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The Next Washington
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As residents of the Washington region, we know we're lucky to live among the national monuments, the free world-class museums, and all the sights and history that tourists from around the country flock to. But ask locals what they'd easily trade, and two things top the list: weather and traffic. We may not be able to do much about the heat and humidity, but the good news is that the latter is within our control -- if we move in the right direction.
Experts predict an influx of new neighbors and jobs to the region, and we need to get smarter about where we put both. Recent Post stories report the continued spread of jobs and homes to the fringes of our region. Of course, along the way, farms and forests have been paved over, streams and rivers have been damaged, and the results have flowed downstream to make the Chesapeake Bay sick.
We can thank this style of badly planned development for our overburdened highways. When many residents can only live far from their jobs, we suffer increased commuting times and longer driving distances. All this traffic congestion fuels our air pollution -- the American Lung Association gives Washington an F for smog and soot -- and produces much of our global warming emissions.
We can find better solutions than building bloated new highways out in the suburbs. By now, it's conventional wisdom that the intercounty connector in Maryland won't relieve traffic but will shift plenty of development north away from our urban core. Adding the ICC and new bypass highways in Northern Virginia would perpetuate the 1950s planning model that elongates commutes and eats up our open space.
We should reinvest in existing neighborhoods while protecting the natural treasures we care about and restoring health to the Chesapeake Bay. We should stop wasting tax dollars on multibillion-dollar boondoggles such as the ICC. Fixing Metro and building new transit options -- such as streetcars in the District and the Purple Line -- would give residents convenient transportation choices and a green alternative to sitting in traffic.
-- Chris Carney
Washington
The writer is conservation organizer for the Metro D.C. office of the Sierra Club.