[sustran] VTPI NEWS - Spring 2012

[Todd Alexander Litman]

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             VTPI NEWS

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              Victoria Transport Policy Institute

              "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"

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              Spring 2012    Vol. 12, No. 2

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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.

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NEW VTPI DOCUMENTS

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"Whose Roads? Evaluating Bicyclists' and Pedestrians' Right to Use Public
Roadways" (http://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf )

Many people believe that non-motorized modes (walking, cycling, and their
variants) have less right to use public roads than motorists, based on
assumptions that motor vehicle travel is more important than non-motorized
travel and motor vehicle user fees finance roads. This report investigates
these assumptions. It finds that non-motorized modes have clear legal rights
to use public roads, that non-motorized travel is important for an efficient
transport system and provides significant benefits to users and society,
that less than half of roadway expenses are financed by motor vehicle user
fees, and pedestrians and cyclists pay more than their share of roadway
costs. Since bicycling and walking impose lower roadway costs than motorized
modes, people who rely on non-motorized modes tend to overpay their fair
share of roadway costs and subsidize motorists.

 

"Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect"
(http://www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf )

There is growing interest in transportation pricing reforms to help achieve
various planning objectives such as congestion, accident and emission
reductions. Their effectiveness is affected by the price sensitivity of
transport, that is, the degree that prices affect travel activity, measured
as elasticities (percentage change in travel caused by a one-percent price
change). Lower elasticities imply that price reforms are relatively
ineffective at achieving planning objectives, burdensome to consumers, and
that rebound effects (additional vehicle travel caused by increased fuel
economy) are small so strategies that increase vehicle fuel economy are
effective at conserving fuel. Higher elasticities imply that price reforms
are relatively effective and bearable to consumers, and rebound effects are
large. Some studies found very low transport elasticities during the last
quarter of the Twentieth Century but recent evidence suggests that price
sensitivities have since increased. This report discusses the concepts of
price elasticities and rebound effects, reviews vehicle travel and fuel
price elasticity estimates, examines evidence of changing price
sensitivities, and discusses policy implications.

 

"Comprehensive Evaluation of Transport Energy Conservation and Emission
Reduction Policies" (http://www.vtpi.org/comp_em_eval.pdf), submitted for
publication in 'Transportation Research A.' 

There is debate concerning the best strategies for reducing transport energy
consumption and pollution emissions. Some studies favor 'clean vehicle'
strategies that reduce motor vehicle emission rates. Others favor 'mobility
management' strategies that reduce total vehicle travel. These different
conclusions tend to reflect different analysis scope. Analyses that favor
clean vehicle strategies tend to overlook or undervalue some significant
impacts, including cleaner vehicle lifecycle analysis and rebound effects,
and mobility management co-benefits. More comprehensive analysis tends to
favor mobility management. This article investigates these issues and
provides specific recommendations for comprehensive evaluation of emission
reduction options.

 

"Transportation Prescription For Healthy Cities "
(http://www.vtpi.org/Lockwood_HealthyCities_2004.pdf ). 

This report, written in 2004 by transportation engineer Ian Lockwood for the
Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, discusses design concepts for healthier
communities and suggests specific ways to incorporate them into transport
policy and planning practices. Posted with permission (thanks Ian!).

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UPDATED DOCUMENTS

=================

Below are a few recently updated VTPI documents:

 

"Understanding Transport Demands and Elasticities: How Prices and Other
Factors Affect Travel Behavior" (www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf )

Transport demand refers to the amount and type of travel that people would
choose under specific conditions. This report describes concepts related to
transport demand, investigates the influence that factors such as prices and
service quality have on travel activity, and how these impacts can be
measured using elasticity values. It summarizes research on various types of
transport elasticities and describes how to use this information to predict
the impacts of specific transport price and service quality changes.

 

"Evaluating Non-Motorized Transportation Benefits and Costs"
(www.vtpi.org/nmt-tdm.pdf )

This report describes methods for evaluating non-motorized transport
(walking, cycling, and their variants) benefits and costs, including direct
benefits to users from improved walking and cycling conditions, and various
benefits to society from increased non-motorized travel activity, reduced
automobile travel, and support for more compact land use development. It
identifies various types of benefits and costs, and describes methods for
measuring them. It discusses non-motorized transport demand and ways to
increase non-motorized travel activity. This analysis indicates that
non-motorized travel provides significant benefits, many of which are
overlooked or undervalued in conventional transport economic evaluation.

 

"Safe Travels: Evaluating Mobility Management Traffic Safety Impacts"
(www.vtpi.org/safetrav.pdf )

This report investigates the safety impacts of mobility management
strategies that change how and the amount people travel. It evaluates the
safety impacts of various types of strategies including improvements to
alternative modes, pricing reforms and smart growth land use policies.
Evidence summarized in this report indicates that per capita traffic crash
rates tend to increase with per capita vehicle travel, and mobility
management strategies can provide significant safety benefits. This analysis
indicates that mobility management is a cost effective traffic safety
strategy, and increased safety is one of the largest benefits of mobility
management.

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PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE

=================== 

"Sustainable Transportation Indicators for TDM Planning"
(https://asct.memberclicks.net/assets/tdm_review_winter_2012.pdf )

This issue of 'TDM Review' focuses on program evaluation methods. This
article discusses a practical set of sustainable transport goals, objectives
and performance indicators that can be used for evaluating transportation
demand management programs.

 

"Sustainable Transport Evaluation: Developing Practical Tools for Evaluation
in the Context of the CSD Process"
(http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/resources/res_pdfs/csd-19/Background%20Paper%2010
%20-%20transport.pdf ).

This report published by the United Nation's Commission on Sustainable
Development identifies practical methods for evaluating the sustainable
development impacts of transport policies and programs. It proposes the
establishment of a working group coordinated by an international
professional organization or agency to develop a recommended set of
sustainable transport evaluation methods, performance indicators, and data
standards. 

 

'Adjusting Data Collection Methods: Making the Case for Policy Changes to
Build Healthy Communities,' in "From Inspiration to Action: Implementing
Projects to Support Active Living"
(www.walklive.org/project/implementation-guide ).

This comprehensive report includes a section by Todd Litman that discusses
transport planning biases that undervalue walking and cycling improvements,
and specific ways to better incorporate active transport in transport
planning analysis. 

 

"Transformando La Movilidad Urbana En México" ("Transforming Urban Mobility
In Mexico),
(http://mexico.itdp.org/documentos/transformando-la-movilidad-urbana-en-mexi
co ).

This study by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
analyzes mobility problems and innovative management solutions for creating
more efficient and sustainable transport in Mexican cities.

 

Recent Planetizen Blogs (http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394 ):

"Choosing Ignorance is Stupid" (http://www.planetizen.com/node/56685 )

"Avoiding Undesirable Self-Fulfilling Prophecies"
(http://www.planetizen.com/node/56017 )

"Avoiding Logical Fallacies in Planning"
(http://www.planetizen.com/node/55540 )

 

Let's be friends.  Todd Litman regularly posts on his Facebook page
(http://www.facebook.com/todd.litman). Befriend him now!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

=====================

"Non-motorized Transport For  Healthy and Sustainable Communities," Velo
Village (http://www.velovillage.ca), 21-23 June, Salt Spring Island, British
Columbia, Canada

Todd Litman will give this keynote presentation at what will surely be a fun
event.

 

"What's It Worth? Comprehensive Evaluation of Bicycling Benefits" at
Velo-City Global 2012 (http://www.velo-city2012.com ), Thursday, 28 June
2012, Vancouver, BC.

This presentation will discuss the economic, social and environmental
benefits of non-motorized transportation and how to incorporate them into
transport policy and project evaluation. 

 

USEFUL RESOURCES

=================

"Understanding How to Develop and Apply Economic Analyses: Guidance for
Transportation Planners
(http://statewideplanning.org/resource_list/understanding-how-to-develop-and
-apply-economic-analyses-guidance-for-transportation-planners ). This report
provides guidance for developing, implementing, evaluating and communicating
transportation investment economic analysis. It describes various categories
of economic impacts and analytical techniques that can be applied to
planning and project analysis. 

 

Saga City (http://www.sagacitymovie.org ). This entertaining animated video
explains how past transport and land use policies contribute to sprawl and
automobile dependency, the problems that result, and how smart growth policy
reforms can create better communities. It is a good introduction to urban
planning issues for a general audience.

 

"Land Use and Traffic Congestion"
(http://www.azdot.gov/TPD/ATRC/publications/project_reports/PDF/AZ618.pdf ).
This study by J. Richard Kuzmyak for the Arizona Department of
Transportation found that roads in more compact urban neighborhoods had
considerably less traffic congestion despite many times higher densities,
than in suburban neighborhoods. This appears to result from more mixed land
use which reduces travel distances, more transit and nonmotorized travel,
fewer vehicle miles of travel (VMT), and more connected streets which allows
for better channeling of traffic and enables walking. 

 

"Across Latitudes and Cultures - New Global Database on Bus Rapid Transit"
(http://www.brt.cl ). This new website provides comprehensive data on more
than one hundred bus rapid transit systems to help planners and researcher
evaluate BRT systems. 

 

"The End of a Life Cycle: Urban Highways Offer Cities New Opportunities for
Revitalization" (http://www.itdp.org/urbanhighways ). This attractive report
describes projects in many cities to convert urban highways into multi-modal
roadways, with slower speed, wider sidewalks, bike and bus lanes, and
attractive streetscaping to integrate them into the urban environment. Also
see, "The Life and Death of Urban Highways"
(www.itdp.org/documents/LifeandDeathofUrbanHighways_031312.pdf ). 

 

"The Impact of Center City Economic and Cultural Vibrancy on Greenhouse Gas
Emissions from Transportation"
(http://www.transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1002-Center-City-Economic-Cultur
al-Vibrancy-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions-Transportation.pdf ). This study by the
Mineta Transportation Institute found that residents of urban regions with
more vibrant downtowns tend to drive less, rely more on walking and public
transport, and consume less fuel than in urban regions with less vibrant
downtowns. 

 

"Energy, Pollutant Emissions and Other Negative Externality Savings from
Curbing Individual Motorized Transportation: A Low Cost, Low Technology
Scenario Analysis in Brazilian Urban Areas" (www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/5/3/835
). This study estimates the savings and benefits that could be achieved by
implementing mobility management strategies in Brazilian cities, including
walking and cycling improvements, Bus Rapid Transit systems, and efficient
pricing reforms.

 

"Interview: John Norquist and Our Congestion Obsession"
(http://americancity.org/buzz/entry/3410 ). This interview in the Next
American City discusses how overemphasis on motor vehicle congestion
problems can bias transport planning at the expense of other planning
objectives. Also see, "Smart Congestion Relief"
(http://www.vtpi.org/cong_relief.pdf )

 

"American Journal of Preventive Medicine" Vol. 42, No. 5
(http://www.ajpmonline.org ). This issue focuses on use of geographic
information systems to quantify the relationships between community design
and physical activity. 'Obesogenic' refers to conditions that encourage
obesity. See "Objective Assessment of Obesogenic Environments in Youth "
(http://www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_3371[3]-st
amped.pdf ); "Obesogenic Neighborhood Environments, Child and Parent
Obesity: The Neighborhood Impact on Kids Study"
(http://www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_3373[3]-st
amped.pdf ); and "Patterns of Obesogenic Neighborhood Features and
Adolescent Weight: A Comparison of Statistical Approaches"
(http://www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_3374[3]-st
amped.pdf )

 

"The Crisis In American Walking: How We Got Off The Pedestrian Path"
(http://www.slate.com/articles/life/walking/2012/04/why_don_t_americans_walk
_more_the_crisis_of_pedestrianism_.html ). These Slate Magazine columns by
author Tom Vanderbilt discuss how biased attitudes and planning practices
have reduced community walkability, and ways to correct them.

 

The Global Green Growth Institute (http://www.gggi.org) is an international
institute dedicated to pioneering and diffusing the "green growth"
development model that integrates economic objectives such as poverty
reduction, job creation and social inclusion, with environmental objectives
such as protecting air, water and biodiversity.

 

"Active Transportation Beyond Urban Centers: Walking and Bicycling in Small
Towns and Rural America"
(http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/ourWork/reports/BeyondUrba
nCentersReport.pdf ). This attractive report by the Rails To Trails
Conservancy and Bikes Belong describes why and how to support walking and
cycling in small towns and rural areas.

 

"From Inspiration to Action: Implementing Projects to Support Active Living"
(http://www.walklive.org/project/implementation-guide ). This free guidebook
by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the Walkable and
Livable Communities (WALC) Institute describes practical ways to create more
walkable and bikable communities. It includes case studies and advice from
experts. 

 

"Going the Distance Together: A Citizen's Guide to Context Sensitive
Solutions for Better Transportation"
(http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_W184.pdf ). This
comprehensive but easy-to-read report by the National Cooperative Highway
Research Program describes how citizens can become involved in transport
planning, from setting strategic goals to project design and operations. It
provides an introduction to key transport planning concepts and issues,
guidance for citizen involvement, and comprehensive reference information.

 

"The Surprising Story of Travel Behavior in Bellingham, Washington"
(https://www.whatcomsmarttrips.org/news/2012report.aspx ). This describes
the impacts of the Neighborhood Smart Trips program on travel behavior based
on comprehensive travel surveys. The results indicate that the program
resulted in significant shifts from driving to walking, cycling and public
transit travel, resulting in a 15% reduction in per capita vehicle travel
(from 11.4 to 9.7 average daily miles) by program participants.

 

"Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People Are Driving Less
and What It Means for Transportation Policy"
(www.frontiergroup.org/sites/default/files/reports/Transportation%20&%20the%
20New%20Generation%20vUS.pdf ) 

This report describes the decline in per capita vehicle travel occurring in
North America, particularly among young people, and its implications for
transport policy and planning.

 

"Evidence on Why Bike-Friendly Cities Are Safer for All Road Users"
(http://files.meetup.com/1468133/Evidence%20on%20Why%20Bike-Friendly.pdf )

This study by Wesley E. Marshall and Norman W. Garrick, published in
'Environmental Practice' found that U.S. cities with higher per capita
bicycling rates tend to have much lower than average traffic fatality rates
for all road users. 

 

Travel Behavior and Built Environment: Exploring the Importance of Urban
Design at the Non-Residential End of the Trip
(www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/dl/2057_1379_Kuzmyak%20WP12RK1.pdf ). This Lincoln
Institute study indicates that employment density, job/population balance,
street network grain and connectivity, transit service quality, and regional
accessibility all have a significant effect on vehicle trip and vehicle
travel.

 

"Smart Parking Revisited: Lessons from the Pioneers"
(http://www.planning.org/planning/default.htm). This article by Jeremy
Nelson and Jason Schrieber describes examples of successful parking
management programs.

 

Pando (http://www.pando.sc ) is a new online network designed to help
researchers and practitioners share information on community-level
sustainability initiatives.

 

"City Cycling"
(http://www.amazon.com/City-Cycling-Urban-Industrial-Environments/dp/0262517
817 ). This comprehensive book edited by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler will
be available in October. Prepurchases from Amazon.com receive a $10 discount
($18 instead of $28). 

 

"Commuting Distance, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Metabolic Risk"
(www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_3386[4]-stamped.p
df ). This study of 4,297 adults in 12 Texas metropolitan counties found
that after adjusting for other demographic and behavioral factors, commuting
distance was negatively associated with physical activity and
cardiorespiratory fıtness (CRF), and positively associated with body mass
index (BMI), waist circumference, and blood pressure. 

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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 Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute ( <http://www.vtpi.org/> www.vtpi.org)
litman at vtpi.org

facebook.com/todd.litman
Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"