Section 10-A718. ED-4.3 GETTING TO WORK

 

718.1In 2000, 28 percent of all employed District residents worked in the suburbs. This percentage is fairly typical of large, older central cities-the comparable 2000 figures for Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Philadelphia were 32, 38, 23, and 25 percent, respectively. However, the figure for the District was 22 percent in 1990, indicating fairly rapid growth in the number of reverse commuters in recent years. Despite the District’s best efforts to connect residents to DC jobs, the city is part of a regional economy and its residents are part of a regional labor pool. Most of the entry level and semi-skilled jobs in this economy are located in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. 718.1

 

718.2The District’s location at the center of the regional transportation network and Metrorail system provides good access to rail-served job centers like Bethesda and Rosslyn. However, there are few options other than driving or long bus commutes to reach the employment centers with the fastest projected growth rates-places like Reston and Fort Belvoir, Virginia, or National Harbor and Konterra (Beltsville), Maryland. Even within the city, there are challenges to commuting resulting from crowded Metrorail trains and buses, congested roads, and costly parking for those who cannot conveniently use transit. 718.2

 

Job training programs should be assessed to track their effectiveness and, if necessary, modify and improve them.

 

718.3The extension of Metro to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport will improve transit access to the region’s job centers, but its completion is many years away. Shorter-term and less expensive solutions, including ride-matching, carpooling, and vanpooling programs; shuttles to the region’s job centers; and additional reverse commuter bus routes, will be needed. Such solutions must be forged through regional agreements and partnerships, working through entities such as the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the DC Workforce Investment Council, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. 718.3

 

718.4Policy ED-4.3.1: Transportation Access to District Jobs

 

Improve access to jobs for District residents through sustained investments in the city’s transportation system, particularly transit improvements between neighborhoods with high unemployment rates and the city’s major employment centers. 718.4

 

718.5Policy ED-4.3.2: Links to Regional Job Centers

 

Continue to seek inter-jurisdictional transportation solutions to improve access between the District neighborhoods and existing and emerging job centers in Maryland and Virginia. These solutions should include a balance between transit improvements and highway improvements. They should also include transportation systems management initiatives such as shuttles, ridesharing, and vanpooling. 718.5

 

718.6Policy ED-4.3.3: Regional Job Connections

 

Support regional efforts to reduce unemployment, including partnerships with the region’s major employers and programs that link District residents to jobs in fast-growing suburban employment centers. 718.6

 

718.7Policy ED-4.3.4: Regional Access to Central Washington

 

Provide sustained investments to the District’s transportation network to ensure that that both District and regional workers can access the growing employment areas of Central Washington and the Anacostia Waterfront. 718.7

 

718.8Action ED-4.3.A: Regional Initiatives

 

Actively participate in the Greater Washington Regional Jobs Initiative, Bridges to Work, and similar partnerships that link suburban employers with city-based providers of job training and placement, transportation, child care, and related support services. 718.8

 

See the Transportation Element for additional policies and actions on mobility, access to employment, and commuting to jobs. Sustained investments in the city’s transportation system will improve access to jobs for District residents, particularly transit improvements between neighborhoods with high unemployment rates and the city’s major employment centers.

 

notation

The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.