Newsroom

Jun 30, 2011

The BOT-COG Joint WMATA Governance Review Task Force welcomes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on WMATA’s governance as another important step toward improving accountability and ensuring that Metro is a safe and efficient transit system that meets the needs of the Greater Washington region.

Jun 29, 2011

Three companies in metropolitan Washington – The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc., B. F. Saul Company, and Clean Currents – were honored at the National Press Club by Commuter Connections for providing outstanding commuting options and alternatives for employees.

Jun 29, 2011

In Monday’s post we linked to a fascinating piece (with an unfortunately biased headline) in The New York Times that outlined some of the differences in planning between the United States and Europe namely what each prioritizes. American cities notes Elisabeth Rosenthal tend to plan around the automobile whereas European cities tend to plan around people by prioritizing walking biking and transit (for example a recent post of ours highlighted transportation policies in France specific​

Jun 28, 2011

While The Yardstick has urged against hasty spending cuts for the sake of spending cuts in the past it’s clear that as a country we have to make some tough decisions on our fiscal situation. However it is important that any such decisions be made very carefully – our economy is too fragile to make sweeping spending slashes arbitrarily. Programs which have proven outdated or ineffective are likely targets for cuts. On the other hand initiatives or programs that will yield return on investm

Jun 27, 2011

There have been so many interesting pieces on urbanism land-use and transportation over the past few days and it’s too difficult to choose just one or two to highlight for you so here comes a smorgasbord:

Jun 23, 2011

In advance of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, fire officials from the metropolitan Washington region conducted a fireworks safety news conference and safety demonstration at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy. They also announced the You Light It…We’ll Write It! regional campaign, which will target individuals who use illegal fireworks.

Jun 22, 2011

Back in January we commented on the unacceptable disparities in public education in the region with Maryland and Virginia having some of the country’s best schools while the District of Columbia lags far behind:

Jun 21, 2011

Two COG members – Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross and Arlington County Board Member Walter Tejada – have been elected to leadership posts on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC).

Jun 21, 2011

Livability is a major buzz word in planning circles right now – for good reason. It’s a wide-ranging concept encompassing several factors that make places well livable: transportation choices affordable (and desirable) housing good schools rewarding careers clean environment lots of green and open space etc. It makes sense that livability is one of the main pillars of Region Forward since the goal of RF is to ensure that the impact of growth in metro Washington is positive on all these and

Jun 20, 2011

Americans shouldn’t hold their breath for congestion pricing at least according to Joe Peach at This Big City . Congestion pricing which involves charging a fee to enter part or all of a central city by car is aimed at encouraging alternatives to drive-alone commuting by making more climate-friendly modes of transport economically more attractive. It works. As Peach points out London launched congestion pricing in 2003 and it has had a major impact on reducing the amount of cars entering th​