[sustran] VTPI News - Summer 2017

[Todd Litman]

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                 VTPI NEWS

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              Victoria Transport Policy Institute

              "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"

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              Summer 2017    Vol. 17, 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 REPORTS

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"Evaluating Transportation Diversity: Multimodal Planning for Efficient and
Equitable Communities" (http://www.vtpi.org/choice.pdf ), by Todd Litman. 

'Transportation diversity' refers to the variety of mobility and
accessibility options available in a particular situation, including various
modes, services and destinations. A transport system must be diverse in
order to serve diverse demands, including the needs of people who cannot,
should not or prefer not to drive. Multimodal planning that increases
transport system diversity tends to increase efficiency, equity and
resilience, and achieves specific planning goals. Conventional planning
undervalues many of these benefits, resulting in less diverse, more
automobile-dependent transport systems than optimal to serve user needs and
achieve planning goals. This report examines consumer demands for various
travel options, transport diversity benefits, and methods for evaluating
optimal transport system diversity. 

 

"Comparing Greenhouse Gas Reductions and Legal Implementation Possibilities
for Pay-to-Save Transportation Price-shifting Strategies and EPA’s Clean
Power Plan" (http://www.vtpi.org/G&E_GHG.pdf ), by Allen Greenberg and John
(Jay) Evans.

This report investigates the potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction
impacts and benefits of a set of innovative, revenue-neutral transportation
pricing reforms including pay-as-you-drive-and-you-save vehicle insurance,
parking cash out, and the conversion of fixed state and local vehicle sales
taxes into mileage-based taxes. These would give travelers significant
financial incentives to reduce their annual mileage and provide various
benefits including reduced congestion, crashes and local pollution
emissions. These strategies would reduce an estimated 140-257 million metric
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, which is significant compared
with other emission reduction strategies. This report identifies practical
ways to implement these strategies.

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PUBLISHED & PRESENTED ELSEWHERE

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

"Transforming Transportation" (http://bit.ly/2uBjq5P ), Climate Action
Network Canada webinar with Todd Litman (Victoria Transport Policy
Institute), Steve Winkelman (Green Resilience Strategies) and Annie Bérubé
(Équiterre). This June 15 webinar described various climate change emission
reduction strategies. Todd Litman's presentation focused on Win-Win
strategies, which are various policy reforms which increase overall
transportation system efficiency by improving resource-efficient travel
modes (walking, cycling, ridesharing, public transit and telework),
incentives for travellers to use the most efficient mode for each trip, and
Smart Growth policies that create more compact and multimodal communities. 

 

"Economic Value of Walking" (http://bit.ly/2tOiN4r ), chapter in "Walking:
Connecting Sustainable Transport with Health" (http://bit.ly/2eCGASN ). 

This chapter develops a comprehensive framework for evaluating planning
decisions that affect walking conditions and walking activity. Walking plays
a unique and important role in an efficient and equitable transport system,
including affordable basic mobility, exercise and recreation, and access to
other modes including public transit and parked cars. Improving walkability,
increasing walking activity, and creating more walkable communities provides
various economic, social, and environmental benefits. Conventional planning
tends to undervalue many of these benefits, resulting in less support for
walking than is optimal. More comprehensive benefit analysis tends to
justify more support for walking, and could lead to better planning
decisions. 

 

"CNU25.Seattle: Victoria, BC Tour – The Movie!" (https://vimeo.com/220791348
). This entertaining video by John D. Simmerman of the Active Towns
Initiative shows the day-long tour of Victoria, Canada led by Todd Litman of
the Victoria Transportation Policy Institute, Dan Burden and Samantha Tomas
of Blue Zones.


"Can Victoria Be Canada's Most Bikeable City?" (http://bit.ly/2tgRAI0 ). The
controversial #Biketoria cycle track network is moving forward through the
Capital. Levi Hildebrand and Riley examine the complexities of the
situation, with interviews of bicycle network opponents and supporters,
including Todd Litman.

 

"Streets are for Everyone, Not Just Motorists: Complete Streets for a
Complete Community" (https://t.co/GfC3QvX58D ). This Times Colonist
newspaper column describes the importance of creating a diverse transport
system in order to serve diverse mobility needs: walking and cycling for
local errands, public transit on busy travel corridors and automobile
transport when it is truly the best option, considering all impacts.

 

"Privilégier l’automobile coûte très cher à la société"
(http://bit.ly/2pBcjHx ) and (http://bit.ly/2pnYADu ). These two articles in
the French Canadian Quebec Journal newspaper quotes Todd Litman concerning
highway expansions congestion reduction impacts (modest and temporary), and
alternative solutions to urban traffic problems. For more information on
this research see my report, "Smart Congestion Relief" (
<http://www.vtpi.org/cong_relief.pdf> http://www.vtpi.org/cong_relief.pdf ).

 

"Forget Flying Cars: We Need Floating Ones. As Traffic on Land Stalls, the
Sea Beckons" (http://bit.ly/2pLFpFw ). This CityLab column discusses the
role that ferries - maritime public transit - can play in providing
efficient and enjoyable urban transport. It quotes Todd Litman concerning
their costs and benefits: “Some ferry services, such as ferry services to
islands, provide basic mobility and experience scale economies. Some
services compete with congested bridges and so reduce congestion costs". 

 

"Perceived Link Between Transit, Crime Tough to Dispel"
(http://bit.ly/2uskUNd). This 'Houston Chronical' article cites Todd
Litman's research concerning public transit crime risks. "Crimes involving
vehicles - car thefts, vandalism, road-rage violence - are far more common
than those associated with public transportation," Litman said.

 

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

 

"Transportation for Everyone" (https://www.planetizen.com/node/93534 ). An
efficient and fair transportation system must serve diverse users. The
"Transportation for Everyone" rating system evaluates transport system
diversity and, therefore, its ability to serve all community members.

 

"Gentrification, for Better and Worse"
(https://www.planetizen.com/node/92831 ). Gentrification—more wealthy people
moving into lower-income communities—often faces opposition, sometimes for
the wrong reasons. It is important to consider all benefits and costs when
formulating urban development policies.

 

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

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NEW PARTNERSHIPS

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

The Urban Development and Mobility Institute (www.udminstitute.org ) is a
new international organization that offers evidence-based,
multi-disciplinary global services to evaluate and improve urban
transportation and development. 

 

Cities for Everyone (http://citiesforeveryone.org ) is a community
organization that supports more affordable housing and transportation in
order to provide security, freedom and opportunity for people with all
incomes and abilities. See our recent analysis, "Stop Blaming Foreigners: We
Cause Housing Inaffordability Problems and We Can Solve Them"
(http://bit.ly/2vzpM33 ) and "Retrofit or Replace Aging Rental Housing –
That Is the Question" (http://bit.ly/2vzpM33)

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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

Committee for Sydney (http://www.sydney.org.au ), Sydney, Australia,
September 19-21. Todd Litman will speak at various events, including
workshops for the State Departments of Transport and Planning on integrated
land-use and transport, affordable housing and demand management. The
Committee for Sydney is an independent research and advocacy organization
that includes major companies, universities, not-for-profits, local and
state government departments, and key cultural, sporting and marketing
bodies. Their work focuses on getting density right, demand management,
value capture on transport infrastructure, and improving the cultural and
livability of greater Sydney. 

 

8th International Symposium on Travel Demand Management
(http://2017tdm.ntu.edu.tw ), Taipei, Taiwan, September 26 – 29, 2017. This
conference links researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers concerned
with TDM theory and implementation. Within the intensive two-day discussion
and opinion exchange, we are looking forward to the spark of innovative and
visionary ideas that inspire the present and future direction of TDM, on
both academic and industrial tracks. Todd Litman will give a keynote
presentation. 

 

EcoMobility World Congress 2017 (http://www.ecomobilityfestival.org ), 

1 - 4 October, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The fourth EcoMobility World Congress will
be held from 2 to 4 October 2017 in conjunction with the EcoMobility World
Festival. This year’s theme: Livable, Shared, and Intelligent. It is
expected to attract approximately 500 local and international participants
including city officials, high-level government representatives and policy
makers, transportation experts, representatives from development banks,
representatives from international and local non-governmental organizations,
researchers, and businesses involved in sustainable urban mobility. The
Congress aims to bring the sustainable urban mobility debate to the global
level, coupled with local context of implementation. 

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BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

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

Manitoba Planning Conference (www.mbplanningconference.com ). Todd Litman
gave a presentation concerning rural multi-modal transportation planning,
and led a workshop concerning affordability as a planning issue
(http://bit.ly/2eCE1A1).

 

Congress for New Urbanism (www.cnu.org ) in Seattle, May 2-5. Presentations
by Peter Katz and Todd Litman summarized research on 'Selling Smart Growth'
(www.vtpi.org/ssg ), which points out that compact, multi-modal development
provides many often-overlooked direct benefits to residents, businesses and
local governments. 

 

Canadian Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communication, May 2
Hearing Concerning Connected and Self-driving Vehicles
(http://bit.ly/2pYvJXS ). Todd Litman summarized his research published in
the report, "Autonomous Vehicle Implementation Projection: Implications for
Transport Planning" (www.vtpi.org/avip ).

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USEFUL RESOURCES

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

"Costs of Sprawl" (http://amzn.to/2gVCBSa ). This new book by Reid Ewing and
Shima Hamidi summarizes the authors’ extensive research on the relationship
between land use development patterns and quality-of-life outcomes such as
affordability, safety, health and economic opportunity. It is an invaluable
resource for researchers, planners, urban designers, policy makers and
public health advocates.

 

H2H2H Foundation (https://h2h2h.org ) is a nonprofit, private foundation
which promotes the delivery of quality Mobility Management services by
government agencies, institutions, businesses and other community
stakeholders. It aims to improve transportation options for consumers,
create mutual respect between transportation users and providers, and
advocates and promotes best practices in transportation management.

 

"Commute Mode Diversity and Public Health: A Multivariate Analysis of 148 US
Cities” (http://bit.ly/2uOMne9 ). This study by Chad Frederick, William
Riggs and John Hans Gilderbloom published in the 'International Journal of
Sustainable Transportation.' The researchers analyzed the relationships
between travel patterns and public health indicators for various mid-size
U.S. cities and counties. They found a significant positive relationship
between more multimodal commuting and positive health outcomes including
healthier behaviors reported in the Gallup/Healthway’s Well-Being Index,
more leisure quality reported by Sperling’s Cities Ranked and Rated, more
access to exercise reported by the Environmental Systems Research Institute,
less sedentary living and obesity reported in the Center for Disease
Control’s Diabetes Interactive Atlas, more Years of Potential Life Lost (an
indicator of longevity and overall health), and higher birth weights (an
indicator of infant health) reported by the National Center for Health
Statistics. These relationships are stronger than many other sociological,
geographical, and economic factors, suggesting that living in a multimodal
community provides significant health benefits. These findings underscore
the positive impact of sustainable transportation policies.

 

“Neighborhood Density and Travel Mode: New Survey Findings for High
Densities” (http://bit.ly/2ty0gOn ). This study by Professor Sherman Lewis
published in the International Journal of Sustainable Development uses
census and travel survey data to measure vehicle ownership and use by urban
neighborhood type in the San Francisco Bay region. Lewis found that although
total per capita trips vary little, automobile mode shares and per capita
vehicle travel decline, walking and transit mode shares and mileage
increase, and total daily minutes of travel decline, with increased density.
Excellent graphs illustrate these impacts.

 

"Housing Constraints and Spatial Misallocation" (http://bit.ly/2r0SgUo ).
This study by Chang-Tai Hsieh and Enrico Moretti use data from 220
metropolitan areas to evaluate how geographic factors affect productivity.
They find that restrictions on infill development significantly reduce the
number of workers who can work in high productivity cities, which they
estimate reduced total economic growth by more than 50% from 1964 to 2009.
The authors recommend allowing increased densities and expanding high
quality public transit services in high productivity cities to increase
economic development and opportunity.

 

"Analyzing the Impact of Public Transit Usage on Obesity"
(http://bit.ly/2tsl1XP ). This article by Zhaowei She, Douglas M. King and
Sheldon H. Jacobson in Preventive Medicine used comprehensive demographic,
travel and health survey data to evaluate factors that affect obesity. Their
results indicate that each 1% increase in public transit use is associated
with a 0.221% percent decrease in county’s obesity rates. 

 

"Powered Two- and Three-Wheeler Safety: A Road Safety Manual for
Decision-Makers and Practitioners" (http://bit.ly/2tstMRp ). This World
Health Organization manual describes the magnitude of powered two wheelers
(PTW) death and injury, key risk factors, ways of assessing the PTW safety
situation in a given setting and preparing an action plan, and how to
select, design, implement and evaluate effective interventions. This manual
stresses the importance of a comprehensive, holistic approach that includes
engineering, legislation and enforcement measures, as well as behavioral
change.

 

"Global Street Design Guide" (http://bit.ly/2ruygcw ). This guide by the
National Association of City Transportation Officials offers practical
guidance for designing streets and public spaces. It broadens how to measure
the success of urban streets to include access, safety and mobility for all
users, environmental quality, economic benefit, public health and overall
quality of life.

 

"Physical Activity: Built Environment Approaches Combining Transportation
System Interventions with Land Use and Environmental Design"
(http://bit.ly/2oYW1UT ). This guide by the U.S. Center for Disease
Control’s Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends built
environment strategies that combine one or more interventions to improve
pedestrian or bicycle transportation systems with one or more land use and
environmental design interventions to increase physical activity.

 

"Transport Justice: Designing Fair Transportation Systems"
(http://bit.ly/2fYu3EX ) by Karel Martens provides guidance for developing
more equitable transportation systems based on the concepts of
‘sustainability’ and ‘accessibility’. 

 

"Equitable Bike Share Means Building Better Places for People to Ride"
(http://bit.ly/2vODz57 ). This report by the National Association of City
Transportation Officials found that when cities expand their bike networks,
more people bicycle, that increased cycling tends to increase safety
overall, and gains in bike safety are especially important for low-income
riders and riders of color.  

 

"Linking People and Places: New Ways of Understanding Spatial Access in
Cities" (http://bit.ly/2tYwxtP ). This study by the International Transport
Forum found that urban planners and transportation modellers are developing
increasingly sophisticated measures of accessibility. These help planners
and decision-makers understand how travel and land use factors affect
overall accessibility. The study recommends strategic development of data
sets and analysis tools that measure accessibility rather than mobility for
urban planning purposes. 

 

"Cycling Towards a More Sustainable Transport Future" (http://bit.ly/2vOrWLy
). This editorial by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler in 'Transport Reviews'
provides evidence of growing support for bicycle transportation in many
countries, and discusses the benefits that result.

 

“Evaluating the Safety in Numbers Effect for Pedestrians at Urban
Intersections” (http://bit.ly/2uO2mta ), by Brendan Murphy, David M.
Levinson, and Andrew Owen, published in 'Accident Analysis & Prevention'
found that in 448 Minneapolis city intersections, pedestrians had a lower
risk of being hit by a car at intersections with higher pedestrian traffic,
and motorists had lower risk of hitting pedestrians at intersections with
more car traffic, demonstrating safety in numbers effects.

 

"Bridging the Gap: Your Role in Transporting Children With Disabilities to
School in Developing Countries" (http://www.globalride-sf.org ) by Access
Exchange International provides practical guidance for improving school
access. 

 

Shared Use Mobility Center ( <http://www.sharedusemobilitycenter.org>
www.sharedusemobilitycenter.org) supports shared mobility including
bikesharing, carsharing, ridesharing and more, and integrate these services
with transit agencies, cities and communities across the nation.

 

"How to Create a Shared Mobility Market Report for Your Neighborhood"
(http://bit.ly/2eGkE9r ) by the Shared Use Mobility Center provides guidance
and tools to help users (transit agencies, planners, advocates, developers,
TDM professionals and more) assess the potential for establishing or
expanding shared mobility in specific neighborhoods. 

 

"Stop Blaming Foreign Home Buyers. Untangling the Role of Foreign Investment
in the Vancouver and Seattle Housing Markets" (http://bit.ly/2v3kATV ). This
report by Dan Bertolet at the Sightline Institute provides solid information
on factors that increase housing prices in attractive and economically
successful cities. The analysis suggests that, contrary to popular claims,
foreign investments make only modest contributions, and empty units make no
measurable contribution, to housing price inflation. This analysis provides
further evidence that the best solution to housing unaffordability is to
support development of more moderate-priced housing units, particularly
rental apartments and condominiums.   

 

"The Hidden Cost of Bundled Parking" (http://bit.ly/2vzo6qt ). Researchers
C.J. Gabbe and Gregory Pierce estimate that off-street parking required by
zoning codes costs renter households approximately $1,700 annually or 17% of
rents. They argue that this is particularly burdensome to carless renters,
who tend to have low incomes, who are forced to pay for parking that they do
not need or want. 

 

"The Criminalization of Walking" (https://works.bepress.com/lewyn/125 ).
This article by Michael Lewyn in the 'University of Illinois Law Review'
examines how walking is criminalized in the United States. Lewyn concludes
that such policies reduce pedestrian liberty, increase automobile traffic
and pollution, and create a disincentive for physical activity. In addition,
the purported safety benefits of criminalizing walking pale in comparison to
those of decriminalization. 

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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