuel the District Energy systems in Beijing. Once they are implemented, the system could provide up to 50% of the heat load of the central business district. Widespread use of geothermal heat exchange is under consideration as well.

Beijing is also embarking on efforts to divert food waste from the waste stream and to quadruple the diversion of solid waste from landfills to plants that can convert waste-to-energy. This is a critical issue, given the city’s massive and growing population and the thousands of tons of waste produced each day.

During a visit King and Cole paid to a middle school in Xi’an, young students shared their thoughts on environmental leadership, saying they that we all need to work together to save the planet.  “A new generation devoted to improving environmental quality in a loving collaborative way,” King reflected. “That is the kind of action we all can support.”

For nearly five years, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has taken the lead in identifying and advancing African American perspectives on climate change, energy conservation and environmental matters. Now, we’re taking a practical step to bring part of that message to a larger audience.

The Joint Center, an organization aimed at expanding participation in the political and public policy arenas, has formed a partnership with African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) Bishops Vashti Murphy McKenzie of Nashville and Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., of Washington, DC, and with the non-profit organization GREEN DMV, to help local congregations raise their environmental awareness and make their churches more energy efficient. One benefit of this program is that the churches will be able to redirect cost savings to carry out their missions in the community.

The project will take on several churches in the Washington region and in the Tennessee-Kentucky region in its first phase. GREEN DMV, which promotes the use of clean energy and the development of green jobs as a way out of poverty, will assess energy use at selected churches in the regions and implement low- and no-cost strategies for reducing energy use. We intend to track and document the results so that the team can share best practices with other congregations at one of the denomination’s largest gatherings, the 49^th Quadrennial Session of the AME Church General Conference in Nashville this summer.

The project, which is funded by the Walmart Foundation, strikes a favorable balance between good stewardship and good sense; we expect it to yield both financial and community-oriented rewards.

During the launch, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has an Energy Star Congregations Network to provide information and technical support for churches that want to go green, will provide guidance. 

The EPA estimates that if the nation’s 370,000 congregations reduce energy use by 10 percent, they would save nearly $315 million and provide 1.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity without additional cost or pollution!

African American churches have always been leaders in social movements that have shaped the nation. This collaboration with the AME churches extends that tradition.

Since the first regionwide Bike to Work Day was rolled out by the Transportation Planning Board’s Commuter Connections program and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) in 2001, participation has grown significantly, from just a few hundred people in its first year to nearly 11,000 in 2011. The number of pit stops has also grown, from just five in 2001 to 49 last year.

As part of Bike to Work Day, a variety of support services and online tools are provided by Commuter Connections, WABA, and other regional partners to help those interested in commuting to work by bike.

Commuter convoys led by experienced bicyclists on Bike to Work Day along designated routes between residential areas and major employment centers help first-time or infrequent cyclists feel more comfortable commuting to work by bike. Free Bike to Work guides available from Commuter Connections and Confident City Cycling classes offered by WABA can also help those new to bicycle commuting feel safer and more comfortable.

An online Bike Path Finder tool helps people find the best bicycling routes — which can include both on-road bicycle lanes and separated, paved paths — and Commuter Connections’ Guaranteed Ride Home program ensures that bicycle commuters have a free taxi ride home in the event of unexpected personal illness, family emergency, or mandatory overtime.

To help celebrate Bike to Work Day, 58 pit stops will be set up throughout the region — at least one in nearly every TPB member jurisdiction. Up from 49 last year, the number of pit stops is indicative of the growing success and popularity of Bike to Work Day. Each pit stop will feature refreshments, opportunities to win prizes, and free event t-shirts to those who register in advance.

To measure the overall success of the program and to assess the degree to which participation in Bike to Work day changes individuals’ commute patterns, Commuter Connections conducts a participant survey following Bike to Work Day every three years.

In the most recent survey — conducted in 2010 — more than 3,000 people responded. One-third reported that the 2010 Bike to Work Day was the first in which they had ever participated, while 17% reported that it was the first time they had ever commuted by bicycle to work. Approximately 10% of respondents said that they started biking to work on a regular basis as a result of participating in Bike to Work Day, while 22% said their participation led them to start riding more often.

In addition to helping measure the overall success of Bike to Work Day, the survey results are used by the TPB to demonstrate to federal regulators the effectiveness of voluntary steps being taken to reduce automobile-related emissions in the region.

If participation in this year’s Bike to Work Day reaches 12,500, as is hoped, it will be another sign that the bicycle is a viable transportation option for a growing number of the region’s commuters. 

The TPB Weekly Report is a regular feature on The Yardstick.

The TPB Weekly Report is an online publication designed to provide brief, timely summaries of recent research, analysis, outreach, and planning by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB). Follow the TPB on Facebook and Twitter.