"Contrary to the claims of some developers, there's plenty of unused space close by Metro stations -- not only in Prince George's County and the District, but even in Fairfax County, near the Vienna Metro, for example." - Marc Fisher, The Washington Post

Proponents of the sales tax increase argue that the opponents offer no alternatives. That is wrong. The Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Piedmont Environmental Council have put forward a comprehensive plan called the Blueprint for a Better Region.

Everyone who has studied the problem of urban congestion here and elsewhere acknowledges that the problem is sprawl. Subdivisions are built further and further from metropolitan centers resulting in congestion, poor air quality, and a host of attendant problems.

The Blueprint for a Better Region addresses these issues.

"The Blueprint presents a set of regional principles and a process to create great places to live, work, play, and visit focused on utilization of existing infrastructure," said Chris Miller, President of the PEC.

The plan discourages development in outer areas that would require additional expensive highway construction, increase vehicle miles traveled, congestion, and air pollution.

Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth and one of the authors of the Blueprint said: "There is more than enough developable land within walking distance of existing
Metro, MARC, and VRE (Virginia Rail) stations to accommodate all of the office development for the next 20 years. This can be combined with residential and mixed-use development in attractive communities."

David Harrington, Mayor of Bladensburg, Maryland, endorses the Blueprint. "Prince George's County has 13 empty Metro stations primed for good development. We can use existing infrastructure, existing pavement, and make these great destinations for workers, shoppers, and residents," said Mayor Harrington.

The Blueprint also has been endorsed by many state officials including Roy Kienitz, Secretary of Planning for the State of Maryland and David Snyder, Council Member for the City of Falls Church, who chairs the Council of Governments' Committees on Intelligent Transportation and Transportation
System Management.

"Our region is at a crossroads. The Blueprint. offers the better way to cut the growth in traffic and the better way to protect our quality of life," said Schwartz.

The Blueprint answers the claims of tax proponents that theirs is the only way.