John Hillegass’ Post

Curious why the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is on the brink of a fiscal cliff... again? Wyatt Gordon, writing for Greater Greater Washington, takes a wonky topic (WMATA funding) and deftly explains how it works, how we got here, and... to awkwardly quote myself... how, "We’ve never really figured out how to pay for WMATA as a region and create the funding stability that a world-class transit agency needs." Learn more about how the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority are all involved with WMATA funding, not to mention the Maryland Department of Transportation, Government of the District of Columbia, the Feds, and more. This series on WMATA’s “fiscal cliff” was made possible through funding from the Greater Washington Partnership. https://lnkd.in/eh8EfFRU

What is in store for our metro regions, post-pandemic, as we confront several overlapping crises, such as the transit death spiral, the urban doom loop, slowed economic growth, and declining public revenues? Yesterday's Urban Land Institute Future Forum could have been a depressing affair given the subject matter, but I believe all of us attendees left energized, challenged, and... dare I say... optimistic about what the future holds. We heard from Shyam Kannan at HDR about how the Washington region faced greater odds before, yet turned things around. Jordan Goldstein at Gensler reminded us we need to think again, think bigger, and design an optimistic future. While Alexander Triantis at The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School discussed how institutions like Hopkins are rethinking how universities can support an innovation ecosystem that not only starts new businesses, but helps them grow. Yesim Sayin at the D.C. Policy Center did not sugar coat the data showing that the core of the Washington metro region is struggling post-pandemic. But Tracy Hadden Loh at The Brookings Institution, Richard Lake at Roadside Development LLC, and former Mayor Tom Murphy of the City of Pittsburgh had a dynamic (to put it mildly) conversation about how the District and wider region, despite its current challenges, has so many strengths to build from and assets that many cities could only dream of. But we need a vision and small group of leaders with courage and dedication to take action and bring that vision to life. In the afternoon, I attended the conversation on University Cities. My former professor Uwe S. Brandes at Georgetown University, Jim Chung The George Washington University, Seydina Fall, CFA at The Johns Hopkins University, Leslee Sherrill at University of Southern California, and Andrew Trueblood Trueblood.city discussed how universities are taking advantage of this moment of discounted real estate prices to advance their respective missions, programs, and services by expanding downtown campus space, with a regional side benefit of filling vacant office spaces. The program ended with a "Revolving Conversation" reflecting on the day. The conversation largely focused on the Greater Washington Partnership's favorite topic: the need to think and act regionally. If DC is struggling, Northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs may be fine for a while, but eventually those struggles will catch up with the region. Thank you to all the regional leaders who shared their reflections, including Deborah Kerson Bilek, Ian Callender, Bailey Hopple Edelson, Evan Goldman, Julian Gonsalves, LEED AP, ENV SP, CP3P, CFA, John Means, Alicia Wilson, Adam Rashid, Gerren Price, Senthil Sankaran, and many more. What I took away: ultimately, we grow and fall together. As individuals, as a community, as a region, as a country, as a world. Let's build a future where we can all grow together.

Care about Baltimore? Come hang out with me on Saturday, January 27 from 11am -2pm at Delegate Robbyn Lewis' "City for All Forum – Envisioning Baltimore’s Transportation Future" where we'll envision a transportation future that is healthy, accessible, reliable, sustainable and equitable for all. I hope to see you on the 27th at Morgan State. Pre-registration is required: https://bit.ly/40NhDXT

"Special Alert: Maryland Plants First Flag in Metro Funding Debate Maryland sets the stage for the ongoing regional fiscal cliff conversations — with a draft budget update proposing an additional $150 million for WMATA for FY 2025 and FY 2026." When one part of the region wins, we all win. Yesterday, Maryland staked out a strong commitment to the regional asset that is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). As Kathy Etemad Hollinger shared at last week's Northern Virginia Transportation Commission 2023 Legislative Forum, we know that, "Letting Metro fail is not an option. We’ve made so much progress in the last decade, and we cannot let the region go backwards.” There is still a lot more work to do to ensure WMATA's short- and long-term success, and that the entire region's transportation system, from MTA Maryland in Baltimore to GRTC in Richmond, and all the critical local transit and rail operators in between, is moving forward together. But for now, let's take a moment to recognize and celebrate that this move by Maryland is a big first step. Read more on the MetroNow Dispatch's Special Alert. Greater Washington Partnership, Greater Washington Board of Trade, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Tysons Community Alliance, Federal City Council, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Prince George's Chamber of Commerce, Maryland Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Transportation, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) https://lnkd.in/eQ6YQws5

The investments that Virginia is making in a robust, multimodal passenger rail network (in coordination with Maryland, DC, Amtrak, and the federal government) are driving economic opportunity, more sustainable land use patterns, and making this region, from Richmond to Baltimore, the best place to live, work, and build a business. Thanks to Daniel Plaugher and the team at Virginians for High Speed Rail, as well as the Southern Environmental Law Center, RVA757 Connects, and NRV Passenger Rail for their work on this report and all those working to advance the Greater Washington Partnership's Rail Vision for a unified, competitive, modern rail network from Baltimore (the birthplace of American passenger rail 👀 looking at you B&O Railroad Museum 👀) to Richmond.

Breakfast plans on Thursday, November 30? Come hang out with me at Georgetown University to learn about how our regional transportation leaders are adapting to post-COVID realities and advancing major infrastructure investments across Maryland, DC, and Virginia. At this year's Capital Region Transportation Forum you will hear from WMATA GM/CEO Randy Clarke, Secretary Shep Miller, Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, Interim Director Sharon Kershbaum, and more. Register below: https://lnkd.in/eK3rxpAC Greater Washington Partnership, Greater Washington Board of Trade, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Virginia Department of Transportation, Maryland Department of Transportation, District Department of Transportation (DDOT), EXP, HDR, HNTB, Transurban, Aon, EY

What are your thoughts on the six Red Line alternatives for Baltimore? The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration team crunched the numbers and their new analysis is out. Whatever is selected, the Red Line will be an enormous benefit to residents and businesses along the corridor, drive economic development across the Baltimore Region, and take us a step closer to the Greater Washington Partnership and Greater Baltimore Committee's vision for Baltimore's Transit Future. Learn more and take the survey here: https://lnkd.in/e6wPCZPV MTA Maryland