[sustran] VTPI News - Summer 2009
Todd Alexander Litman
litman at vtpi.org
Thu Jul 2 12:26:06 JST 2009
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VTPI NEWS
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Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
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Summer 2009 Vol. 12, 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 (http://www.vtpi.org )
has many resources addressing a wide range of
transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW DOCUMENTS
==============
"Are Vehicle Travel Reduction Targets Justified?
Evaluating Mobility Management Objectives Such As
Targets To Reduce VMT And Increase Use Of
Alternative Modes" (http://www.vtpi.org/vmt_red.pdf )
This report investigates whether transportation
policies should include mobility management
objectives, such as targets to reduce vehicle
travel and encourage use of alternative modes.
Such objectives are justified on several grounds.
Mobility management can provide many benefits,
and specific policy objectives provide guidance
for strategic planning. Many mobility management
strategies are market and planning reforms that
increase transport system efficiency and equity.
Mobility management objectives help shift
planning practices to better prepare for future
demands. Mobility management criticism tends to
reflect an older, automobile-oriented
transportation planning paradigm which considers
a limited range of objectives, impacts and
options. More comprehensive analysis tends to favor mobility management.
2009 Transit Performance Spreadsheet (http://www.vtpi.org/Transit2009.xls )
This spreadsheet contains a wealth of
transportation system performance data for U.S.
cities, and a variety of analysis concerning the
relationships between public transportation
travel and outcomes such as vehicle travel, mode
split, congestion delays, traffic fatalities, and
consumer transportation expenditures.
* * * * *
UPDATED REPORTS
========================
We recently updated the following reports.
"Safe Travels: Evaluating Mobility Management
Traffic Safety Impacts" (http://www.vtpi.org/safetrav.pdf )
"Transportation Elasticities: How Prices and
Other Factors Affect Travel Behavior" (http://www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf )
"Economic Value of Walkability" (http://www.vtpi.org/walkability.pdf )
"Evaluating Transportation Land Use Impacts" (http://www.vtpi.org/landuse.pdf )
* * * * *
PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE
===================
"Parking Management Best Practices: Making
Efficient Use Of Parking Resources" Zoning
Practice Issue Number 6, American Planning
Association (http://www.planning.org/zoningpractice )
Until recently, most planners assumed that
parking should be abundant and free. This article
describes how to adjust parking planning
practices to take advantage of management
solutions to significantly reduce the parking
supply required in a particular situation and to
provide other economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Planetizen Blogs (http://www.planetizen.com ):
"Memo From Future Self: Hope For The Best But
Prepare For the Worst" (http://www.planetizen.com/node/39418 )
* * * * *
BEEN THERE - DONE THAT
=======================
Australia Visit
During March and April Todd Litman toured five
Australian cities to share information at
conferences and workshops. For information see
the following summary published in the Transport
Research and Policy Analysis Bulletin
http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/DOI/Internet/planningprojects.nsf/AllDocs/3F5841926D27D774CA25740A007C3193?OpenDocument#todd
* * * * *
UPCOMING EVENTS
=================
Transportation Research Board Joint Summer
Conference
(http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=ed57e411-12a8-456d-bfba-8f8b3b33b851
), July 19-22, 2009, Seattle, Washington.
VTPI will join more than 300 transportation
professionals representing more than 30 TRB
committees at this mid-year conference.
Todd Litman will present a paper, "Performance
Indicators On The Path To Sustainability" at the
international conference, "Toward Transport
System for Green Growth in the North Pacific" in
Honolulu, Hawaii, August 13-14, sponsored by the
East-West Center (http://www.eastwestcenter.org )
and the Korean Transport Institute
(http://english.koti.re.kr ). This visit may
include a public workshop on sustainable
transportation planning in Honolulu on August 12
(please contact us if you may be interested).
Todd Litman will present research,
"Transportation and Health: The Evidence and the
opportunities" at the American Public Health
Association 137th Annual Meeting, session 5097.0,
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 10:30 AM, in
Philadelphia, PA. For more information see
<http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Session27792.html>http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Session27792.html.
* * * * *
USEFUL RESOURCES
=================
Reid Ewing and Eric Dumbaugh (2009), The Built
Environment and Traffic Safety: A Review of
Empirical Evidence, Journal of Planning
Literature, Vol. 23 No. 4, May 2009, pp. 347-367;
at
<http://jpl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/23/4/347>http://jpl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/23/4/347.
The article reaches two conclusions counter to
accepted transportation engineering theory.
First, the traffic environments of dense urban
areas appear to be safer than the lower-volume
environments of the suburbs. The reason is that
many fewer miles are driven on a per capita
basis, and the driving that is done is at lower
speeds that are less likely to produce fatal
crashes. Second, at least in dense urban areas,
less-forgiving design treatmentssuch as narrow
lanes, traffic-calming measures, and street trees
close to the roadwayappear to enhance a
roadways safety performance when compared to
more conventional roadway designs.
Plan-It Calgary (http://www.calgary.ca/planit )
is a comprehensive regional planning program that
has sponsored excellent research including:
"Housing Affordability and Smart Growth in
Calgary" by Ray Tomalty and Murtaza Haider
(http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/planning/pdf/plan_it/housing_afford_and_smarth_growth_report.pdf
).
"The Built Environment and Health" by Lawrence
Frank & Co
(http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/planning/pdf/plan_it/health_and_wellness_reports.pdf
)
"Traffic & Transportation Policies and Strategies
in Urban Areas in India"
(http://urbanindia.nic.in/moud/programme/ut/Traffic_transportation.pdf ).
This study by Wilbur Smith developed a Transport
Performance Index for evaluating urban
transportation systems and prioritizing system
improvements in Indian cities. It consists of the following factors:
* Public Transport Accessibility Index (the
inverse of the average distance (in km) to the
nearest bus stop/railway station (suburban/metro).
* Service Accessibility Index (% of Work
trips accessible in 15 minutes time).
* Congestion Index (average peak-period
journey speed relative to a target journey speed).
* Walkability Index (quantity and quality of
walkways relative to roadway lengths).
* City Bus Transport Supply Index (bus service supply per capita).
* Para-Transit Supply Index (para-transit vehicle supply per capita).
* Safety Index (1/traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents).
* Slow Moving Vehicle (Cycling) Index
(availability of cycling facilities and cycling mode share).
* On-street Parking Interference Index
(1/(portion of major road length used for
on-street parking + on-street parking demand).
"Footfalls: Obstacle Course To Livable Cities"
(http://www.cseindia.org/campaign/apc/pdf/Walkability.pdf
) by the Right To Clean Air Campaign, Centre For Science And Environment
This study provides Detailed analysis of walking
conditions in Indian cities. This analysis
indicates that walkability is overlooked and
undervalued in transport planning, and that
improved walkability is justified for equity and
efficiency sake. It provides specific
recommendations for improving walking conditions
to address a variety of planning objectives.
"Reclaiming City Streets For People: Chaos Or
Quality Of Life?"
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/streets_people.pdf
), by the European Commission Directorate-General For The Environment.
This guidebook describes why and how to
reallocate urban road space to improve walking
and cycling conditions, and create more livable
communities. It includes recommendations for
implementation, and several case studies.
"Applying Health Impact Assessment To Land
Transport Planning"
(http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/research/reports/375.pdf )
This study, sponsored by the New Zealand
Transport Agency, assesses the need for health
impact assessment (HIA), in the context of the
New Zealand Transport Strategy and relevant
legislation, and provides recommendations for
better integrating HIA into transportation planning.
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
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