California: Community Planning for High Speed Rail

The California High Speed Rail project is a system that would serve major cities like Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego and many cities in between. .Voters approved Proposition 1A to fund the project and construction on a 29-mile segment from Madera to Fresno will begin this July. 

Benefits
Millions of green jobs
Pays or itself
Convenient, comfortable
Congestion relief
Reduces global warming
Reduces oil needs
Lowers cost of military operations

California High Speed Rail 

Phase One: SF to LA
Travel time: 2hrs 40mins
Cost estimate $40 billion (2008)
Cost estimate over $100 billion (2011)
Cost estimate $64 billion (2012) This includes utilizing existing rail lines

Benefits 

Approx 25,000 perm jobs
More property tax
Revitalized downtown 

Summary of the Planning Experience 

1. These are engineering plans, not prepared by planner
2. Get engaged early
3. Uneven benefits
4. Strong community outreach and education
5. Consider community impacts and benefits
6. Capitalize on rail investment for community improvements
7. Collaborate with other cities for effective influence

Additional information can be found here:
California High Speed Rail Authority
California High Speed Rail Blog

Source: APA National Conference Session

Chicago: Connecting Transit to Suburban Employment Centers

Pace Shuttle Bug

Click here for more information

The shuttle bug program provides services in the northeast counties of Illinois. The program is a public private partnership with companies that have job centers in suburban areas. It fills the gap between metro area services and provides a reasonable option for alternative to auto travel.

Metra Commuter Rail

Click here for more information

Operates on Amtrak and freight rail lines and reaches over 60 miles outside Chicago and all routes end in the city center

Things to consider

• Viable routes/connections to other transit services
• Commute type-reverse, suburb to suburb, traditional
• Work schedule

Startup Funding Sources

• Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ)
• EPA
• 80% grant requiring 20% local match
• 2 year term
• Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC)
• Competitive grant program under SAFETEA-LU

Cost Allocation to Employers

• Develop a fair, reasonable cost allocation formula
• Need to know corporate and public agency budget cycles to plan for funding approvals for new start up and/or annual shuttle service

Retention Criteria

• Relevance of route
• Steady growth of ridership
• Funding Assured
• Company renews commitment of financial support
• Performance standards

Service Sustainability

• Service changes
• Route/schedule changes
• Service contractions
• Transit funding crisis
• Closed routes

Marketing

• On site
• Site specific
• Incorporate marketing into office fairs or service days (ie health and benefits fairs in for fall enrollment or earth day in spring
• Introduce bring-a-buddy rider days to introduce potential new riders to transit

Benefits

For riders:

• Free shuttle because employers pay shuttle assessment
• Reduces travel costs

For planning:

• Achieving long range planning goals

Transit agencies:

• Increases ridership
• Not just for commuting to work but for other activities and weekend plans
• Return on investment

Challenges

Employers:

• Economic conditions
• Shuttle ridership varies
• Employers are very cost conscious
• Employers may cut or add jobs depending on the economy

Agencies:

• Network issues
• Constraints in offering earlier morning outbound trains
• Potential duplication/parallel service
• Decentralization of jobs
• Suburban density issues
• Suburban land use issues
• Large setbacks
• Lack or limited pedestrian infrastructure

Source: APA National Conference Session

Reinventing Neighborhoods with Transportation Investment

Facts show that home values are 40% higher near transit. People want to live near transit for convenience, for property values, and for employment opportunities. More and more people, young and old, want to live in higher densities where they can use multiple modes of transportation as they see fit. 

When it comes to choosing a residence, Millennials (20 & 30 somethings):

• Prefer walkable neighborhoods
• Close to transit
• Accessible to jobs
• Will trade square footage for these things
• More bike rides
• Less miles driven
• 26% have no drivers license

Case Study - Cleveland RTA (HealthLine, Little Italy-University Center, Euclid Corridor) 

The Silver Line (BRT) is a 5 miles long stretch with 36 stops that links downtown with University Center. Cleveland found success through:

Closing a street to through traffic yet allowing cyclist, pedestrians, and transit
Creating a new multi-modal transit center where one can get:
 * Express buses
 * Shuttles to Park & Rides
 * Train
Multi-modal Stations along the route
Rail-like Service and Image:
 * Dedicated lanes
 * Priority lights
 * Greater speed limits
 * Reduced travel times
Economically diverse communities
 * HUD homes and affordable housing near market price condos

Funding Sources

• State grants
• FHWA
• City (Capital Improvement Program)

Plan for Minimum and Maximums for:

• Parking time limits
• Setbacks

Leveraging Resources: Stringing the pearls of finance, politics, and development

Political

• Buy in/support
• Engagement
• Shared vision

Financial

• Funding for improvements
• Return
• TIGER funds

How to be Successful

• Aggressive land assembly
• Mixed use development
• Prioritization of density
• Bring business to the street
• More bike facilities
• Make it a campaign
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Don't forget management and maintenance
• Provide lighting, progressive way finding

For more information visit:
http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/

Source: APA National Conference Session

Illinois Livable and Sustainable Transportation (I-LAST) Rating System and Guide

Chicago
Source: Google Search

The I-LAST rating system and guide is a sustainability performance metric system developed by the Joint Sustainability Group of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the American Council of Engineering Companies–Illinois (ACEC-Illinois) and the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA).

I-LAST serves as:

• Resource Guide
• Checklist
• Rating System

It is completely voluntary to utilize the rating system and guide. However, the I-LAST system was created because:

• There was no organized approach to sustainable design in transportation
• The current market is too reactive to public demands, as opposed to being proactive
• Existing sustainable practices often go unrecognized
• Future sustainability requirements are likely

The purpose of the guide is to:

• Provide a comprehensive list of practices that have the potential to bring sustainable results to highway projects.
• Establish a simple and efficient method of evaluating transportation projects with respect to livability, sustainability, and effect on the natural environment.
• Record and recognize the use of sustainable practices in the transportation industry.

Audiences of the I-LAST System:

• Engineers
• Project Managers

Applications of the I-LAST System:

• Guide to existing practices
• Source for information
• Comprehensive approach

Cost implications of using the system:

• Can be used if finances are very limited
• There are no extra administrative costs
• The cost is for results, not documents

Over 150 sustainable items that can be considered in the design of highway projects. The items fall under one of these 8 categories:

1. Planning
2. Design
3. Environmental
4. Water Quality
5. Transportation
6. Lighting
7. Materials
8. Innovation

For more information visit:
www.irtba.org/greencouncil

Source: APA National Conference Session

Neighborhood-Based Transportation Plans

Jackson Heights
Source: Google Images

Jackson Heights
Source: Google Images

One of the first sessions I attended was a presentation on the New York DOT's approach to neighborhood-based transportation plans in Jackson Heights and Chinatown. The best thing about this case study is that they were able to complete the planning process, from start to finish, in about two years time.

The Approach

The most important aspect of the plan is that the process is guided by the community. The community identifies the issues that they want to see addressed. Short term, non-capital improvements help combat the community perception that planners always do studies and research and nothing ever happens.

Recommendations

• Avoid technical rigor
• Utilize scalable techniques
• Be flexible - if it's not working change it immediately!
• Ex. No one is at your meeting. Bring the meeting to the people. Go to a neighborhood park, community or senior centers
• Community meetings
• Day and evening
• Provide child care
• Have meetings in increments
• Provide translators
• Provide food 
• Games make planning issues fun
• Hold in different locations to get a wide range of perspectives from the same neighborhood
• Neighborhood walks/tours
• Engage the whole community
• Bring out the family

In Jackson Heights and Chinatown

Chinatown
Source: Google Images

Issues

• No loading area - double parking
• Bike lane becomes a de facto delivery dock
• Buses and cars have to maneuver around trucks into oncoming traffic
• Congested sidewalks so pedestrians are always in the street

Solutions

Chinatown
Source: Google Images

• Make a street a one way - traffic runs smoother during run hours
• Wider sidewalks
• Community validates solutions:
• Street surveys on the proposed solution for implementation
• Web portal for post implementation comments and concerns - provides information in real time

Challenges

• New model - may have to work out kinks/problems
• Time - spending time nurturing relationships in the neighborhoods
• Cost

Lessened Learned

• Give yourself time
• Remember it's impossible to reach everyone
• Nurture project and community champions
• Develop a press strategy
• Demonstrate how the publics comments were incorporated into the plan
• The community will participate if they believe input will be taken seriously and they can see tangible changes

For more information visit:

http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/jackson-heights/

Source: APA National Conference Session

Chicago!!!

This past week I had the pleasure (and funds) of attending the American Planning Association National Conference in Chicago, Illinois. I attended many sessions in which I was able to learn so much about implementing transportation plans. I got a chance to explore the city and take in its culture and history. I had a great time chatting with planners, other students, and vendors. Over the next week I'll be sharing what I learned from the sessions at the conference. Happy reading!