New development is poised to add thousands of riders to D.C.'s Metro, but rush hour trains are often packed already. Though Metro has proposed $6 billion in fixes, some see better land use planning across the area as the key to solving the problem.
"Since the recession, real estate developers have been gobbling up Metro-accessible land and planning and building offices and apartments from Reston to New Carrollton," writes Jonathan O'Connell. "This building renaissance will add thousands of new riders to the Metro system’s already overwhelmed tracks. Stemming the overflow may require not just changes to the system but to how the region makes land use decisions."
"Metro has unveiled $6 billion worth of improvements it says are needed by 2025, among them increasing trains from six to eight cars ($2 billion), redesigning track connections or adding a new station in Rosslyn ($1 billion) and adding pedestrian tunnels connecting Metro Center to Gallery Place and Farragut North to Farragut West ($1 billion)," notes O'Connell.
But Ron Kirby, director of transportation planning at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, thinks that better balancing land use across the system is important to addressing overcrowding. "That requires Metro, local governments and the private sector coordinating their visions, but it’s far cheaper than adding new lines or stations: 'A lot of what we need to do with the Metrorail challenge is shape the demand.'”
Read the full story: As D.C. area developers gobble up land, Metro system poised to become more overwhelmed
San Diego wants to limit upzoning law to just 16% of transit-adjacent parcels
The city's planning director says some areas are unfit for immediate upzoning due to a lack of resources or hazards such as wildfire risk.
Maryland unveils plan for 5,000 homes near transit
Gov. Moore announced a plan to activate housing construction on 134 acres of state-owned land near transit stations.
LA Delays State TOD Law to 2030 With its Own, Lower-density Plan
SB 79 allows cities to delay its implementation if they come up with alternate plans to boost density while retaining local control near transit.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Brightline Florida files for bankruptcy
The transit company is over $5 billion in debt.
St. Louis Metro to test if single-car trains can reduce operating costs, maintain rider satisfaction
The pilot program will run from October to spring 2027, and begin with one single-car train operating on Metrolink’s Red and Blue lines.
Pennsylvania is building data centers in abandoned mines
Housing data centers in mines provides an alternative to destroying local forests and may spare residents from data centers’ noise and air pollution.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello