[sustran] VTPI News - Winter 2007
Todd Alexander Litman
litman at vtpi.org
Tue Mar 20 01:13:05 JST 2007
-----------
VTPI NEWS
-----------
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
-------------------------------------
Winter 2007 Vol. 10, No. 1
-----------------------------------
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an
independent research organization dedicated to
developing innovative solutions to transportation
problems. The VTPI website (http://www.vtpi.org )
has many resources addressing a wide range of
transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA
========================
The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia"
(<http://www.vtpi.org/tdm>http://www.vtpi.org/tdm
) is a comprehensive information resource to help
identify and evaluate innovative management
solutions to transport problems, available for free on our website.
During March 2007 we significantly updated and
expanded the Encyclopedia, with many more links
and an easier-to-use reference format. As always,
we appreciate feedback. Please let us know if you
have suggestions for improving it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATED DOCUMENTS
==============
"Evaluating Rail Transit Criticism"
(<http://www.vtpi.org/railcrit.pdf>www.vtpi.org/railcrit.pdf )
This report evaluates criticism of rail transit
systems. It examines claims that rail transit is
ineffective at increasing public transit
ridership and improving transportation system
performance, that rail transit investments are
not cost effective, and that transit is an
outdated form of transportation. It finds that
critics often misrepresent issues and use biased and inaccurate analysis.
"Distance-Based Vehicle Insurance As A TDM
Strategy" (http://www.vtpi.org/dbvi.pdf )
Distance-based (also called 'Pay-As-You-Drive')
pricing makes vehicle insurance premiums directly
related to annual vehicle-travel. This makes
vehicle insurance more actuarially accurate
(premiums better reflect the claim costs of each
vehicle) and gives motorists a new opportunity to
save money when they reduce their mileage. It can
help achieve several public policy objectives
including equity, road safety, consumer savings
and choice, congestion reduction, facility cost
savings, energy savings and environmental
protection. This indicates that distance-based
pricing is technically and economically feasible,
and can provide significant benefits to motorists
and society. We believe that it is one of the
best 'Win-Win Transportation Solutions' (http://www.vtpi.org/winwin.pdf ).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE
Below are recently published reports and articles.
Litman, Todd (2007), 'Evaluating Rail Transit
Benefits: A Comment,' "Transport Policy," Vol.
14, No. 1
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0967070X
), January 2007, pp. 94-97.
This commentary responds to recent articles
criticize urban rail transit investments on
grounds that they are ineffective at reducing
traffic congestion and financially wasteful. It
summarizes some of the findings of more detailed
analyses of transit benefits and suggests that
there is abundant evidence that high quality,
grade-separated transit does reduce urban traffic
congestion, and that urban transit improvements
can be cost effective investments when all
economic impacts are considered (based on "Smart
Congestion Reductions II: Reevaluating The Role
Of Public Transit For Improving Urban
Transportation," http://www.vtpi.org/cong_reliefII.pdf ).
"Urban Transportation Management," Handbook on
Urban Sustainability, Nolberto Munier Editor,
Springer (<http://www.springer.com/>www.springer.com), 2006.
This book, written by worldwide specialists from
Canada, India, Italy, Palestine, Peru, Spain and
the Netherlands, is a guide to establishing a
city on a sustainable path. It addresses
sustainable urban planning issues by breaking the
city down to its main components.
Interviews with Reid Ewing and Todd Litman, Smart
City Radio
(<http://smartcityradio.fluidhosting.com/2007/01-January/010407_SmartCity.mp3>http://smartcityradio.fluidhosting.com/2007/01-January/010407_SmartCity.mp3
), January 04, 2007. Smart City is a weekly
hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life
"Planetizen Interchange"
(<http://www.planetizen.com/interchange>http://www.planetizen.com/interchange
) is a new blog created to host commentary from
leading authors, scholars, and professionals in
the fields of urban planning, design and
development. This is intended to provide exposure
to new viewpoints and ideas, encourage discourse
that cuts across disciplinary boundaries, and
expand and inform the community of people working
to improve the built environment. We will be
making regular contributions to this blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEEN THERE/DONE THAT
=====================
VTPI presented papers at the following event:
Keynote presentation at the "National Conference
on Disaster Planning for the Carless Society"
(www.carlessevacuation.org), New Orleans, 8-9
February 2007. See Planetizen Podcast
(http://www.planetizen.com/node/22898 ). This
presentation was based on the paper, "Lessons
from Katrinia and Rita: What Major Disasters Can
Teach Transportation Planners," (http://www.vtpi.org/katrina.pdf ),
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPCOMING EVENTS
================
VTPI will participate in these upcoming events:
"Plain Talk On Quality Growth" (http://www.etqg.org )
29-30 March 2007
Knoxville Convention Center
This conference, organized by the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, will help identify
strategies to better integrate economic, social
and environmental objectives into transportation
and land use planning decisions.
"Parking Management Best Practices" professional development workshop (S009)
Saturday, 14 April, 9:00am-noon
American Planning Association Annual Conference
14-18 April 2007, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia
(http://www.planning.org/2007conference)
This seminar will explore various ways to
efficiently manage parking facilities in order to
achieve various transportation and land use
planning objectives. Based on the book "Parking
Management Best Practices" (http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf ).
"Transportation Land Use Impacts" Professional Development Seminar
Monday, May 14, 9:00am-4:30pm
Victoria, BC (Venue TBD)
Association of Professional Engineers and
Geoscientists of British Columbia
(http://www.apeg.bc.ca/prodev/prodevevents.html )
This seminar will investigate various impacts
that transportation decisions have on land use
patterns, and ways to incorporate 'smart growth'
land use planning objectives into transportation decision making.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
USEFUL RESOURCES
=================
"SMARTRAQ" Reports (http://www.act-trans.ubc.ca/smartraq/pages )
The new 'Active Transport Collaboratory' website
(www.act-trans.ubc.ca ) provides extensive
information to help create healthier, more
environmentally sustainable, and energy efficient
communities, including results of the
groundbreaking SMARTRAQ (Strategies for
Metropolitan Atlanta's Regional Transportation
and Air Quality) study. This is one of the most
comprehensive, innovative and academically
rigorous research programs ever conducted on the
relationships between land use, transportation,
public health and the environment. The website
provides free access to a range of research
products that can help assist students, faculty,
and those interested in this area of research,
including reports, scientific journal articles and databases.
The $4.6 million multidisciplinary SMARTRAQ
program pioneered the integration of travel, land
use, health outcomes and consumer preferences in
a single comprehensive study. It helps answer key
questions concerning the relationships between
local land use development patterns, travel
behavior, physical activity, obesity, air
quality, and consumers’ housing preferences. The
ACT-Trans website hosts all materials and
products to date from the project, established
and co-codirected by Collaboratory director Lawrence Frank.
The Active Transport Collaboratory website is
maintained by the School of Community & Regional
Planning (SCARP), and the Institute for
Resources, the Environment and Sustainability at
the University of British Columbia. The lab
opened in 2005 with funding from the Bombardier
Foundation and the Canada Foundations for
Innovation and conducts research on the
relationships between land use, transportation,
air quality, climate change, energy use, active
transportation (walking and cycling), physical
fitness and public health. Numerous agency
reports, journal articles, and a massive slide
collection of urban scenes have been posted to
the website, including selections from the Gordon
Price photo collection, which documents nearly
three decades of urban environments, are available for download from this site.
"Bus Rapid Transit in Johannesburg: Implications for Mini-bus Taxis"
(http://itdp.org/STe/ste23/johannesburg.html)
In November 2006, the Johannesburg City Council
approved a full BRT system, to be called Rea
Vaya, scheduled to open by April 2009, in time
for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The 94-kilometer
system will have a North – South corridor
connecting Sunninghill to Soweto, with service to
the central business district, and an East – West
route connecting Sandton, Randburg, and
Alexandra. The long-term vision is to develop a
system that places over 85% of Johannesburg’s
population within 500 meters (1/3 of a mile) of a
Rea Vaya trunk or feeder corridor.
This is particularly exciting because in July
2006 VTPI Director Todd Litman participated in a
tour of South Africa to promote this concept with
Lloyd Wright, author of the "BRT Planning Guide"
(http://www.itdp.org/brt_guide.html ). For more
information see the Institute for Transportation
& Development Policy website (http://www.itdp.org
). The Clinton Climate Initiative is providing
operational planning support for the system.
Nelson\Nygaard (2006), "Traffic Reduction
Strategies Study," City of Pasadena
(<http://www.cityofpasadena.net/>www.cityofpasadena.net);
available at
<http://www.cityofpasadena.net/councilagendas/2007%20agendas/Feb_26_07/Pasadena%20Traffic%20Reduction%20Strategies%2011-20-06%20DRAFT.pdf>www.cityofpasadena.net/councilagendas/2007%20agendas/Feb_26_07/Pasadena%20Traffic%20Reduction%20Strategies%2011-20-06%20DRAFT.pdf.
This report recommends various congestion
reduction strategies that can be implemented by a
city to reduce traffic, including parking pricing
and cash out, transit service improvements and congestion pricing.
Gloria Ohland and Shelley Poticha (2006), "Street
Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the Twentry-First
Century," Reconnecting America
(<http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/html/TOD/StreetcarBook.htm>http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/html/TOD/StreetcarBook.htm
).
David Levinson and Ahmed El-Geneidy "Development
of Accessibility Measures," Report No. 1
published by the Access to Destinations program
at the University of Minnesota’s Center for
Transportation Studies (www.cts.umn.edu/access-study/publications).
The Access to Destinations Study is a
comprehensive research program investigating the
relationships between the transportation system,
land use trends, and travel behavior.
"BC Clean Air Kit"
(<http://www.cleanairkit.ca/>http://www.cleanairkit.ca
) is an online tool to help local government
implement practical strategies that save energy
and reduce transportation emissions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please let us know if you have comments or
questions about any information in this
newsletter, or if you would like to be removed
from our email list. And please pass this
newsletter on to others who may find it useful.
Sincerely,
Todd Alexander Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)
litman at vtpi.org
Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA
“Efficiency - Equity - Clarity”
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20070319/f05176ca/attachment.html
More information about the Sustran-discuss
mailing list