Newsroom

Analysts at the TPB have examined hour-by-hour traffic patterns on area roadways during the first four “safety surges” of Metro’s aggressive, yearlong SafeTrack maintenance program. The analysis reveals some noteworthy impacts that could help traffic management agencies, transit providers, employers, and daily commuters plan for future disruptions.

The agenda isn’t packed, but a few noteworthy actions and briefings are coming up at the Transportation Planning Board’s next meeting on July 20. The full agenda and meeting materials will be posted online the Thursday before the meeting. For now, here’s a quick preview of what’s coming up.

Earlier this summer we finished recruiting new members for our Access for All Advisory Committee (AFA), a group first set up in 2001 to give a voice to people traditionally underserved by our region’s transportation system. The reconstituted committee met for the first time on June 23 to get to know one another and to talk about their top concerns about the region’s transportation system.

Representatives of taxi companies, paratransit providers, and public transit agencies from across the region convened on June 29 to discuss the future of providing mobility services to transportation disadvantaged individuals in the Washington region, especially older adults and persons with disabilities.​

On June 17, Bob Griffiths retired from COG after serving the organization and region for 42 years. Over the course of Griffiths’ four-decade rise from intern to senior director within the department of transportation planning, he continually found innovative ways to gather and share valuable data with regional decision-makers.

The heads of five major North American transit agencies were on hand at a June 13 forum of area business, civic, and government leaders to discuss the future of the region’s Metro system. The half-day event, “Metrorail at 40: Lessons from Major North American Transit Systems,” was organized by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

On Wednesday, June 29, the TPB’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee will host a workshop to examine and discuss these new design guides. Planners from the District of Columbia and Montgomery and Arlington counties will also be on hand to talk about their experiences in planning and building separated bike-lane facilities.

The TPB has developed a draft freight plan for the region and is seeking public comment by July 9. The draft plan aims to highlight the importance of freight in the region and to guide future freight planning at the regional level.

At its meeting on June 22, the TPB took no formal actions, but received a series of briefings on topics including Metro’s SafeTrack maintenance program and a draft regional freight plan currently open for public comment.