The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has been in the news lately for a couple initiatives.

First, they have announced recently the creation of a panel of experts to examine alternate sources of dedicated funding for Metro. The Post describes it as a move to prevent the “financial meltdown” of the system. WMATA is the fourth largest public transit agency in the U.S., and operates the next busiest subway in the country after New York.

Members of the D.C. Transit Riders Union were happy to hear the news. Group co-founder Kevin Moore called the move in an email to members yesterday “a welcome step in the right direction,” noting the financial burden on riders of WMATA was among the highest of any public transit system in the nation.

Second, WMCOG has released an online toolkit to help educate citizens and governments in the region about the principals of “smart growth,” focusing in particular on Northern Virginia. The site “contains numerous examples of local best management or best development practices that exemplify the ideas of ‘choices, connections and collaboration.’”

Unlike other cities such as Grand Rapids, Mich., and Portland, Ore., political jurisdictions in the Washington area in general do not collaborate on planning issues. Organizations advocating smart growth principals in the Washington area include the Coalition for Smarter Growth, and the Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities. Nationally, the Congress of New Urbanism has been at the forefront of the smart growth movement.