TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

To reduce emissions from transportation we need a strong focus on the land use/transportation connection. We need to focus growth in cities and towns and in walkable, mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented centers and corridors. Funding transit alone will not be enough - it must be connected to compact, walkable development. Universal adoption of electric vehicles while not addressing sprawling development will mean continued long-distance driving and highway construction, while also risking the conversion of vast acreage of farms and forest to solar arrays just to supply longer distance vehicle travel. So land use must be a primary focus. As for investments to be made - they should include transit tied to land use, reduction in transit fares, affordable housing close to transit, jobs and services, and other infrastructure that supports transit-oriented communities.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is a 22-year-old non-profit working in DC, Maryland and Virginia and the leading organization promoting walkable, transit-oriented communities (TOD) as the best way for the DC region to grow. We have convinced the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to make TOD the core framework for regional growth in their Region Forward Plan and in their Visualize2045 long range transportation plan, however, spending practices by state and local government still include massive highway and arterial road expansion. Meanwhile the region must do more to advance public and private investment in TOD at Metrorail stations and other high capacity transit. We received the MWCOG Regional Partnership Award in 2017.

Pollution from transportation sources is the largest source of global warming emissions both regionally and nationally. To tackle climate change, it is imperative to reduce pollution from transportation sources. I would like Virginia to formally join the plan to reduce emissions
It is very important that the policy have a strong component of equity by prioritizing clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don't have access.

I am grateful to you for the bipartisan nature of this project, moving us forward while the federal government moves us back.

As a concerned citizen and CT taxpayer I want the state government to act on environmental pollution and support carbon neutral policies.

We write from the Collaborative Center for Justice, which is a faith-based advocacy organization based in Hartford, CT. We are sponsored by six congregations of Women Religious around the state. Environmental justice has been one of our priority areas for our education and advocacy work over the years.

We support the development of a strong multi-state Transportation and Climate Initiative and we urge Governor Lamont to fully support participating in this critical initiative. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions will continue to grow if timely action is not taken to transform our transportation system. This initiative is a critically important opportunity to make changes that will lead to an increase in clean transportation and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

We urge leaders to include provisions to prioritize investments in frontline communities that have already disproportionately borne the burdens of environmental injustices. Low-income communities and communities of color already face greater exposure to pollution from vehicle emissions, fossil fuel plants and incinerators in and near their communities. These communities need to be prioritized in the transition to clean energy. We also call upon the leaders of this initiative to meaningfully include voices from directly impacted communities in each step of the development and implementation processes.

We urge you to ensure the inclusion of the following components when developing the final program: commitment to utilizing investments to improve and expand public transportation in the state; increasing and improving bike lanes and sidewalks; and investing in expanded rail service across the state and region. This is an opportunity to make it safer, more affordable, and more possible for people to take public transportation to school and work from where they live. Increasing the frequency of buses and trains and expanding their routes are two important components to make these changes possible. It is also important to increase the availability of bike lanes so that people can safely commute from a public transit stop to another location by bike. Investment in fixing potholes, particularly on busy city streets, is also an important component of improving biker safety.

Residents who already commute to school and work by public transportation face challenges with our current system too. Many bus routes do not have frequent enough schedules to meet the needs of the residents who depend on them. In many cases, taking a bus to school or work is very time consuming because routes and connection points are limited. Bus routes need to be expanded in cities and to neighboring suburbs in order to better address this problem.

We also recommend that investments be used to transition school and public buses to electric buses. Increasing the number and expanding the locations of charging stations around the state would support the transition to electric buses and cars. Transitioning to electric buses will have important public health benefits for the children and adults who ride the buses, as well as for the wider community.

As people of faith, we concerned about the health and wellbeing of all people and our planet. We are particularly concerned about the impacts of environmental injustices on low-income communities and communities of color. We believe that there is an urgency to our actions to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. As a state and region, we have a collective responsibility to make changes to our transportation sector that will address and end these injustices, and move our society toward cleaner and more equitable transportation options in the most immediate way possible. We look forward to Governor Lamont’s leadership and commitment to this critically important initiative.


Respectfully submitted,

Dwayne David Paul – Director
Rachel Lea Scott, MSW – Associate Director

Cap and trade should be decided by the people in public not by back door hand shakes

Design a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program or other pricing mechanism… [and]… to complete the policy development process within one year, after which each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt and implement the policy.