[sustran] VTPI News - Summer 2018

[Todd Litman]

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                 VTPI NEWS

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              Victoria Transport Policy Institute

              "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"

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              Summer 2018    Vol. 18, No. 3

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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 (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 REPORTS

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

"Rural Multimodal Planning. Why and How to Improve Travel Options in Small
Towns and Rural Communities" (www.vtpi.org/rmp.pdf ). 

Multimodal planning creates communities where it is possible to get around
by walking, bicycling and public transport. This provides various direct and
indirect benefits to individuals and communities. This report explores why
and how to implement more multimodal planning in rural areas and small
towns. Current trends are increasing demand for non-auto travel options in
rural communities, including aging populations, rising poverty, growing
health and safety concerns, and growing tourist industries. Various
strategies can help rural communities improve and connect walking, cycling,
public transport, including innovative facilities and services, and Smart
Growth development policies. New planning resources described in this report
can help rural communities and small towns develop integrated multimodal
plans and programs.

 

"PAYD: The Best Transportation Policy Reform You’ve Probably Never Heard Of"
(https://paydinbc.ca ).

'Pay-As-You-Drive' (PAYD, also known as 'distance-based' and 'usage-based')
vehicle insurance means that premiums are based directly on the amount a
vehicle is driven during the policy term, so the more you drive the more you
pay and the less you drive the more you save. This can significantly
increase fairness, affordability and traffic safety, and reduces traffic
congestion and pollution emissions (https://bit.ly/2wnCiEi ). This new
website describes why and how to implement PAYD insurance in British
Columbia.

 

"A 1.5% Neighborhood Solution to Inaffordability" (https://bit.ly/2LmLluC ).


This report proposes specific housing growth targets for Victoria, BC
neighborhoods. Victoria’s population currently grows about 1.5% annually; to
become more affordable and diverse we must increase our housing supply
faster than that. A reasonable target is for residential neighborhoods to
increase housing supply at least 1.5% annually. Most of these new houses
should be moderately priced ($300,000-600,000), so they are initially
affordable to middle-income households and becomes affordable to the
lower-income households as they depreciate. For more information see the
"Victoria Affordability Backgrounder" (https://bit.ly/2MxYkiA ), this 'Times
Colonist' newspaper article (https://bit.ly/2KXWDcw ), and hear this CBC
radio interview (https://bit.ly/2NeVZVM ).

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PUBLISHED & PRESENTED ELSEWHERE

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

"Multimodal Urban Transport: Todd Litman Explains How and Why"
(https://www.reinventingtransport.org/2018/07/todd-litman.html ).
Reinventing Transportation podcast interview by Paul Barter.

 

"A New Traffic Safety Paradigm" (http://www.vtpi.org/ntsp.pdf ), summarized
in 'Transportation Talk', Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers
Quarterly Newsletter ((https://issuu.com/cite7/docs/tt39.4-winter201718 )
and presented at the June 11 Canadian Association of Road Safety
Professionals annual meeting (https://bit.ly/2wlZbI3 ). Despite large
traffic safety program investments, crash casualty rates have ended their
long-term decline and recently started to increase. New strategies are
needed to achieve ambitious traffic safety targets such as Vision Zero.
Recent research improves our understanding of transportation and land use
factors that affect traffic risks, and therefore identifies additional
traffic safety strategies. Applying this knowledge requires a paradigm
shift. The new paradigm recognizes that all vehicle travel imposes risks,
and so supports vehicle travel reduction strategies such as more multimodal
planning, efficient transport pricing, Smart Growth development policies,
and other Transportation Demand Management strategies. Many of these
strategies provide significant co-benefits, in addition to safety. 

 

"Everybody Wins! Sustainable Community Planning: Telling the Story," Climate
Report podcast (https://bit.ly/2k4lHPV ) and slideshow
(www.vtpi.org/EverybodyWins ) of Todd Litman’s May 10 Sacramento 350
presentation. It discussed economic, social and environmental benefits of
creating more affordable housing in walkable urban neighborhoods, and how to
build public support for those reforms.

 

"Would a 'Pay-As-You-Drive' Insurance Model Work in B.C.?"
(https://bit.ly/2PzdMsu ), by News 1130. "Current insurance premiums are
like an all-you-can-eat restaurant pricing. The per-kilometre rate
incorporates all existing rating factors," explains Todd Litman in this
article.

 

"Is Public Transportation a Human Right? How to Fill Greyhound’s Gap"
(https://bit.ly/2LfTfK9 ), by Jane Gerster in 'Global News.' Greyhound buses
will cease operations in Western Canada. Todd Litman describes various
transit options that are working in smaller communities, based on his report
"Public Transportation's Impact on Rural and Small Towns"
(http://www.apta.com/rural ) 

 

"A Conceptual Framework to Formulate Transportation Network Design Problem
Considering Social Equity Criteria"
(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.04.005 ), by Hamid Behbahani, Sobhan
Nazari, Masood Jafari Kang and Todd Litman, published in 'Transportation
Research Part A.' This study suggests ways of incorporating social equity
measures in transportation network planning. It describes various equity
impacts that can result from transportation planning decisions, discusses
various social equity concepts and theories, reviews previous attempts to
incorporate equity considerations into transport networks modeling, and
suggests a framework for simultaneously optimizing network design and
achieving social equity objectives. The proposed framework can be used to
evaluate and optimize the equity impacts of various infrastructure
investment decisions.

 

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

 

"Affordability Trade-offs" (https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/99920 ).
Strategies for increasing affordability often involved trade-offs between
various goals and impacts. It is important to consider all of these factors
when evaluating potential solutions to unaffordability.

 

"Parking Planning Paradigm Shift" (https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/99462 ).
More efficient parking management can benefit everybody, including
motorists, businesses, residents, and any planner who becomes an expert on
this subject, as I can report from experience.

 

"Understanding Location-Efficient Affordability Impacts"
(https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/98443 ). A recent study suggests that
families save little by moving to location-efficient neighborhoods. There
are good reasons to be skeptical of that conclusion.

 

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

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BRITISH COLUMBIA PAYD ACTION ALERTS (https://paydinbc.ca )

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

'Pay-As-You-Drive' (PAYD) vehicle insurance can significantly increase
fairness, affordability, traffic safety and environmental quality. It is
particularly appropriate in British Columbia because our public insurance
agency, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), has a monopoly
on basic vehicle insurance in order to maximize social benefits. 

 

ICBC recently submitted a rate change proposal to the BC Utility Commission
(https://bit.ly/2OX5PMq ), which does not include PAYD pricing. We hope to
change that. VTPI has applied to be an intervener in this process
(bit.ly/2NcmbjN). Please contact Todd Litman (litman at vtpi.org) if you or
your organization wants to get involved, so we can collaborate on this
important opportunity. The deadline for applying is Friday, August 24th. 

 

In addition, the provincial government recently released a set of "Climate
Solutions and Clean Growth Intentions Papers" (bit.ly/2o2emTa), including
one on "Clean Transportation" (bit.ly/2nZvSal) which ignores PAYD and other
pricing reforms. Here is a letter from VTPI concerning this paper:
https://bit.ly/2o85oUt. Individuals and organizations who wish to send
additional information can email submissions to clean.growth at gov.bc.ca by
Friday, August 24.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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

"Panel on Transportation, Land Use, Climate Change and Health," at the
Global Climate and Health Forum, September 12, University of California,
Mission Bay Campus, San Francisco. Organized by the US Climate and Health
Alliance (http://usclimateandhealthalliance.org ). 

 

"Alternative Urbanisms in the City of Victoria," City Talks Panel
(http://www.thecitytalks.ca/lectures.php ), September 20.

 

Keynote Presentation, Oregon Public Transportation Conference
(https://oregontransit.com/OPTC_Conference ), Bend, October 29.

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USEFUL RESOURCES

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

"Automobile Dependency as a Barrier to Vision Zero: Evidence from the States
in the USA" (https://bit.ly/2IMCfdc ), by Hamed Ahangari, Carol
Atkinson-Palombo and Norman Garrick (2017), published in 'Accident Analysis
and Prevention.' Uses U.S. state-level data to evaluate factors that
influence traffic risk. Finds that Vehicles per Capita and Vehicle Miles
Traveled have the strongest impact on traffic fatality rates. Higher urban
densities and more walking are also associated with lower traffic fatality
rates. This is consistent with my analysis in, "A New Traffic Safety
Paradigm" (www.vtpi.org/ntsp ).

 

"The Economic and Social Benefits of Low-Carbon Cities: A Systematic Review
of the Evidence" (https://bit.ly/2MQraWV ), for the Coalition for Urban
Transitions. This report examines the economic case for climate action
through more resource-efficient urban planning, particularly in developing
countries. This systematic review clearly shows that low-carbon measures can
help to achieve a range of development priorities, such as job creation,
improved safety and public health, social inclusion, and improved
accessibility.

 

"Up For Growth" (https://www.upforgrowth.org ) is a diverse coalition of
advocates for policies to enable more affordable infill housing in walkable
and transit-oriented communities.  Their email newsletter provides excellent
information on affordable development policy.

 

"Associations between Urban Sprawl and Life Expectancy in the United States"
(https://bit.ly/2Ni4L5i ) by Shima Hamidi, et al., published in the
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. This
study used cross-sectional to evaluate the associations between sprawl and
life expectancy for metropolitan counties in the United States in 2010.
After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, this study found
that life expectancy was significantly higher in compact counties than in
sprawling counties. 

 

"Inclusive Health Places: A Guide to Inclusion & Health in Public Space.
Learning Globally to Transform Locally" (https://bit.ly/2NdmmLS ), by Gehl
Associates. This report describes the Inclusive Healthy Places Framework, a
tool for evaluating and creating inclusive, healthy public places that
support health equity. 

 

"Equity & Mobility" (https://bit.ly/2MtaBEB ). Engineer Ryan Martinson uses
his cartooning skills to explore why and how to better incorporate social
equity goals into transportation planning, a 12-page comic article published
in the Summer issue of "Transportation Talk," the Canadian Institute of
Transportation Engineer's quarterly newsletter.

 

Quantified Parking: Comprehensive Parking Inventories for Five U.S. Cities
(https://bit.ly/2LfNk4o) by Eric Scharnhorst, for the Mortgage Bankers
Association. 

This study used various data sources to develop comprehensive parking
inventories for the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Des Moines,
and Jackson, Wyoming. The results indicate that these cities have abundant
parking supply: parking spaces outnumber homes in all cities except New
York, and impose large economic costs. The 1.6 million parking spaces in
Seattle’s inventory have an estimated value of $35.8 billion, which is
$118,000 per Seattle household. Jackson’s 100,000 parking spaces have an
estimated value of $711 million, or $192,000 per household. The
per-household costs of parking in Des Moines and Philadelphia is $77,000 and
$30,000 respectively. This indicates that in typical urban areas there are
more than three off-street parking spaces per vehicle (one residential and
two non-residential), with fewer spaces per capita in areas where parking is
shared, and higher in suburban and rural areas where each destination
supplies all its own parking. 

 

"Strategically Planning for Parking: An Inquiry into Parking Requirements
for Laneway Houses in Vancouver" (https://bit.ly/2Pvc1we ) by Alexander
Jürgen Thumm. This master’s thesis investigates the justifications and
impacts of residential parking requirements. It recommends more data and
transparency in the translation of strategic policy into regulatory policy

 

"Uber Economics: Evaluating the Monetary and Nonmonetary Trade-offs of TNC
and Transit Service in Chicago, Illinois" (https://bit.ly/2KpCITA ), by
Joseph Schwieterman and Mallory Livingston. This study compared time and
monetary costs of Transportation Network Companies (TNC, such as Uber and
Lyft) to estimate travellers willingness-to-pay for travel time savings.
They found that the average TNC trip costs more than $50 per hour saved,
with higher TNC travel rates when public transit conditions are poor
(difficult to access, crowded, etc.), indicating that travel conditions
affect travellers willingness to pay for time savings.

 

"The Impact of Mobility on Apartment Rents" (https://bit.ly/2w4DfEz ). There
is a long history of research concerning the price premium that households
will pay to live near high quality public transit (www.vtpi.org/smith.pdf ).
This study expands that to include ride-hailing, bike- and car-sharing. The
graphs are great! 

 

"People Who Bike to Work Live Longer Than People Who Drive"
(https://bit.ly/2MqMBSN ) by Angie Schmitt. A high quality study recently
published in the British Medical Journal found that, controlling for other
factors, overall mortality among bike commuters is significantly lower than
among people who don’t bike or walk to work. 

 

"Getting the Bill Right," (https://bit.ly/2HKEmcM ) by Transform Scotland,
Scotland's sustainable transportation advocacy organization, recommends
various reforms to encourage more efficient transport including allowing
local governments to introduce private non-residential parking levies,
improved bus and cycle lane enforcement, and a nationwide smart ticketing
scheme.

 

"Carbon Footprint Planning: Quantifying Local and State Mitigation
Opportunities for 700 California Cities" (https://bit.ly/2MOwFsI ), by
Christopher M. Jones, Stephen M. Wheeler and Daniel M. Kammen, published in
‘Urban Planning. This study quantifies the potential of local policies and
programs to meet aggressive GHG reduction targets using a consumption-based,
high geospatial resolution planning model for the state of California. It
found that roughly 35% of all carbon footprint abatement potential statewide
is from activities within local government control. 

 

"Toward Zero Parking: Challenging Conventional Wisdom for Multifamily"
(https://bit.ly/2IRcuV7 ), by David Baker and Brad Leibin, published in
Urban Land. Describes current trends that are reducing demand for parking in
multifamily housing, and how to respond to those changes.

 

"Inequity in Transportation" (www.inequalityintransport.org.uk ). Everyone
needs transport to move around and to access everyday needs, but for each
individual those needs are different, and they change over time and space:
herein lie the seeds of inequalities in transport. This new book by Oxford
Professor David Banister uses various methods to evaluate transport
inequity. It estimates the nature and scale of transport inequalities in
Great Britain, and examines how this impacts people’s quality of life and
ability to participate in everyday activities. It also discusses the degree
that public investments and subsidies in transport are fair in terms of who
are the beneficiaries, and it then outlines the means by which inequalities
can be reduced.

 

"When Transportation Falls Off the Road-Length Cliff"
(https://bit.ly/2MrQZAN ). Provides fascinating graphical analysis of how
street design affects travel activity and health risks, and ways to create
more efficient and healthy communities. 

 

"The Effects of Long Commutes and What To Do About Them: An Annotated
Bibliography" (https://bit.ly/2Ptvo94 ), by CloseCommute Systems. This
report summarizes research on the costs of long-distance commutes and
possible ways to reduce these by giving workers of multi-location employers
more ability to choose closer worksites.

 

"Cycling Works: Jobs and Job Creation in the European Cycling Economy"
(https://bit.ly/2OYsUOL) found that 650,000 jobs are linked to cycling in
the EU as a whole already today and that more than 400,000 new jobs could be
created if the modal share of cycling doubled. This adds to a growing body
of research on the economic benefits of cycling.

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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 (litman at vtpi.org)

Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)

Office: 250-360-1560 | Mobile: 250-508-5150

1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA

     Efficiency - Equity - Clarity  

 

 

Sincerely,

Todd Litman (litman at vtpi.org)

Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)

Office: 250-360-1560 | Mobile: 250-508-5150

1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA

     Efficiency - Equity - Clarity