MetroNow Dispatch 11.2023
This month we invite Dispatch readers (you!) to the annual Capital Region Transportation Forum on November 30 to discuss the future of transportation in Maryland, DC, and Virginia.
Join us at the 2023 Capital Region Transportation Forum
Join the Greater Washington Partnership and the Greater Washington Board of Trade for their annual Capital Region Transportation Forum this Thursday, November 30th from 8:00 to 10:30 AM at Georgetown University.
Hear directly from the region’s top transportation leaders on post-pandemic travel trends, progress on major infrastructure investments, and transportation funding challenges across Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
WUSA9's award-winning journalist and anchor, Lesli Foster, will moderate this year's panel discussion with Secretary Miller, Secretary Wiedefeld, and Interim Director Kershbaum on how the region can come together in the coming months to focus on transportation needs, despite impending budget shortfalls.
We will also hear from Dr. Cinzia Cirillo, Professor at the University of Maryland and Executive Director of the Maryland Transportation Institute, as well as Randy Clarke, GM & CEO of WMATA, about the financial obstacles facing the DC area transit system, new transportation patterns in a post-pandemic world, and updates on major projects central to alleviating congestion.
Register for the 2023 Capital Region Transportation Forum here. We hope to see you there!
The ScuttleBus
Will you accept this ScuttleBus? Here are MetroNow’s top transit picks this month:
⌛ 216 days until the transit cliff: FY 2025 budget starts July 1, 2024.
📅 NVTC Legislative Forum: Join Friday, December 1 for an in-person overview of federal and state issues affecting transit in Northern Virginia.
🍳 Sunny side up in Maryland: Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said that Maryland will “find a way to fix [Metro].”
🧳 One year of Silver Line extension: Ridership on Phase II of the Silver Line has steadily increased, with more than a million riders passing through the Dulles Airport station.
👷 The workers that make Metro: ATU Local 689 President penned an op-ed urging collaboration from Virginia to solve Metro’s fiscal cliff.
⚡ Electric buses in the District: WMATA launched its first two electric busses as part of its goal to have a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2042.
📒 Council of Governments Metro plan coming next month: The organization’s CAO work group on WMATA’s fiscal crisis will outline three options for the transit agency to consider.
🤔 Is ‘bailout’ the right word?: Randy Clarke and the heads of BART, CTA, and TransitCenter discuss why the "bailout" framing is wrong and unhelpful.
🚨 Once unclear, Clear Lanes will be clear: DC and WMATA launched automated bus-only lane enforcement at stops, with bus lane-blocking citations set to start January 1st.
🚍 Narrow Lanes Save Lives: New research from Johns Hopkins shows that reducing road width improves safety for all roadway users.
🚆 $7B for Maryland’s rail network: Maryland secured more than $7B in federal funding to complete the Frederick Douglass Tunnel, Baltimore Penn Station, and major bridge improvements.
🏡 Emerging Trends in (national) Real Estate: “The Great Reset” is set to define the real estate industry in 2024, according to the Urban Land Institute and PwC.
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The MetroNow Coalition is made up of regional leaders from the business, non-profit, and advocacy communities who believe that transit is designed to bring us together —at work, school, and play. Today, we believe our collective advocacy for better transit for the Washington DC region is more important than ever.
We launched the MetroNow Dispatch to bring residents, leaders, and transit agencies together to think about how we can make better transit today, during the pandemic, and “tomorrow,” as we look beyond recovery to how we can build a more equitable, sustainable, and accessible transportation system for our region.