The Washington region needs a short list of transportation priorities to plan for 2030, according to a new survey of local transportation officials.
Topping that list should be more bridges crossing the Potomac River, improvements but not extensions to the Metro system, and more road improvements, the report released Thursday says.
The 2030 Group, Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance and Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance partnered on the survey, interviewing 45 anonymous transportation officials from around the area. They said experienced transportation professionals are in the best position to know what projects can improve mobility around the traffic-clogged region. The officials surveyed were not listed in the report, though, to ensure objectivity, the report’s authors said.
“Part of the problem is transportation politics is taking priority over professional judgment,” said Bob Chase, head of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance.
The survey tilted heavily toward Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, with 69 percent of the officials surveyed from those areas compared to just 9 percent from the District. But Chase said that much of the District’s transportation network is already built out and the population represents just one-tenth of the region.
The report prompted immediate criticism including from the Coalition of Smarter Growth, which called the survey contrived and bemoaned the recommendation for an Outer Beltway.
“The Outer Beltway is designed not to fix existing traffic problems but to open up more land to development in places far from jobs, where too many houses already sit in foreclosure and where they will offer no option but to drive,” said Stewart Schwartz, the coalition’s executive director.
Here’s the list of the most frequently mentioned priorities in the survey:
1. New Potomac River bridges
2. Metro improvements
3. Regional bus rapid transit/toll lane network
4. Interstate 495 improvements
5. Beltway bypasses/ Outer Beltway
6. Interstate 270 modifications/Corridor Cities Transitway
7. Purple Line
8. Interstate 66 widening
9. Interstate 95 improvements
10. Improve existing road network
