Penny Wise And Pound Fuelish
March 24, 2010
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The fallacy of "drive 'til you qualify" when considering affordable housing is underlined in the expanded Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, which was unveiled March 24 by the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The H+T Index website's companion document -- Penny Wise Pound Fuelish: New Measures Of Housing + Transportation Affordability -- has been added to Best Practices.
CNT is a partner with Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. CTOD was involved in the initial work to develop the index in cooperation with the Brookings Institution. (See this report.)
"A typical household’s transportation costs can range from 12% of…
"A typical household’s transportation costs can range from 12% of…
Parking Limit Boosts Bike Riding In German Suburb
March 18, 2010
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A draft version of "A Tale of Two Eco-Suburbs in Freiburg, Germany: Parking Provision and Car Use" from the 2010 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting has been added to the Best Practices.
This paper by Andrea Broaddus of the University of California, Berkeley, Department of City and Regional Planning compares two “eco-suburbs” of Freiburg, Germany. Riselfeld and Vauban were created over the last 10 years. Both are transit-oriented developments designed as family-friendly live-work-play places, composed of mixed-use commercial and residential buildings meeting ecological best practice. Both suburbs have a similarly high density and are located are about 3 km from the city center with excellent transit and bicycling connections.
The only difference is the provision of automobile parking. Rieselfeld followed the German convention of one parking spot…
Transit-Oriented Affordable Development
March 17, 2010
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Enterprise and FRESC will hold a webinar April 14 at 2 p.m. Eastern to discuss their recent report, "Making Affordable Housing at Transit a Reality: Best Practices in Transit Agency Joint Development."
FRESC: Good Jobs, Strong Communities and Enterprise researched transit agency approaches to affordability in joint development in 24 cities. The webinar will summarize the resulting report, including the best practices and outcomes.
The report is available in the Best Practices section and here. To register for the webinar,
FRESC: Good Jobs, Strong Communities and Enterprise researched transit agency approaches to affordability in joint development in 24 cities. The webinar will summarize the resulting report, including the best practices and outcomes.
The report is available in the Best Practices section and here. To register for the webinar,
Creating Livable Communities Webinar
March 16, 2010
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More than 170 people participated in the March 10th webinar with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan and local transportation advocate Jim Erkel from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. The webinar, “Creating Livable Communities: A Primer on the Federal New Starts/Small Starts Transit program," was hosted by Reconnecting America, Policy Link and the American Public Transportation Association.
McMillian gave an overview of the New Smarts program and its applicability to the Obama administration’s sustainable communities initiative. The New Starts program is just one piece of achieving the goals in the Inter-agency Partnership for Sustainable…
McMillian gave an overview of the New Smarts program and its applicability to the Obama administration’s sustainable communities initiative. The New Starts program is just one piece of achieving the goals in the Inter-agency Partnership for Sustainable…
Designing Roads That Guide Drivers To Choose Safer Speeds
March 12, 2010
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Do the physical characteristics of roads and the roadside environments influence the speed of traffic on those roads? That's one of the principal questions that the Connecticut Transportation Institute looked into in its report, "Designing Roads that Guide Drivers to Choose Safer Speeds," released in November 2009.
The researchers found that roadways with wide shoulders, large building setbacks and residential neighborhoods without on-street parking encouraged drivers to drive faster. Conversely, on-street parking, sidewalks and a downtown or commercial location prompted slower average speeds.
"This finding is not surprising, but these relationships are quite strong in the observed data, and it is a useful result to isolate this short list of factors that are significantly correlated with actual vehicle running speeds," the authors note.
The researchers looked at actual…
The researchers found that roadways with wide shoulders, large building setbacks and residential neighborhoods without on-street parking encouraged drivers to drive faster. Conversely, on-street parking, sidewalks and a downtown or commercial location prompted slower average speeds.
"This finding is not surprising, but these relationships are quite strong in the observed data, and it is a useful result to isolate this short list of factors that are significantly correlated with actual vehicle running speeds," the authors note.
The researchers looked at actual…
Legal Handbook For New Starts Process
March 11, 2010
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The Transit Cooperative Research Program has released a "Legal handbook for the New Starts process." The handbook, which was created by the TCRP's Legal Research Digests program, is designed to guide transit agencies and their attorneys through the New Starts process.
Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration, the report was prepared under TCRP Project J-5, “Legal Aspects of Transit and Intermodal Transportation Programs.” The report was prepared by Daniel Duff, Edward J. Gill, Jr., and G. Kent Woodman, Thompson Coburn LLP. James B. McDaniel, TRB Counsel for Legal Research Projects, was the principal investigator and content editor.
"This Legal Handbook for the New Starts Process presents an overview of the FTA’s New Starts project development process and the legal issues associated with it," the report notes. "Given the issues at stake and the amount of discretionary…
Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration, the report was prepared under TCRP Project J-5, “Legal Aspects of Transit and Intermodal Transportation Programs.” The report was prepared by Daniel Duff, Edward J. Gill, Jr., and G. Kent Woodman, Thompson Coburn LLP. James B. McDaniel, TRB Counsel for Legal Research Projects, was the principal investigator and content editor.
"This Legal Handbook for the New Starts Process presents an overview of the FTA’s New Starts project development process and the legal issues associated with it," the report notes. "Given the issues at stake and the amount of discretionary…
Costs And Impacts Of TOD
March 10, 2010
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A report from the Southwest Region University Transportation Center at Texas Southern University in Houston explored the costs and impacts of Transit Oriented Development and addresses the rationale for designing transit-oriented neighborhoods.
The 2009 report, "Moving Toward Implementation: An Examination Of The Organizational And Political Structures Of Transit-Oriented Development," adds to the vast body of knowledge about TOD providing case studies of several sites around the United States
"While each transit designed community reviewed was different in design and basic components, they shared the central theme to encourage transit use, reduce dependency on automobiles and create more livable communities by better designing neighborhoods," the report noted.
As the report notes, TOD communities each have distinctive characteristics, as well as commonalities. But size…
The 2009 report, "Moving Toward Implementation: An Examination Of The Organizational And Political Structures Of Transit-Oriented Development," adds to the vast body of knowledge about TOD providing case studies of several sites around the United States
"While each transit designed community reviewed was different in design and basic components, they shared the central theme to encourage transit use, reduce dependency on automobiles and create more livable communities by better designing neighborhoods," the report noted.
As the report notes, TOD communities each have distinctive characteristics, as well as commonalities. But size…
Creating Livable Communities: A Primer on the Federal New Starts/Small Starts Transit Program
March 8, 2010
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Reconnecting America is sponsoring a webinar Wednesday, March 10, from 3pm to 4pm EST that will feature FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan and local transportation advocate Jim Erkel, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
The $2 billion Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts and Small Starts programs provides critical funding to support new transit investment in communities including street cars, buses, and light rail. This webinar provides an introduction to this important federal transit program, including: the process of developing a project for federal approval, how social equity and environmental sustainability goals can be advanced, and what the recently announced policy changes by the FTA mean for promoting livable communities at the local and regional levels through this program.
To register, click here.
Re-Thinking Transportation Options In Suburbia
March 5, 2010
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Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium has released a study that proposes ways to transform suburban multifamily housing into more livable, less congested suburban communities by making them multi-modal and shifting the planning, development and design practices.
"Overlooked Density: Rethinking Transportation Options in Suburbia" notes that suburban multifamily housing has been the largest growing housing market in this country since 1970 and currently accounts for almost one in four units of housing in suburbia according to U.S. Census figures covering 1973 through 2005.
The fact that these housing developments can reach densities of 30 to 40 units/acre and are usually located along arterials and adjacent to commercial and retail development creates a potential model of smart growth in suburbia.
"The potential exists to create more integrated,…
"Overlooked Density: Rethinking Transportation Options in Suburbia" notes that suburban multifamily housing has been the largest growing housing market in this country since 1970 and currently accounts for almost one in four units of housing in suburbia according to U.S. Census figures covering 1973 through 2005.
The fact that these housing developments can reach densities of 30 to 40 units/acre and are usually located along arterials and adjacent to commercial and retail development creates a potential model of smart growth in suburbia.
"The potential exists to create more integrated,…
Designing Complete Streets In Charlotte
March 3, 2010
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On Oct. 22, 2007, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, adopted Urban Street Design Guidelines to be used to create "complete" streets, an urban infrastructure that provides adequate capacity and mobility for motorists while improving safety and comfort for pedestrians, cyclists and neighborhood residents.
"The Guidelines will allow us to provide better streets throughout Charlotte – streets that reflect the best aspects of the streets built in the past, and that will provide more capacity and safe and comfortable travel for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders," the Guidelines explain.
The guidelines are the implementation tool for planning and designing Charlotte's streets.
"They support a variety of City policies, including the Centers, Corridors and Wedges growth framework and the recently adopted Transportation Action Plan, which describes the transportation-related…
