tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15294364765023415922024-03-13T20:06:12.444-07:00The Express StopUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-72586243118536125922013-01-17T15:48:00.000-08:002013-01-17T15:48:27.403-08:00Transportation Camp: No Lake, Bunk Beds, and it's in the Winter<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://transportationcamp.org/" target="_blank">Transportation Camp</a> - Why Go?</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why get out of bed early on a Saturday morning in the middle of the winter - decidedly not summer camp weather - to leave your partner (</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">if you have one</span>), children (if you have them), pets </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(if you have them) </span>and absolve yourself of all adult responsibility and the comforts of routine and loved ones </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">to spend an entire day </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">in windowless rooms - also not camp like - to discuss all aspects of transportation with 300</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> people, many of whom describe themselves as transportation geeks</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why attend an unconference, an event where there are no keynote speakers, predetermined sessions, experts, bios or daises? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why? Because you will have fun - yes, it's camp - with people excited about walkable streets, better transit, open data, paratransit, bikesharing, bus rapid transit plans, and</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> social media use by, for and perhaps with some hostility to transit</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Indeed, upon arrival (without trunk, duffel bags, parents, or junk food), one does not even know what is on the program. But like any returning camper, one knows and sees friends, some from previous stays at camp and some from other venues - in this case twitter, normal conferences, and actual work. (Apologies to any twitter friends not recognized from those tiny twitter photos.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Indeed, as <a href="http://transportationcamp.org/" target="_blank">Transportation Camp</a> is an unconference, the campers suggest what will be discussed and offer their own expertise as speakers or as bunch of nerds interested in talking about something. Some come bearing presentations, cameras, tablets, and laptops; others admit they are concerned citizens without a resume and curious. Some come alone and others with lots of colleagues. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BE5KhbaukFo/UPWrqN7gBUI/AAAAAAAAAbE/wZOaMRHEFBw/s1600/Arlington-20130112-00190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BE5KhbaukFo/UPWrqN7gBUI/AAAAAAAAAbE/wZOaMRHEFBw/s1600/Arlington-20130112-00190.jpg" height="221" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">[Attendees reading session ideas posted on colorful, large post-its.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And what actually happens at the camp social?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Not that anyone was flirting in the social hall or hanging out by the big tree at the lake (wait, that's actual camp), but one sees lots of connections being made, as if data, social media, transit, biking, walking soul mates are finding each other. I saw colleagues and friends from Ithaca, Iowa, Portland, and Boston, and met people from practically my own backyard interested in some of the same hometown (though inside the Beltway) issues. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think half of the
San Francisco DOT attended camp in Arlington. There were also a bunch of
mobility management professionals, some there to promote ideas, some
seeking ideas, and all wanting to share.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In terms of quality, sessions vary from amazing to "I should have chosen something else," with my own experience much more toward the former. As there are only four sessions over the course of the day and about 10 offerings during each time slot, there is often heard the cheerful complaint of an embarrassment of rich choices. If cloning were possible, ...</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L-yMrx7CWDc/UPXFI5cgI6I/AAAAAAAAAbU/u6PhntYrpfo/s1600/Arlington-20130112-00191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L-yMrx7CWDc/UPXFI5cgI6I/AAAAAAAAAbU/u6PhntYrpfo/s1600/Arlington-20130112-00191.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">[Possible offerings displayed. Yes, this photo is intentionally gigantic so that some of the post-its can be read.] </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One could easily have spent the entire day immersed in a virtual "track" of data sharing, open source, apps and other things that normal people (translation: someone like me) know little or nothing about. Instead, I chose a variety of different topics - (1) Transit social media engagement (with both the rider and the transit agency perspectives discussed), (2) universal design advocacy and planning for streets and transportation to suit all users (particularly people with disabilities), (3) sharing big ideas, and (4) bus rapid transit (BRT) plans and politics in the DC area. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>Rural Roads Meet the Jetsons, Sort of?</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What were some big ideas? Cost-effective personal rapid transit for rural areas; walkable streets - with access to transit - in suburban and rural areas; pre-purchased annual transportation with a menu of transportation choices (to replace one or more privately-owned vehicles). There were a ton more; that's just the tiniest of samples.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the BRT session, a gentleman from Ireland supplied this DC-area crowd with a list of cities around the world with bus systems worthy of comparison.* Another gentleman, originally from suburban Maryland, talked about his BRT planning experiences in Brazil. Montgomery County's Rapid Transit Vehicle (RTV) plan was discussed in detail, including the role of the planning and transportation departments, which, by the way, report to different entities (the former reporting to the county council and the latter to the county executive). Other DC-area BRT activity described included Arlington, Howard and Prince William counties, with some of those more akin to express commuter services. </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One Person's Mobility Experiences</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The universal design session was led by a person who travels in a wheelchair and the session was very much informed by the her experiences, in terms of using the pedestrian network and transit, as well as advocacy and maintaining relationships with political leaders and other types of advocacy groups. She mentioned biking groups as one example of stakeholders that can be useful for people with disabilities in pushing for universal design and multi-modal streets. A controversy arose during the session about expertise of planners versus advocacy of residents and which deserves more weight, though most of the session was conducted in the spirit of building relationships with various stakeholders rather than a zero-sum game of right and wrong.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The social media session I attended (and there were quite a few offered) concentrated on twitter - from the perspective of the complaining rider and the transit agency. Effective engagement strategies were discussed rather than mere whining about service. At the center of the session was discussion about building relationships with staff at the transit agency and how to do that. Sometimes those tweeting interactions become actual relationships. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tell your parents to sign you up for camp next year, or sign up yourself. <a href="http://transportationcamp.org/south/" target="_blank">Next camp is coming up soon in Atlanta</a> - in February - another decidedly un-camp-like time of year. If we have camp in July, my porch is open for a front row seat at the Takoma Park July Fourth Parade. I'll even make bug juice.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*Cities with bus networks mentioned were <a href="http://www.humantransit.org/2010/10/aimere-netherlands-as-bus-oriented-development.html" target="_blank">Almere</a> (Netherlands), Melbourne, Helsinki, Gothenburg (Sweden), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantes_Busway" target="_blank">Nantes</a> (France).</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-72324833814720730992012-11-20T11:45:00.000-08:002012-11-20T11:45:16.886-08:00Fiscal Cliff? One Perspective on Real Deal for Transportation, Transit<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Now that election 2012 is so many news cycles ago, what is the so-called "fiscal cliff" newscasters keep screaming about? Is the situation dire? What is actually at stake, particularly for publicly-funded mobility options? What will Congress do? What are the details?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The "fiscal cliff" refers to the possibility of sequestration, a word too big for most news media. Fiscal cliff sounds more comprehensible and more dramatic at the same time. If you take away one piece of information from this post, remember that everything - yes, every bit of federal funding - is up for negotiation. Even if we avoid the fiscal cliff. consequences for federal programs might be minimal or huge. We just do not know yet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><u>Warning: This post will repeat - over and over - the important message that everything is subject to negotiation by Congress.</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fiscal Cliff Can Be Avoided by an Act of Congress </span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The fiscal cliff, or as it is formally called, sequestration, refers to t</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">he Budget Control Act (BCA), which requires Congress to reduce spending by
$1.2 trillion over the next ten years. Without Congressional Action,
reductions will begin in January 2013 and continue through Federal
Fiscal Year (FFY) 2021. Of the $1.2 trillion in cuts the law would require - IF Congress does <u>not</u> act (and it will) - half of the savings would
be derived from defense programs and half from non-defense programs. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, Congress can avoid sequestration by passing legislation to avoid it. </span>The deadline for the "fiscal cliff" </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Jan. 2, 2013. The new Congress will be sworn in on Jan. 3. The Bush tax cuts are set to expire on Jan. 1.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VlsAiRqALRA/UJ1nCgB-4bI/AAAAAAAAATA/pCE6ieMO3jw/s1600/P6050056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VlsAiRqALRA/UJ1nCgB-4bI/AAAAAAAAATA/pCE6ieMO3jw/s320/P6050056.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Now is the time. Clock in Kansas city's Union Station.]</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Congress Tends to Act Close to Deadlines </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The truth is that no one actually knows whether sequestration
will happen or what will be negotiated to avoid its harsh consequences
because this is an ever-changing situation that will probably meander in
negotiations and hit some crisis points before it is resolved close to
the January deadline. Congress tends to be like college students, working hard
on tasks only when an assignment is almost due. That is part and parcel
of the legislative/sausage making dance. It is Congressional
gamesmanship. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This
is the messy part of democracy. Read about the constitutional
convention and the state conventions that considered the Constitution.
We are upholding a long tradition.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uAc6geltIKg/UJgRAb1D_5I/AAAAAAAAARQ/eOyTGXfpoRA/s1600/P8150596.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uAc6geltIKg/UJgRAb1D_5I/AAAAAAAAARQ/eOyTGXfpoRA/s320/P8150596.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[El station in Chicago's Loop.]</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Everything Is on the Table for Negotiation </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">National organizations, lobbyists, businesses and others are paying attention. Why? What is
important is that Congress can consider all aspects of the federal
budget as its members ruminate on and trade chits about what will be
funded and how much money will go for what. That means that cuts might
take place for certain programs, but not necessarily in the amounts that
sequestration would compel. What programs will be affected and in what
amounts remains in question.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Indeed, even programs not subject to BCA/sequestration/fiscal cliff reductions could be on the table for negotiation. Right now might be a good time to let your representatives in the House and Senate know what your valued services are and about your funding streams. </span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Why Is Congress Likely to Act to Avoid Sequestration?</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">With gridlock on Capital Hill a common occurrence, how do we know that Congress will act? What exactly is the threat that will light a fire under 435 Congressional offices? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Only
if Congress acts will the country avoid sequestration. Such inaction
will not be perceived as a good move by most voters. If there is any message from the election, it is that the public is really wants Congress to do more than have members stare at each other from across the aisle and refuse to do anything. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0o2ndb-XTBQ/UKuugs8X9mI/AAAAAAAAAT8/svNM6s0oMoM/s1600/P9280932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0o2ndb-XTBQ/UKuugs8X9mI/AAAAAAAAAT8/svNM6s0oMoM/s1600/P9280932.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
[<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Early morning along the Columbia River Gorge looking across from Washington State to Oregon.</span>]<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sequestration Translation for Transportation</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The following is a summary of what the fiscal cliff - or sequestration, as it is properly known - would mean for transportation were sequestration to happen. We do not believe this will occur. According to the <a href="http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/" target="_blank">Transportation Issues Daily</a>, in a <a href="http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/deep-funding-cuts-scheduled-for-popular-transit-program-amtrak-and-aviation-programs/" target="_blank">post about sequestration</a>, exempt from the sequestration requirements are programs supported by the highway fund, including:
</span>
<br />
<ul><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<li>Federal-Aid Highways</li>
<li>Highway Traffic Safety Grants</li>
<li>NHTSA operations and research, and <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/Data/National+Driver+Register/National+Driver+Register/">National Driver Register</a></li>
<li>Motor Carrier Safety Operations and Programs</li>
<li>Motor Carrier Safety Grants</li>
<li>Transit Formula and Bus Grants</li>
<li>Airport Improvement <a href="http://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/">program</a></li>
</span></ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Transit programs other than those above, however, would be subject to sequestraion, such as New Starts and Amtrak. (Also affected would be some Federal Aviation Administration programs.) And, the <a href="http://www.dot.gov/" target="_blank">Department of Transportation</a> would not be the decision maker to apportion the cuts. Transportation Issues Daily reported:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The spending cuts will be
across the board and determined by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). The final say on how the sequester will be implemented will be
made by OMB in the coming months. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">USDOT will have no discretion or
authority in determining the level of cuts by program. In other words,
USDOT will not have the authority decide to cut more from an aviation program and less
from a transit program.</span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nshdKzIXsAw/UJgTHigu4CI/AAAAAAAAARY/10y9rVgmN_U/s1600/PA091468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nshdKzIXsAw/UJgTHigu4CI/AAAAAAAAARY/10y9rVgmN_U/s320/PA091468.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Seats for seniors and people with disabilities on a San Francisco streetcar.]</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Exempt </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">≠ Hands Off</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Again, the law's provisions should not be viewed as any indication of what will actually occur. It's provisions are better thought of as the threat that will induce Congress to act. It might happen, but probably not. And anything exempt from the terms of the so-called fiscal cliff law can be touched by Congress - and that most likely means reduced. Transportation Daily continues to closely watch sequestration developments. Please note that it offers its own opinions as well as facts.</span> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Sequestration and MAP-21</b><br />
<br />
</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Although MAP-21 retains the highway trust fund and mentions funding
amounts that are mostly not subject to sequestration (with some of the
exceptions mentioned above), that does not mean that transit, community
transportation and even highways are home free. None of the money under
MAP-21 is guaranteed. <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">T</span>he
last two authorizations (SAFETEA-LU and TEA-21) treated transit
spending as "mandatory," which meant that it was not subject to the
vicissitudes of annual appropriations. MAP-21 did not contain such
language. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6FcffW6yNf0/UKuzK33nrrI/AAAAAAAAAUM/DuMR92YI3kg/s1600/PA091421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6FcffW6yNf0/UKuzK33nrrI/AAAAAAAAAUM/DuMR92YI3kg/s1600/PA091421.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">[Another pretty streetcar in San Francisco.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Nothing Is Exempt from Reductions</b> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Congress can do whatever it wants, including making funding changes to programs unmentioned in the BCA (</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the fiscal cliff law</span></span></span></span></span>) or explicitly exempt. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I repeat, "</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Congress can do whatever it wants." </span></span></span></span></span>It can change whatever it wants in the negotiations that are taking place between now and January. Funding amounts for MAP-21 programs, for human services, for jobs programs, or for anything might stay the same or be reduced. Increases are extremely unlikely.<br />
<br />
Indeed, whatever happens in these negotiations, with less and less money going into the highway fund - with
increased fuel efficiency and overall less driving - and appropriations
amounts up in the air - transportation access and infrastructure across
all modes will be dealing with greater uncertainties in funding. </span> </span><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Learning about Sequestration</b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you want to know what the BCA law provides for exactly in terms of reductions were Congress to fail to act, the White House
released the congressionally-mandated report detailing the <a href="http://narc.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6f332e973fea19c6d59ade453&id=7531671e86&e=e33835073c" target="_blank">impacts of sequestration for each federal agency's programs</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Staff at some state departments of transportation and transit agencies are being briefed about sequestration prospects. Colorado, <a href="http://irvingblog.dallasnews.com/2012/11/rep-linda-harper-brown-appointed-to-interim-committee.html/" target="_blank">Texas</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CGgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdbm.maryland.gov%2Fagencies%2Foperbudget%2FFY2013Testimony%2FJ00.pdf&ei=sSAYUMGzGNON6QGc04DIBA&usg=AFQjCNED_BLrCGaxO4ATsZezuQY0ZK1kbg&sig2=mfQQIK6RZ6QH6_TcDPPWZg" target="_blank">Maryland</a>
are examples. Maryland officials do not believe sequestration would
have much impact on its transportation programs because most of the
federal money the state receives is via the highway fund and it does not
have any New Starts projects slated for 2013. The assumption is that Congress and the President will work to address sequestration before 2012 is up.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XBfx9HoCFGs/UKO0mUUSw8I/AAAAAAAAATg/Xrk5BeZJnwc/s1600/PA091395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XBfx9HoCFGs/UKO0mUUSw8I/AAAAAAAAATg/Xrk5BeZJnwc/s320/PA091395.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Entry gate in San Francisco.] </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b>National Organizations Educate Constituencies</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is information and links that national organizations have provided. And what is important to remember? The fiscal cliff scenario is unlikely to become reality. The prospect of it happening is a threat hanging over Congress' capital dome. These are risks that different organizations declare would occur were we to allow sequestration to happen - in other words, the other side of the fiscal cliff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://narc.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">National Association of Regional Councils</span></a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">NARC has a wealth of information about the possible consequences of sequestration.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://narc.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6f332e973fea19c6d59ade453&id=c312662aed&e=e33835073c" target="_blank">Presentation</a> with information about what sequestration might mean for local economies.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. <a href="http://narc.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=6f332e973fea19c6d59ade453&id=178073b638&e=e33835073c" target="_blank">Summary of the White House report</a> on sequestration reductions.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Chicago water taxi on the Chicago River.] </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nado.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">National Association of Development Organizations</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Archived webinar - <a href="http://www.nado.org/events/nado-webinar-on-sequestration/" target="_blank">Sequestration</a>. The webinar addresses sequestration's potential impact on regional development organizations and local governments, as well as the impact
that it could have on the economy as a whole, and federal government
spending and programs. The day before the Nov. 6 election, NADO offered an <a href="http://www.nado.org/update-on-the-fiscal-cliff/" target="_blank">update about the possible political options</a>, what is at stake, and predicted economic ramifications. NADO summarizes a political publication's prediction that "</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the most likely option is another set of stop-gap measures that would delay a more permanent policy change until 2013 or later."</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ampo.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">AMPO offers its perspective to its members about how Congress is handling the prospect of sequestration before the election and into early 2013. </span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Congressional leaders agreed to punt FY13 appropriations bills into next year, bypassing what could have been a prolonged and politically nasty partisan battle prior to the election. With this move, Members avoid having to cast votes that could haunt them in their re-election bids. This also avoids short-term CRs [continuing resolutions] that have in the past led to government agency preparation for shut downs. The agreement keeps the federal government funded from October 2012 to March 2013. Senate Democrats and House Republicans agreed that both chambers will vote in September on a continuing resolution for the first half of fiscal 2013, using the $1.047 trillion discretionary spending limit agreed to in last year’s deficit reduction law.</span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
This budget strategy clears the way for Congress to debate how to address impending across-the-board spending cuts (sequestration), which are scheduled to go in to effect at the beginning of next year (Jan 2, 2013), as well as the expiring Bush tax cuts (end of this year). These negotiations will take place either during in the lame-duck session or possibly in early 2013. Both chambers of Congress have or will pass legislation that establishes markers for how they would like to see the pending tax and spending issues resolved.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtrcCTa-NGw/UJgVL1BvWvI/AAAAAAAAARo/yOd55weTRag/s1600/P8150622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtrcCTa-NGw/UJgVL1BvWvI/AAAAAAAAARo/yOd55weTRag/s320/P8150622.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Informal bike parking.] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.transportation.org/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">AASHTO is <a href="http://fleetowner.com/fleet-management/solving-revenue-gap-riddle-key-post-election-challenge-transportation" target="_blank">alerting its constituency to the "fiscal cliff" when MAP-21 lapses</a> instead of sounding alarm bells about sequestration.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[T]he <a href="http://www.cbo.gov/"><u>Congressional Budget Office</u></a> (CBO)
projects that massive cuts in both highway and transit funding will
occur in fiscal year (FY) 2015 if MAP-21 expires and nothing replaces
it. ... [T]he CBO projects highway funding would be slashed to
$4.5 billion in FY 2015 from $40 billion annually right now, with
transit program funding shrinking to $3.5 billion from $11 billion.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Seniors and Sequestration </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nasuad.org/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">NASUAD posts a table, <a href="http://www.nasuad.org/documentation/nasuad_materials/Impact%20of%20sequester%20on%20OAA%20programs%20for%20pp.pdf" target="_blank">Impact of sequester on fiscal year 2012 Older Americans Act programs</a>, which lists the amounts each program is predicted to receive with and without sequestration. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.n4a.org/" target="_blank">National Association of Area Agencies on Aging</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">N4A sent out an <a href="http://www.n4a.org/advocacy/alerts/?fa=view-article&id=1323" target="_blank">alert</a> to its members in September that sequestration would have devastating consequences. It noted speculation that "17 million meals for seniors would be lost and 1.5 million fewer low-income people served by the Community Services Block Grant." N4A encouraged its members to tell their federal representatives how important it is to older Americans to avoid sequestration.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_0JUvWH9Wd8/UKusS6M7uRI/AAAAAAAAATw/B3oPFk8bM_0/s1600/P6140212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_0JUvWH9Wd8/UKusS6M7uRI/AAAAAAAAATw/B3oPFk8bM_0/s1600/P6140212.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Tile in London's Bank Street Underground station. Mind the gap.]<br />
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lcao.org/" target="_blank">Leadership Council of Aging Organizations</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The council states in an <a href="http://www.lcao.org/docs/LCAO-Sequestration-Fact-Sheet-15Oct2012.pdf" target="_blank">Issue Brief</a></span> that "Any “savings” from the sequester would pale in comparison to the added costs, resulting in premature
nursing home placement for seniors who can no longer stay in their homes and communities because of
reduced federal funding."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://public.cq.com/docs/news/news-000004122964.html" target="_blank">CQ Today Online News</a> summarizes what is at stake, the positions of both political parties, and activity in Congress. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Possible scenarios are: (1) nothing gets done; (2) a deal is made to avert sequestration; or (3) sequestration is averted and big decisions are made. The expiration of the Bush tax cuts at about the same time adds urgency to the lame luck session of Congress and what will be negotiated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The deadline for the "fiscal cliff" </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Jan. 2, 2013. The new Congress will be sworn in on Jan. 3. The Bush tax cuts are set to expire on Jan. 1.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And what should you remember? Everything is up for negotiation.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[Editors note: Due to the limits on label characters for this blogging platform, this post will not be listed under the labels for the organizations mentioned.]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x1TZE1sDC-k/UJqN2Inec_I/AAAAAAAAASs/j-wR94lSSUc/s1600/PA021112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x1TZE1sDC-k/UJqN2Inec_I/AAAAAAAAASs/j-wR94lSSUc/s320/PA021112.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sunlight shining through a dark forest.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-34687610186762706432012-10-31T12:41:00.000-07:002012-10-31T12:41:53.136-07:00How-To Guides for Multimodal Results<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recent reports are exploring how to accomplish multimodal results, whether for large metropolitan areas or rural states. Whether talking transit, road maintenance, ridesharing or walkable streets where children and seniors can feel comfortable and safe, the emphasis is on sharing what strategies are making differences in communities across the country. While some are purely practical guides, others include performance measurement, with an acknowledgement that touting success is part and parcel of encouraging transportation investments. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Statewide Transportation Approaches</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The <a href="http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/the-innovative-dot" target="_blank">Innovative DOT</a>, a handbook produced by <a href="http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/" target="_blank">Smart Growth America</a>, concentrates on examples of state progress in multimodal and performance-based funding, financing, and mode-neutral policies. The handbook covers mode-neutral funding, with statutory examples, taxing options, interagency coordination efforts, economic development, complete streets, maintenance of roads and much more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Case studies are offered on every topic. Multiple examples </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">are from Oregon and Maryland. Oregon uses lottery proceeds, transportation utility fees, and mode-neutral performance measures, and even conducted a VMT pilot project. Maryland's examples include mode-neutral funding, a transit-oriented development (TOD) law and staffing for TOD efforts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Performance measures touted go beyond the usual number of riders in seats and costs overall or per passenger, with the guide advocating for use of some outcome measures tied to goals. Goals such as economic development, job creation, safety and coordination with land use policies are woven throughout the guide. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Careful attention is paid to a balance of urban and rural contexts as well as discussing the accomplishments of Republican and Democratic gubernatorial administrations, particularly that of Governor Romney in Massachusetts. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also highlighted are bureaucratic structures that allow for change to happen, such as inter-agency coordination and leadership of multi-agency efforts. A piece of advice for those states that have not ventured into coordinated mode-neutral transportation planning and funding is to start small, achieve success and grow. Another nice tidbit, this one on the topic of complete streets, is to redefine the term "highway" to allow for multimodal uses, such as walking and bicycling, making sure to include intersections that promote the safety for different types of road users.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">[Union Station, Kansas City]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Coordination Key to Rural Livability</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Another report explores some of the same issues as the <a href="http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/the-innovative-dot" target="_blank">Innovative DOT</a>, advising rural public transportation agencies on how they can contribute to and lead livability initiatives. <a href="http://www.trb.org/PublicTransportation/Blurbs/167448.aspx" target="_blank">Research Results Digest 375</a>, from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), is entitled <a href="http://www.trb.org/PublicTransportation/Blurbs/167448.aspx" target="_blank">Rural Public Transportation Strategies for Responding to the Livable and Sustainable Communities Initiative</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The report addresses common concerns of rural public transportation efforts, including local match and coordination, while acknowledging small staff sizes and the importance of partnerships.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the nationwide survey, state DOTs identified “lack of resources to complete application,” “lack of technical expertise,” and “initiatives too small to be competitive” as the most significant challenges that rural communities and transit providers face in </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">competing for federal livability funding.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Respondents to the survey identified partnerships as one of the most successful ways that rural communities have made themselves competitive for federal livability funding. In particular, partnerships with other local organizations or with a state agency were both mentioned by more than 40 percent of respondents. In many areas, an RPO, an MPO from an adjacent metro area, a large private employer, or a local university could be a potential partner for a rural community. Rural communities can leverage funding, staff time and resources, and expertise from these types of partnerships, thereby reducing the burden on agency staff while making for a stronger project or plan. State DOTs can potentially provide the forum for regional or statewide collaboration by putting a process in place for regional or statewide meetings, providing funding, or providing other technical assistance. </span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Though the report does not concentrate on shared-ride modes or public transportation, it offers helpful coordination advice. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LBpIk5Ipz3I/UJEt8gdNQJI/AAAAAAAAAPc/pwUhSuMjaaQ/s1600/P9280883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LBpIk5Ipz3I/UJEt8gdNQJI/AAAAAAAAAPc/pwUhSuMjaaQ/s320/P9280883.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">[View from the back of Amtrak's Empire Builder out west.] </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Incredible Results, Creative Solutions</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What's not to like about a government program that accomplishes its goals and ushers in significant change in a range of communities from pastoral to densely populated? The report to Congress on the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">outcomes of the nonmotorized transportation pilot program</span>, formally entitled <a href="http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/ntpp/2012_report/" target="_blank">Report to the U.S. Congress on the Outcomes of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program SAFETEA-LU Section 1807</a>, demonstrates that a little funding can go a long way. Results were mode-share increases in the four pilot communities for biking and walking beyond the national average, with average increases of 49 and 22 percent, respectively, between 2007 and 2010. And this significant shift cost a total of $10.1 million dollars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">According to the report, the results likely underestimate mode shift as well as lives saved, injuries averted, and health benefits from a diverse array of infrastructure investments, education and outreach, and training for planners and engineers. In addition to the $6.9 million saved from one measure alone, the many fatalities that did not occur (offsetting the aforementioned cost of $10.1 million previously mentioned), was the increases in transit use in every pilot community - with the notable exception of the one in which there had been significant transit service reductions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ME_9oCS3cBY/UJFQUy5UcoI/AAAAAAAAAPs/WvO7VM6xDpM/s1600/P8150563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ME_9oCS3cBY/UJFQUy5UcoI/AAAAAAAAAPs/WvO7VM6xDpM/s320/P8150563.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">[Walkers and biker in Chicago between the Loop and the Chicago River.]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also notable are the detailed discussions of the different performance measures the pilot communities employed and why the benefits and return on investments realized were likely low-ball estimates of the returns actually realized and to be accrued in the years to come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Menu of Rideshare Programs<br />
</span></b>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonlinepubs.trb.org%2Fonlinepubs%2Ftcrp%2Ftcrp_syn_98.pdf&ei=1nWRUOiaNMPX0QGdkYDICA&usg=AFQjCNHu-s1gMoNJLsX7IRN58VJ6KrbV5Q&sig2=Pr7ALmFr5_Y6_4ra8r6TWw&cad=rja" target="_blank">Ridesharing as a Compliment to Transit, TCRP Synthesis 98</a>, offers a menu of ridesharing programs, their funding sources, marketing strategies, amenities and costs for passenger use. At the level of a synthesis for options and strategies in the rideshare universe, the report is worthwhile. However, as the report expressly acknowledges, there is not much data about whether people employ ridesharing as a compliment to transit in contrast to being used as a compliment to driving or walking to the rideshare source. </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A Bargain Found in Intercity Bus Service</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/15.3_Woldeamanuel.pdf" target="_blank">Evaluating the Competitiveness of Intercity Buses in Terms of Sustainability Indicators </a>appears in the <a href="http://www.nctr.usf.edu/jpt/journal.htm" target="_blank">Journal of Public Transportation</a>, declaring the bargain of intercity buses for taxpayers and the effectiveness of this transportation mode for rural and urban travelers alike. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kVKSJ9j8rsI/UJF5fEcPxsI/AAAAAAAAAP8/cBUiFASPEAM/s1600/P6160327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kVKSJ9j8rsI/UJF5fEcPxsI/AAAAAAAAAP8/cBUiFASPEAM/s320/P6160327.JPG" width="186" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">[Bike passing through Victoria Station, London, England, with the Olympic welcome evident.]</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In whatever way it is understood, intercity bus transportation has seen growing
usage in rural areas and smaller communities as part of the public transportation
network. Intercity buses link smaller communities within a region and also link
rural communities to larger urban areas. The industry is also known to provide service for communities where access to car ownership is limited. Although U.S. cities
lost a significant amount of their scheduled intercity service over the last several
decades, recently, the industry is experiencing noteworthy growth. Despite this
recent growth, intercity bus services are having this success without public subsidy,
unlike Amtrak, municipal transit systems, and a few specialized programs that
receive federal or state assistance. Services rely on passenger fare revenue to cover
operating and capital costs and to generate an adequate return on investment to
attract capital for growth (Fravel 2003).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">
Editor's Note:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wherever you find yourself this Halloween, whether handing out treats, accompanying a trick or treater, or waiting for power and other amenities to return to normal after the huge Sandy storm, have a safe and fun evening with lots of costumes. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-76591591568094165422012-07-23T08:47:00.000-07:002012-07-26T11:42:44.223-07:00Reauthorization Responses and Explanations<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
What to make of the new <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4348/text" target="_blank">MAP-21</a> transportation law? The transportation reauthorization law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the
21st Century Act, otherwise known as MAP-21, is Public Law No: 112-141.
Click here for the <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4348/text" target="_blank">full text</a>. Here is commentary and explanations from various organizations and transportation commentators.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Federal Transit Administration</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FTA rolls out a new webpage devoted to <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov/map21/" target="_blank">MAP-21 information</a>, including illustrative apportionment data for several programs. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.atu.org/" target="_blank">Amalgamated Transit Union</a><br />
ATU commented that the new law "fails mass transit, riders and workers,
and will lead to more fare increases and service cuts – a hidden tax
increase on riders who can least afford it." ATU calls the law a "death blow for public transportation." ATU is also focusing on the transit funding cuts and what that means for bus drivers.<br />
<br />
ATU is commencing an "I'm in" campaign "to elect pro-transit and pro-Labor candidates." Information is available on the <a href="http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=e1vkAt3Ue27upEjQg57wCcztcYUjAX2Y" target="_blank">ATU Facebook page</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.transportation.org/" target="_blank">American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials</a><br />
AASHTO congratulates Congress on reaching an agreement for a new transportation law. AASHTO's <a href="http://news.transportation.org/press_release.aspx?Action=ViewNews&NewsID=446" target="_blank">press release</a> states:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Without
this legislation, drastic cutbacks would have been necessary due to a
revenue shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. There are many things to
like in this bill, including providing funding for surface
transportation programs at current levels and extending user fees and
the Highway Trust Fund through Fiscal Year 2016. We also are pleased
that the legislation includes needed reforms to stretch taxpayer dollars
with expanded innovative finance, improved efficiency with program
consolidation, streamlined project delivery, and improved accountability
with performance measures. </blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PNs--iw5jBI/UA1i7vAbglI/AAAAAAAAAN0/f_SQOQV-dD4/s1600/P6030029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PNs--iw5jBI/UA1i7vAbglI/AAAAAAAAAN0/f_SQOQV-dD4/s320/P6030029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
[Kansas City, MO, BRT "MAX" stop at the public library.]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.buses.org/" target="_blank">American Bus Association</a><br />
ABA praises Congress for passing MAP-21 and offers a <a href="http://www.buses.org/files/Press%20Releases/ABA_Praises_Congress_for_Passing_Transportation_Reauthorization_Bill.pdf" target="_blank">summary of provisions pertinent to motor carrier companies</a>. ABA observes that the new law:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[p]rovides for greater flexibility in rural transportation programs. Changes should enable
bus operators to serve more rural Americans by offering affordable, clean transportation
options while connecting isolated rural areas throughout the country to larger
communities. </blockquote>
ABA also notes that MAP-21 provides for "a study to examine the benefits of public transportation companies contracting with private carriers to transport people." <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apha.org/" target="_blank">American Public Health Association</a><br />
In its latest <a href="http://www.apha.org/advocacy/priorities/issues/transportation/Transportation_eNewsletter.htm" target="_blank">Transportation and Public Health E-Newsletter</a>, APHA recognized the "hard
work helped to preserve funding and eligibility for some important
programs that support walking and biking, as well as public
transportation programs." However, the final version of MAP-21 was considered far from APHA's vision of "a forward-looking 21st century transportation bill that provides equitable transportation choices and bolsters public health." Before the bill passed, APHA joined in a <a href="http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/E18B2C9C-7F9F-4A58-88A2-3D3933B0305E/0/LetterOpposingPublicParticipationSteamrollingProvisionsinTransportationBill62012.pdf" target="_blank">letter to conference committee members</a> that opposed changes to public participation requirements.<br />
<br />
APHA provides links to America Bikes' <a href="http://www.americabikes.org/analysis_of_the_new_transportation_bill_map_21" target="_blank">comparison of SAFETEA-LU and MAP-21</a> and information about the Rails to Trails Conservancy <a href="http://support.railstotrails.org/site/PageServer?pagename=201207_MAP_21_Webinar_Registration&autologin=true&AddInterest=1481" target="_blank">webinars about MAP-21 and transportation enhancements</a>. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/" target="_blank">American Public Transportation Association</a><br />
APTA congratulates President Obama and Congress for passing a bipartisan transportation bill. "[T]he bill includes improvements to keep our systems in a state of good
repair; streamlines delivery of public transit projects; provides
funding for new start projects and for a bus replacement and a bus
facility program. MAP21 provides for stable funding for public
transportation for twenty-seven months and will run through September
2014. "<br />
<br />
APTA issued an <a href="http://www.mmsend54.com/link.cfm?r=217699914&sid=19766136&m=2140696&u=APTA&j=10777268&s=http://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/APTA/attach/MAP21_FY2013and2014Final_FinalUZAValues.pdf" target="_blank">estimate of urban apportionments</a> and <a href="http://www.mmsend54.com/link.cfm?r=217699914&sid=19766137&m=2140696&u=APTA&j=10777268&s=http://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/APTA/attach/Map21_StateByState_Transit_Apportionment_Tables.pdf" target="_blank">state-by-state distributions</a> under MAP-21. APTA announces a <a href="http://www.mmsend54.com/link.cfm?r=217699914&sid=19868435&m=2162275&u=APTA&j=10835758&s=https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/723305480" target="_blank">webinar</a> on July 27, 2012 with key congressional committee staff from the House and Senate who wrote the transit
provisions of the recently enacted surface transportation authorization
bill, MAP-21.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cSB94H2Il44/UA1jlOY77HI/AAAAAAAAAN8/X1Ox3opsGXk/s1600/P6030028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cSB94H2Il44/UA1jlOY77HI/AAAAAAAAAN8/X1Ox3opsGXk/s320/P6030028.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
[Schedule and arrival time information at a BRT "MAX" stop in Kansas City, MO.]<br />
<br />
<a href="https://netforum.avectra.com/eWeb/StartPage.aspx?Site=ACT1&WebCode=HomePage" target="_blank">Association for Commuter Transportation</a> <br />
ACT issues a <a href="http://0356859.netsolhost.com/documents/Map-21%20A%20General%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">summary of MAP-21</a>, with commentary about spending reductions and increases, the change in the definition of carpool, use of vanpool fares as local match, and the requirement that all CMAQ projects will have a 20 percent local match. ACT also hosts a <a href="https://netforum.avectra.com/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=ACT1&WebCode=MAP21ResourceCenter" target="_blank">MAP-21 Resource Center</a> with a summary, legislative information, links to federal agency resources, and planning information.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ampo.org/" target="_blank">Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations</a> <span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><br />
<span class="MsoHyperlink">AMPO provides a <a href="http://www.ampo.org/assets/library/314_estimatedapportionmentsun.xls" target="_blank">state-by-state breakdown of funding</a> in the reauthorization. AMPO explains what MAP-21 means for metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), stating that the law brings "</span>two years of funding certainty at slightly higher levels of spending
than in 2012. MAP-21 reduces the number of highway and transit programs
and does not include any earmarks." AMPO notes that MAP-21 brings performance measures requirements and expands use of federal funds for transit operations. What was not significantly changed for the MPO community were policy in transportation planning and the population threshold for new MPOs, which
remains at 50,000.<br />
<br />
Most notable among the changes to transportation law, according to AMPO, are the changes in time periods for states to reimburse MPOs (down to 15 days), linking transportation improvement plans (TIPs) to performance targets, and targets that address national performance measures in coordination with the State and providers of public transportation.<br />
<br />
AMPO provides detailed legislative information and plans to provide more details soon on its <a href="http://www.ampo.org/" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=23&z=2%20" target="_blank">Community Transportation Association of America</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><br /></span>
<span class="MsoHyperlink">"Against what seemed to be insurmountable odds, MAP-21 emerges with two
years of funding with increases in overall transit investment for both FY 2013 and 2014,<span class="MsoHyperlink">" CTAA's message reads. It is pleased with the new Transportation Emergency Relief Program (TERP) and with the focus on safety. The association observes that the funding sources are not a sustainable solution. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span class="MsoHyperlink">MAP-21 allows for operating expense funding for transit agencies in communities above 200,000 in population and with fleets of 100 or fewer buses. The "[p]rogram that funds transportation specifically for seniors and people with disabilities must select projects that are included in a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan. The plan must be developed and approved through a process that includes seniors and people with disabilities and is coordinated to the maximum extent possible with transportation
services assisted by other federal departments and agencies." CTAA observes that rural and tribal funding is increasing.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DlYQf0WVLk/UA1ke584DpI/AAAAAAAAAOE/uATWbd1bD3E/s1600/P6030021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DlYQf0WVLk/UA1ke584DpI/AAAAAAAAAOE/uATWbd1bD3E/s320/P6030021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
[MAX low-floor BRT bus near Board of Trade and Plaza area of Kansas City, MO.]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://nado.org/" target="_blank">National Association of Development Organizations</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
NADO “made substantial progress in
promoting Regional/Rural Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPOs),” which
NADO points out are defined in MAP-21. Also notable for NADO is the requirement
for states to “cooperate” with nonmetropolitan local officials (or if
applicable, through RTPOs) in carrying out the planning sections of the bill
and in the development of the Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan.” NADO
notes additional consulting requirements on its webpage <a href="http://www.nado.org/transportation-deal-reached-draft-conference-report-includes-regional-transportation-planning-organizations/">summarizing
MAP-21’s significance for rural planning organizations</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.completestreets.org/" target="_blank">National Complete Streets Coalition</a><br />
Though disappointed that a complete streets provision did not survive the final passage of MAP-21 (observing that it had received bipartisan support), the National Complete Streets Coalition finds a positive note that the Highway Safety Improvement Program language includes "a
new, more comprehensive definition of street users that is based on
Complete Streets language." This allows for measures to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, and people with disabilities. "The term ‘road user’ means a motorist,
passenger, public transportation operator or user, truck driver,
bicyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian, including a person with
disabilities."<br />
<br />
The coalition links to <a href="http://www.completestreets.org/policy/federal/complete-streets-chopped-from-conference-bill/" target="_blank">responses from walking and biking organizations</a>. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2012/07/01/congress-passes-major-transportation-bill-preserving-the-status-quo/" target="_blank">Transport Politic</a> offers opinions on the general political equation that the law calculates regarding funding, transit and highways.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7467999972_e2eed77e06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7135/7467999972_e2eed77e06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
[London Underground.]<br />
<br />
<b>State Funding Developments</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.ncsl.org/index.htm" target="_blank">National Conference of State Legislatures</a><br />
NCSL offers <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/documents/transportation/2011majortranleg.pdf" target="_blank">Major State Transportation Legislation 2011</a>, a report with funding legislation and changes from all 50 states, including measures that did not pass. </div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-1535320919024680232012-06-11T06:54:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:45:33.649-07:00Resources for Communities to Serve Veterans Transportation Needs<b><a href="http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ESPA_homepage">Easter Seals Project ACTION</a> </b><br />
The <a href="http://veteransdialogue.ideascale.com/" target="_blank">Online Dialogue on Veterans Transportation</a> hosted by ESPA
Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA) in partnership with the <a href="http://fta.dot.gov/" target="_blank">Federal Transit Administration</a> is now complete. ESPA will be releasing a report next month. Visit the <a href="http://veteransdialogue.ideascale.com/" target="_blank">website</a> now to peruse the suggestions and conversations about improving transportation for vulnerable veterans and their families.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=23&z=2">Community Transportation Association of America</a> </b><br />
The <a href="http://veteransdialogue.ideascale.com/" target="_blank">Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative</a> (VTCLI) is underway. As part of the commencement of this FTA initiative, the <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=8&z=62">National Resource Center</a> (NRC) released a report, <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/articlefiles/NRCVeterans.pdf">Transportation for America's Veterans and Their Families</a>. The report showcases the NRC's - particularly, its ambassadors' - successes in assisting veterans by improving transportation through effective partnerships and coordination. Some of these stories involve transporting veterans to VA medical centers and others involve travel to the same places we all need to go to. The report demonstrates what coordination and committed partnerships can achieve to improve transit and transportation services.<br />
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[Union Station, Kansas City]<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/13094_13528.html">VTCLI website</a> showcases resources for communities as well as for project grantees. Information about outreach to veteran and military organizations, one-call/one-click services and costs, relevant statistics, and transportation technical assistance, among more resources, are available on the <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov/grants/12305_13537.html">community resource page</a>.<br />
<br />
For more resources relating to veterans and serving their transportation needs, please visit the <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=2693&z=62" target="_blank">NRC Veterans Transportation Bookshelf</a>. Like all of the NRC bookshelves, there is comprehensive information about the topic.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-49362263281741710372012-05-07T10:19:00.000-07:002012-05-07T10:43:45.728-07:00Focus: National Council on Independent LivingThe <a href="http://www.ncil.org/">National Council on Independent Living</a> (NCIL) will be hosting a <a href="http://e2.ma/click/jshgb/bmj3ad/nbzhk">policy briefing</a> on May 14, 2012 to discuss NCIL's advocacy agenda. It will be available via teleconference and CART (captioned) webcast. This event is free for NCIL members and $25 for non-members.
During the policy briefing, NCIL will address the issues covered in its <a href="http://e2.ma/click/jshgb/bmj3ad/33zhk">Legislative & Advocacy Priorities Booklet</a>. The booklet advocates for improved accessibility at polling locations and against photo identification requirements; reauthorization of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with greater consumer participation; establishment of a new Independent Living Administration (ILA) and strengthening the Independent Living Program; maintenance of the insurance protections in the Affordable Care Act; funding for accessible diagnostic equipment; requiring states to provide alternatives to institutionalization for people with disabilities; a health insurance program for the unemployed; and maintaining Medicaid and bolstering the CLASS Act.<br />
<br />
<b>NCIL's Transportation Priorities </b><br />
<br />
In terms of transportation, called the "linchpin to independence," NCIL's advocacy booklet focuses on increased accessibility of facilities and modes, availability of transportation, and complete streets. This applies to public and publicly-available transportation options.
<br />
<blockquote>
NCIL would like all new and innovative public and private transportation systems that transfer passengers including individuals with disabilities from one point to another to be accessible for all passengers. Also, pedestrian safety and the rights-of-way must be designed to maximize accessibility to all community-based services, programs, activities, and employment opportunities that are available to the general public.
There are three areas of concentration that will maximize community integration, involvement, and participation of individuals with disabilities in the following ways: </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Rural transportation services, including transportation services between one municipality and another: NCIL strongly supports increased availability and greater access to affordable and accessible rural transportation as well as a coordinated plan to ensure such transportation services among and between all; cities, urban, and rural areas. To maximize the availability of rural accessible transportation services, this rule of accessibility must also apply to small airplanes.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Livable communities: Safe and accessible rights-of-ways including Complete Streets Legislation, which are all essential elements of community life. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Private Transportation Services: Legislation is needed to increase the number and availability of accessible vehicles within the private transportation industry i.e. taxis, limousines, shuttle service, car rentals, buses, trains etc.</blockquote>
<b> Housing</b><br />
<br />
For housing, NCIL seeks federal legislation that would mandate
accessible public housing as well as institute other reforms. There are
more legislative positions articulated in the booklet as well as a great
deal of detail about the aforementioned topics.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://e2.ma/click/rmegb/bmj3ad/vtahk">Finding Affordable, Accessible, Integrated Housing, and A Systems Approach to Expanding Housing</a>
- Aug. 7-10, 2012 in Chicago. NCIL presents this two-in-one training
event that incorporates law, policy, helping individuals and working
with institutional partners.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-12201896100590715732012-04-19T06:11:00.000-07:002012-04-19T06:11:09.337-07:00Social Equity and Mobility ManagementThe <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/">Victoria Transport Policy Institute</a> (VTPI) issues two reports that surprised me in terms of making the case for a wholistic view of mobility options in terms of environmental benefits, how people choose travel options, and how different populations - particularly transportation-challenged individuals - bear the impacts of funding decisions and how they advocate for their positions. <br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/equityagenda.pdf">New Social Equity Agenda For Sustainable Transportation</a> VTPI takes aim at conventional transportation/social equity/environmental justice analysis. Comparing discrimination in the South prior to the civil rights movement, the report notes progress, but argues "[t]ransport system discrimination has changed: it results less from race or ethnicity and more from disability and poverty." The report criticizes the proxy use of race for poverty and age for disability status as well as a lack of funding for those who walk, bike or take transit.<br />
<br />
Among VTPI's points are:<br />
<blockquote>A major portion of total transport funding is dedicated to roads and parking facilities, and cannot be used for other modes even where demand exists and they are cost effective investments.<br />
...<br />
Non-drivers as a group receive less than their fair share of transport funding which is unfair (horizontally inequitable). <br />
...<br />
Wider roads and higher motor vehicle traffic volumes and speeds impose delay, risk, discomfort and pollution on other road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists.<br />
<br />
Since physically, economically and socially disadvantaged people tend to rely heavily on walking, cycling and public transit (or described differently, people who drive less than average tend to be disadvantaged compared with high-annual-mileage motorists), these impacts tend to be regressive (vertically inequitable).<br />
These policies tend to cause automobile-dependency: transport systems and land use patterns which favor automobile access. This provides inferior access for non-drivers, and transport costs on lower-income households (Agrawal 2011).</blockquote>The report urges those who represent communities of low-income and people with disabilities to shift their perspective.<br />
<blockquote>Environmental justice advocates tend to treat public transit funding as a zero-sum game, which pits interests groups against each other. For example, they sometimes criticize rail transit because it diverts resources from basic bus service. Yet, rail transit funds are often shifted from highway accounts or generated by special new taxes. Cities with high quality rail transit systems tend to have more total public transit, including more bus transit service per capita, than cities that lack rail transit (Litman 2004), and rail transit tends to increase the social status and build political support for alternative modes and supportive land use policies. It is therefore wrong to assume that rail transit investments necessarily harm disadvantaged people. Although it may seem so in the short run, over the long run, rail transit development can be an effective way to create more multi-modal transport systems and accessible land use development.</blockquote><br />
<b>Mobility Management's Wholistic Perspective for Environmental Decisionmaking</b><br />
<br />
Skipping completely the mobility benefits to transportation-challenged populations and focusing instead on a wide range of factors that affect travel-mode choices of the general population (basically, for those who have choices), the VTPI report <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/comp_em_eval.pdf">Comprehensive Evaluation of Transport Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Policies</a> finds that mobility management is a more effective method of reducing emissions and saving money than just making vehicles cleaner and more efficient. Included in VTPI's analysis is parking, congestion costs and other factors that contribute to mode selection.<br />
<br />
At the heart of the argument is a reluctance to accept that everyone prefers to travel by car all of the time; in essence, VTPI posits that mobility management examines the primacy of auto travel as a reflection of lack of choice rather than preference.<br />
<b><br />
FTA Celebrates Earth Day</b><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov">Federal Transit Administration</a> (FTA) observes the environmental holiday with a new <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov/earth_day.html">Earth Day web page</a> devoted to its environmental accomplishments, efforts and even bragging about the fact that almost 90 percent of its own employees travel by transit to get to work each day (I am guessing that among the other 13 percent there are quite a few bikers and some walkers).<br />
<br />
Pages linked to the site tout the environmental, health and safety benefits of transit. From fewer transportation accidents in places with higher transit mode share to transit riders' far greater walking in comparison to the general population, the new website demonstrates the outsize contribution of public transportation.<br />
<br />
On a personal note, I will be doing a nice amount of traveling in the next few months. Will be sampling transit and streets wherever I go. Hope to be taking many pictures along the way of buses, trains, streets and people.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-8388101499874564122012-03-26T06:25:00.001-07:002012-03-26T08:48:03.492-07:00Treasury Department Touts Transit and Infrastructure Investments<a href="http://www.treasury.gov/Pages/default.aspx">Department of the Treasury</a><br />
The Treasury Department issues a report, <a href="http://reconnectingamerica.org/news-center/half-mile-circles/2012/treasury-department-releases-economic-analysis-of-infrastructure-investment/">A New Economic Analysis of Infrastructure Investment</a>, that argues in favor of expanding transportation options as an avenue for economic growth, citing research on location-efficient neighborhoods and emission reductions due to transit ridership, among other evidence. Also covered is what the Administration is doing currently in terms of investments in infrastructure and speeding project delivery.<br />
<br />
The report also speaks in favor of a national infrastructure bank and benefits to the middle class of wise infrastructure investment, including a benefit to Lincoln, NE, of 1000 jobs for making Metro North train cars that seat commuters from Westchester and Connecticut traveling into the city each day. (Yes, New York City, Grand Central, specifically.)<br />
<br />
<b>No Pie on Transit* - Except Pi Day?</b><br />
<br />
Public health benefits are touted as a reason to invest in transit.<br />
<blockquote>Using data on individuals before (July 2006 to February 2007) and after (March 2008 to July 2008) the completion of a light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina, they find that the use of light rail to commute to work is associated with a nearly 1.2 point reduction in body mass index as well as an 81 percent reduction in the odds of becoming obese. Moreover, improved perceptions of neighborhoods as a result of the availability of light rail were associated with 15 percent lower odds of obesity as well as higher odds of meeting weekly recommended physical activity levels for walking and vigorous exercise (9 percent and 11 percent, respectively).<br />
<br />
In addition to all of the personal benefits associated with a healthier life style, overall costs on our health care system are substantially reduced when obesity rates are lowered, given that health care costs for the obese are almost twice the rate for normal weight individuals. Finkelstein et al. find that between 1998 and 2006, the prevalence of obesity in the United States increased by 37 percent, adding $40 billion dollars to health care costs.<br />
<br />
A separate study by Stokes et al. estimates that health care savings in Charlotte from the creation of the first segment of their light rail system could reach a cumulative $12.6 million by 2015. These facts also suggest that targeted investment in creating new public transportation systems could translate into large-scale savings in health care costs. Furthermore, many other academic studies show that proximity to public transportation and more rationally-designed neighborhoods tend to be associated with increased walking and other physical activity for the general population, working or otherwise. [Footnotes omitted.]</blockquote><br />
Transit ridership growth is declared as well as increased demand for transit service. There is more in the report.<br />
<br />
* [For all of you non-math nerds, Pi Day is March 14, as in 3.14159 etc., used in circle radius, circumference, diameter and other calculations. It is also the birthday of Albert Einstein and my mother. That would make her happy. Some schools ask parents to make pie donations for math class celebrations. Not that math classes are unhealthy; other than the last day of the term, that's pretty much the only day for less-than-healthy eating in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus and beyond classes. Well, at least the ones I am aware of.]<br />
<br />
<b>Occupy Transportation? and State Updates</b><br />
<a href="http://www.atu.org/"><br />
Amalgamated Transit Union</a><br />
ATU is generating attention for April 4 as a National Day of Action for Public Transportation, called by <a href=" http://www.occupyboston.org/2012/03/03/ob-calls-national-day-action-public-transportation/">Occupy Boston</a> on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech about Vietnam and American poverty. The April 4 event "is about demanding public transportation for the 99% by spreading the word about the mass transit crisis out to riders and the general public." Occupy Boston voiced its <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e3xXRpmgjw">concerns for transit funding</a> at a recent public hearing. ATU's website links to the <a href="http://www.occupyboston.org/2012/03/03/ob-calls-national-day-action-public-transportation/">Occupy Boston announcement</a>.<br />
<a href="http://www.ncsl.org/index.htm"><br />
National Conference of State Legislatures</a><br />
NCSL releases its monthly <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=21636">transportation newsletter</a>, which includes an overview of reauthorization activity in Congress, high-speed rail developments, and an update on state funding for transportation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-26790155769264537182012-03-23T09:15:00.000-07:002012-03-23T09:15:30.557-07:00Public Health and Expanding Mobility Options<a href="http://www.apha.org">American Public Health Association</a><br />
APHA has eight <a href="http://www.apha.org/advocacy/reports/facts/">fact sheets</a> devoted to the topic of how transportation modes, accidents, and the lifestyles our prevalent car culture engender affect public health. <br />
<br />
APHA is promoting <a href="http://www.apha.org/programs/healthweek/">National Public Health Week</a>, Apr. 2-8, 2012. Monday, Apr. 2 is the day designated to celebrate active living and healthy eating. The week is designed as a time to tell your tale, host an event, or introduce yourself to public health partners. Refer to the event toolkit for ideas and instructions. Transit, transportation services, and pedestrian and bike-friendly street networks (complete streets) offer exercise and access to food and all of the important destinations in life. <br />
<br />
<b>Faster Route to Multimodal Choices</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.dot.gov/new/index.htm">Department of Transportation</a><br />
The Secretary and the <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov">Federal Transit Administration</a> are proposing streamlined regulations to make the review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) more efficient and "five times" faster. More details are contained in the FTA <a href="http://www.fta.dot.gov/newsroom/12286_14452.html">press release</a> and in the <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-03-15/pdf/2012-6327.pdf">Federal Register notice</a>. The notice states that "[c]omments must be received by May 14, 2012."<br />
<br />
Ten categorical exclusions are proposed. Among these is one for "[a]cquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and improvement or limited expansion of stand-alone recreation, pedestrian, or bicycle facilities, such as: A multiuse pathway, lane, trail, or pedestrian bridge; and transit plaza amenities." Other exclusions are for rehabilitation of public transportation buildings, planning and administration, repairs within an existing right of way, acquisition and maintenance of vehicles within existing facilities, and similar activities to maintain facilities themselves. Another one that seems possibly more significant is:<br />
<blockquote>Assembly or construction of facilities that is consistent with existing land use and zoning requirements (including floodplain regulations), is minimally intrusive, and requires no special permits, permissions, and uses a minimal amount of undisturbed land, such as: Buildings and associated structures; bus transfers, busways and streetcar lines within existing transportation right-of-way; and parking facilities. </blockquote>The tenth exclusion is for encompassed or adjacent facilities that do not substantially enlarge the carbon footprint of a transit project, such as daycare, police or other facilities.<br />
<br />
An important public participation aspect of the proposed regulations is that "applicants may announce project milestones using either electronic or paper media." Posting on a website of all important documents during an environmental review is encouraged. Hard copies would still be available. <br />
<b><br />
Acknowledgement that Options Matter</b><br />
<a href="http://www.trb.org"><br />
Transportation Research Board</a><br />
<a href="http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/166752.aspx">Keeping Baby Boomers Mobile: Preserving the Mobility and Safety of Older Americans</a> is mostly about safe driving and roads, but it recommends enhancements to public transportation, such as:<br />
<blockquote>• Ensuring public transit vehicles, facilities and stops are easily accessible and accommodating to elderly or disabled passengers.<br />
• Expanding bus and transit routes.<br />
• Implementing non-traditional and public sector approaches that are tailored to the needs of older adults, including ride sharing, volunteer driving programs, door-to- door community transportation services, taxi services and vehicle donation.</blockquote>While the report points out that traditional fixed-route transit might not be an option for people who are frail or disabled, it does not discuss or advocate particular options.<br />
<br />
<b>Local Stories</b><br />
<br />
<b>Food Access</b> - From the American Public Transportation Association <a href="http://passengertransport.apta.com/aptapte/issues/2012-03-02-email.html">newsletter</a> is a story about transporting the supermarket to people who are transportation challenged. In areas of Columbia, MO., that the Department of Agriculture has deemed to be food deserts, a USDA grant is paying for a food bus. The city contracted with a farmer's market to provide two buses that will make stops through the food deserts and underserved areas. Promotion for the food buses include advertisements on public transit buses.<br />
<br />
The bus route will run on 30-minute cycles from April 7 to Oct. 27, beginning at 8:15 a.m. Normal Saturday transit doesn't begin until 10 a.m. and runs in 80-minute cycles.<br />
<b><br />
One-Click</b> - Steuben County, NY, is the home of a new website that offers the one-click portion of a one-call/one-click service for information about transportation options. An article from Bath, NY, <a href="http://www.steubencourier.com/news_now/x75609506/New-site-outlines-transit-options">New site outlines transit options</a>, features mobility manager Jane Davis and describes how the website, <a href="http://www.needaride.info/">www.NeedaRide.info</a>, offers everything from transit schedules to rides to medical appointments. The site has information about publicly-funded options and volunteer services, as well as taxis. [Editor's Note: Jane Davis serves on the Advisory Committee of the Partnership for Mobility Management. The editor is the director of the Partnership.]<br />
<br />
<b>Carsharing</b> - Car2go expands to Washington, DC and Portland, OR. This carsharing company operates differently than Zipcar and others. There is no mandatory use of particular parking spaces, no requirement that cars be reserved, and the fee is based on minutes the vehicle is rented for instead of hours. <a href="http://www.bradenton.com/2012/02/29/3909503/daimlers-car2go-continues-carsharing.html#storylink=cpy">Daimler's car2go Continues Carsharing Expansion from Coast to Coast</a>, an article from the <a href="http://www.bradenton.com/">Bradenton Herald</a>, gives more information. There are also posters with details currently on Metro trains in Washington, DC and its suburbs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-26678201424449348642012-03-06T08:06:00.000-08:002012-03-06T08:06:07.879-08:00President's Budget - What Are National Organization's Saying?I am currently perusing websites of the members of the National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Services Transportation with an eye toward responses to and analyses of the Obama Administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. I am especially looking at organizations that are not specifically transportation related to find out their perspectives. <br />
<br />
<b>Public Health</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/">Children’s Health Fund</a><br />
CHF's <a href="http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/blog/presidents-budget-what-does-it-mean-childrens-health-care">reaction to the President's proposed budget</a> did not discuss transportation per se. It did discuss access to health care, and praised:<br />
<blockquote>the investment of an additional $300 million to create 25 new health centers nationwide; additional incentives for 2,800 new primary care providers who practice in areas where there is an existing shortage of doctors and high poverty rates; and retaining the majority of funding for the implementation of national health reform.</blockquote>However, CHF criticized the requested cuts in Medicaid and other publicly-funded health insurance for children, as well as a proposed decreased investment in the Prevention and Public Health Fund, established as part of the new health reform law.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apha.org">American Public Health Association</a><br />
APHA responded in a <a href="http://www.apha.org/about/news/pressreleases/2012/potus+budget+proposal.htm">press release</a> to the Administration's budget proposals with disappointment, stating that public health and prevention would be shortchanged. <br />
<blockquote>With today’s proposed $664 million in cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency will have seen its budget authority slashed by $1.4 billion since fiscal year 2010, a more than 20 percent reduction. In addition, the Prevention and Public Health Fund established under the Affordable Care Act is slated for additional cuts of more than $4 billion over 10 years. The budget would also divert monies from the fund to backfill cuts to the CDC and other public health agencies. This maneuver not only puts the integrity of the CDC’s budget at risk but violates the fundamental spirit of this historic law. It robs Peter to pay Paul.</blockquote><b>State and Local Perspectives</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.naco.org">National Association of Counties</a> <br />
NACO's members are feeling the pinch of county budget cutbacks. For federal appropriations, <a href="http://www.naco.org/legislation/Pages/2012LegislativePriorities.aspx">NACO recommends</a> assistance to state and local governments to mitigate further layoffs; investment in state and local infrastructure because it produces private sector jobs; and finding ways to reduce the federal deficit without "shifting costs to counties and their residents, imposing unfunded mandates, or preempting county programs or taxing authority." <br />
<a href="http://nado.org/"><br />
National Association of Development Organizations</a><br />
NADO released a <a href="http://www.nado.org/nado-analysis-of-the-presidents-fy13-budget/#">proposed budget explanation</a> that analyzes funding ramifications for rural programs, particularly economic development, and other programs that serve rural areas. It lists which programs would be eliminated, and which would suffer severe reductions. The document also reviews programs by federal departments, including transportation and reauthorization proposals.<br />
<br />
<b>Local and Regional Priorities</b><br />
<br />
NADO and NACO joined to present <a href="http://www.nado.org/mccauley-outlines-nado-rural-development-priorities-at-senate-hearing/">testimony</a> at a Senate hearing in February regarding rural development. Federal support for self-determined priorities and ease of access to federal programs were the major themes.<br />
<blockquote>A criticism of USDA Rural Development is that its investments are not always driven by local and regional priorities. Instead of rural communities and small businesses working regionally on common goals, they often are forced to fit their economic development initiatives into federal priorities and funding stovepipes. I would urge a greater recognition and support of existing regional development strategies, including the EDA CEDS and our region’s Grand Vision and the 3E Initiative, which could assist Rural Development in making sound decisions regarding their investments.</blockquote><a href="http://www.ncsl.org/index.htm">National Conference of State Legislatures</a><br />
NCSL provides an <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/budget/presidents-fy2013-budget.aspx">overview</a> of what the President's budget proposals mean for funding across a broad spectrum of federal programs, including transportation. This is a good document for skimming to find out where the Administration's priorities are on everything from agriculture to transportation.<br />
<br />
<b>Equity, Human Services and Health Care</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.aphsa.org/Home/home_news.asp">American Public Human Services Association</a><br />
APHSA posts a list of what the proposed budget would mean for medical and human services programs. It does not include transportation, but is quite detailed about programs targeting vulnerable populations of older adults, children, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136441/k.BD4A/Home.htm">PolicyLink</a><br />
PolicyLink has issued the <a href="http://www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.7943503/k.42C5/99_Policy_Agenda.htm?msource=2013budget&tr=y&auid=10344492">99% Agenda</a> to explain and respond to President Obama's proposed budget. The equity-oriented organization applauds the proposals to increase transit investment, to award transportation innovation, to develop multimodal corridors, and to enhance livability, foster mobility, and expand transportation choices via the inter-agency Partnership for Sustainable Communities.<br />
<br />
<b>People with Disabilities</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.april-rural.org/">Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living</a><br />
Though not billed as related to proposed budgets, APRIL hosted two Capitol Hill briefings on Feb. 23 - one on the House side and the other on the Senate side - with the <a href="http://www.civilrights.org/">Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights</a>, the <a href="http://www.civilrights.org/about/">Leadership Conference Education Fund</a>, and the <a href="http://www.aapd.com/">American Association of People with Disabilities</a>. The briefing examined civil rights enforcement, accessible transportation, job creation, workforce development, and legislative priorities critical to the disability community.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nasuad.org/">National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities</a><br />
As mentioned in the last Express Stop post, NASUAD posted a chart that translates both the President's proposed budget and expected funding in terms of programs that serve senior citizens.<br />
<br />
[Editor's Note: Due to the strict limit on the number of characters allowed to label each post, this post will only be labeled under Legislation and Funding, but not under the label for each organization discussed.]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-2745156445785429492012-03-02T07:37:00.000-08:002012-03-02T07:37:23.268-08:00Events and Awards<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=1790">Partnership for Mobility Management</a><br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/mc/mobility/Pages/default.aspx">Annual conference</a> - May 9-10, 2012, in Long Beach, Calif. Hosted this year by the <a href="http://www.apta.com">American Public Transportation Association</a>, the conference will feature sessions and workshops on performance measurement, successful partnerships with different organizations, non-emergency medical transportation and brokerages, customer focus, information technology, and integration of facilities. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ncil.org">National Council on Independent Living</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ncil.org/conference/conference2012.html">Annual conference</a> - June 11-14, 2012 in Washington, DC. Come celebrate three decades of growth "from a handful of advocates and the Centers they represent into a force of thousands of people with disabilities from CILs and SILCs in every state and territory of the U.S." <br />
<a href="http://www.aphsa.org/Home/home_news.asp"><br />
American Public Human Services Association</a><br />
<a href="http://www.aphsa.org/Home/home_news.asp">2012 National Policy Forum</a>: - June 3-5, 2012, in Washington, DC. The forum will focus on the policy analysis and recommendations from the Pathways: The Opportunities Ahead for Human Services document that will guide the APHSA's legislative priorities.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ampo.org">Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations</a><br />
<a href="https://www.ampo.org/content/index.php?pid=261">Annual Conference</a> - Sept. 11-14, 2012 in Saratoga Springs, New York. All presentation proposals are due by March 2. The <a href="http://www.ampo.org/content/index.php?pid=261">instructions for submissions</a> are available on the AMPO website. Proposals are welcome about topics such as transit planning, reauthorization, performance measures and transit demand management.<br />
<a href="http://www.actweb.org/mc/page.do"><br />
Association for Commuter Transportation</a><br />
2012 ACT International Conference - July 29-Aug. 1, 2012 in Savannah, GA.<br />
<a href="http://www.naco.org"><br />
National Association of Counties</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.naco.org/meetings/participate/NACoAnnual/Pages/default.aspx">Annual conference and exposition</a> - July 13-17, 2012, in Pittsburgh, Pa. The conference provides county officials with the opportunity to vote on NACo’s policies related to federal legislation and regulation; learn about innovative county programs; and find out about issues impacting counties across the country.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.n4a.org">National Association of Area Agencies on Aging</a><br />
Award applications are being accepted to honor area agencies on aging accomplishments in care transitions, financial assistance, caregiving, livable communities, technology, volunteerism and more. The deadline is March 14.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.april-rural.org/">Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living</a><br />
Annual conference - Oct. 5-8, 2012, in Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nev. Information is posted on <a href="http://www.april-rural.org/">APRIL's homepage</a>.<br />
<a href="http://nado.org/"><br />
National Association of Development Organizations</a><br />
Applications are currently being accepted for the <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109377932250&s=2967&e=0018fmI8WjhiHerg9ElVxH0RO-Hv40ycunFVuJYob848Ffi9kx28caHsPJYPMhmm924p1SIDe_tMMIW_-h304d2YpW69bi_iwe257-vImH-G69dAn7_PzG8TMJtUYNWn9CIfiyDixxs22oEv_bb4fLRTzK89uI-fOnLyOELWf5R64PzHIAL3FqsGE3lunOlbGfNPNxNB9xgpY1USRFJ1Ie3tLPrSwUnlDFPVxIiRQwmAWjnRxeasEBBzQ6h8fJAhsHqv-zGZDGahj7_jAJ32dMntE-1yWFu55mm4-WmJhs_xLp7pwWY3T_-QA==">Excellence in Regional Transportation Award</a>, a program of NADO’s RPO America and the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development, which recognizes noteworthy projects and practices in rural and small metropolitan transportation planning. The organization applying to receive the award must be a member of NADO. Awards recognize uniqueness/level of innovation; regional impact; ability to be replicated; long-term viability of the program and its impact; innovative partnerships and collaborations; and creative funding. Winners will be recognized at a roundtable reception during the National Rural Transportation Peer Learning Conference (April 25-27, 2012 in Burlington, Vt.)<br />
<br />
[Editor's note: This post is archived under Events and not under the individual organizations. This is due to a strict character maximum.]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-38663984973160286562012-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:002012-02-16T12:37:17.033-08:00Aging and Disabilities Organizations: Federal Budget Proposal; State Services and Funding<a href="http://www.nasuad.org/">National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities</a><br />
NASUAD posts a <a href="http://www.nasuad.org/newsroom/archive/2012/fy13_budget.html">chart</a> that translates both the President's proposed budget and expected funding in terms of programs that serve senior citizens. Transportation is included, but the list is vast. NASUAD also released a <a href="http://www.nasuad.org/newsroom/archive/2012/state_of_the_states_11.html">state-of-the-state report</a> that reviews state aging services. This is one of those reports with fascinating and informative tables for anyone interested in what states pay for which services and what is covered by Medicaid in different states. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.aarp.org ">AARP</a><br />
Related to the reports described above is one that AARP prepared with NASUAD staff. <a href="http://nasuad.org/documentation/nasuad_materials/AARP732_OntheVerge_REPORTFeb1v33.pdf">On the Verge: The Transformation of Long-Term Services and Supports</a> discusses state budgets, staffing and policy trends. Notable is a discussion of the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act. <br />
<a href="http://www.pva.org"><br />
Paralyzed Veterans of America</a><br />
PVA and other veterans groups release the annual <a href="http://www.independentbudget.org/">Independent Budget</a>, a veterans-focused analysis of the President's budget proposals, with advocacy for increased funding in particular areas. There are sections relating to employment, education and medical care. Transportation is discussed in the medical care section.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-877269415104827482012-02-14T13:14:00.000-08:002012-02-14T13:14:05.595-08:00Associations Educating Members, Urge Members to Contact Congress<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=23&z=2">Community Transportation Association of America</a><br />
CTAA has created <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=2923&z=37">Reauthorization Central</a>, which contains the different proposed bills in Congress, summaries and CTAA analysis of the legislation, key Congressional committees' documents, Department of Transportation responses and the schedule of possible Congressional actions. Letters to Congress with comments on the funding provisions also are posted, including a joint letter signed on by CTAA, the <a href="http://www.nlc.org/">National League of Cities</a>, the <a href="http://www.naco.org">National Association of Counties</a>, the <a href="http://www.usmayors.org/">U.S. Conference of Mayors</a>, the <a href="http://nacto.org/">National Association of City Transportation Officials</a>, <a href="http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/">Reconnecting America</a>, and the <a href="http://www.apta.com">American Public Transportation Association</a>.<br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com"><br />
American Public Transportation Association</a><br />
APTA is strongly opposing the reauthorization proposal in the House. <br />
<blockquote>The bill eliminates the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund and creates the new Alternative Transportation Account that would provide funding for public transportation, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Control (CMAQ) program, and several other programs. Dedicated funding for the new account has not yet been identified.</blockquote>APTA calls for a predictable and dedicated source of funding. It is supporting a bi-partisan effort in the House to restore transit's funding source. "It is not yet clear if the Rules Committee will allow a vote on this amendment. APTA is urging a full floor vote on this amendment prior to final passage."<br />
<br />
APTA has also prepared <a href="http://www.apta.com/gap/Pages/TransitFundingTalkingPoints.aspx">talking points</a> to use when communicating with members of Congress. These include the point that "[t]he Ways and Means proposal to fund public transportation investment with a one-time appropriation would leave transit without any funding source when those funds run out in 2016."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6202/6123736853_b7a971e879_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="180" width="240" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6202/6123736853_b7a971e879_m.jpg" /></a></div>[Portland light rail near the convention center.]<br />
<b><br />
Planning Organizations at Stake</b><br />
<a href="http://www.ampo.org"><br />
Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations</a><br />
AMPO and APTA are jointly recommending to Congress that the reauthorization retain all exixting metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), regardless of population size. <br />
<blockquote>Removing the decision-making authority from the local level will reduce the voice of the local government, transit agencies, its citizens, and people in the region. Citizens elect their local public officials to reflect the unique nature of their region, and removing the MPO will only increase the distance between the average citizen and the policy-maker.</blockquote>AMPO and APTA also oppose the 200,000-population threshold for all MPOs as eight states would potentially be left without one unless the Secretary grants approval that they possess the technical capacity to complete the planning requirements. Some that have served as local planning conveners since 1962 would be eliminated.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.naco.org">National Association of Counties</a> <br />
NACo is concerned about reauthorization proposals that fail to maintain planning organizations. <br />
<blockquote>MPOs between 50,000-200,000 would face an uncertain future and are no longer guaranteed a role in the planning process; efforts to enhance the planning role for include rural regions under 50,000 were not successful; the Surface Transportation Program underwent some changes that may not be beneficial to local governments; and funding for the Transportation Enhancement program appears to be no longer mandatory. </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6199/6124284188_fc33923f1d_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="180" width="240" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6199/6124284188_fc33923f1d_m.jpg" /></a></div>[Portland's Amtrak station.]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.atu.org/">Amalgamated Transit Union</a><br />
ATU is advocating in favor of federal operating assistance for transit systems.<br />
<blockquote>Now more than ever we must urge Members of Congress to do the right thing for our communities by voting yes on the amendment to adopt the original “100 Bus” language which also includes targeted and temporary operating assistance for the nation’s medium size and large transit systems which are also in the midst of a mobility crisis. </blockquote><br />
Other groups, such as <a href="www.t4america.org">Transportation for America</a>, <a href="http://www.policylink.org/site/c.lkIXLbMNJrE/b.5136441/k.BD4A/Home.htm?sid=253518449">PolicyLink</a>, and the <a href="http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2012/02/highway-bill-saga-continues/">League of American Bicyclists</a>, among others, are advocating for improved transit funding and multi-modal street networks.<br />
<br />
As we go to press, there are House members switching sides to back transit and the Senate is likely to put off a vote.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6207/6124283840_ca9d649f39_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="180" width="240" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6207/6124283840_ca9d649f39_m.jpg" /></a></div>[San Luis Obispo Amtrak station.]<br />
<br />
<b>Local Stories</b><br />
<br />
Two of the biggest logistical concerns for working parents are transportation and child care. One transit agency is doing both. To attract good employees who can work the nontraditional hours that transit and other industries demand, Prairie Transit in Spearfish, S.D., "opened its own state-licensed child care facility right in its new transit center." The article, <a href="http://rapidcityjournal.com/business/community-care-day-care-centers-draw-workers-to-towns/article_d2ceb05c-43fd-11e1-9cea-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1mMmuv0fL">Community care: Day care centers draw workers to towns</a>, appeared in the <a href="http://rapidcityjournal.com/">Rapid City Journal</a>.<br />
<br />
Indianapolis, Ind. - APTA reports that IndyGo performed well during the Super Bowl festivities. The transit agency had a “Know Before You Go” campaign to alert riders to temporary route changes and offered free rides Feb. 2-5, funded by a federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant.<br />
<blockquote>Local fixed route ridership surpassed expectations throughout the entire detour period with a 39 percent increase over average ridership: a total of 325,212 rides over 10 days. IndyGo operated additional buses to accommodate the crowds on fixed route service, reaching a peak of 28 extra buses assisting routes on Feb. 4. </blockquote><br />
APTA's news also highlights another story, this from Cincinnati, where the <a href="http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/aptapt/issues/2012-02-10/14.html">Everybody Rides Metro Foundation</a>, administered by Metro in Cincinnati, provided more than a million free rides in the past four years to low-income workers traveling to and from work, job training, and related activities. "Almost 100 agencies partner with the foundation, including Talbert House, Freestore Foodbank, St. Vincent de Paul, Lighthouse Youth Services, and Cincinnati Works."<br />
<b><br />
Hi-Tech Town</b><br />
<br />
Boston transit riders have hi-tech ways to get real-time information and engage in public participation. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is texting real-time information to bus riders. Just the stop identification number and the telephone number are all that is needed. And if you have a smartphone, life is even better because Boston boasts more than 40 apps for transit. Helps having lots of smart, techie college students around. The MBTA is also considering service cuts and fare increases. Like the wired town that it is, Boston's residents are commenting publicly - on twitter. That meeting is so last century. Both stories via the <a href="http://www.thetransitwire.com/">TransitWire</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-52843240527317047482012-02-07T06:34:00.000-08:002012-02-08T06:08:22.436-08:00Transit Users - What Influences Use; Events and Local Stories<b>Events</b><br />
<a href="http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ESPA_homepage"><br />
Easter Seals Project ACTION</a><br />
<a href="http://www.easterseals.com/site/Calendar/1271861274?view=Detail&id=33684">Forming Partnerships with Transit</a> - Online course - Feb. 13-Mar. 26. Designed for transit advocates interested in increasing their role in the design and implementation of community transportation services, the course includes four learning modules: Transportation planning, funding, becoming a transit supporter, and strategies.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=1790&z=95">Partnership for Mobility Management</a><br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/mc/mobility/Pages/default.aspx"> 2012 Mobility Management Conference</a> - May 9-10, 2012, Long Beach, CA. To be held in conjunction with the Bus and Paratransit Conference (details below), this conference features sessions on performance measurement, forming partnerships with different organizations, non-emergency medical transportation and brokerages, customer focus, information technology, and integration of facilities. The Partnership is a collaborative effort of seven national organizations and approximately 300 individual mobility managers and mobility management professionals from around the country.<br />
<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=23&z=2"><br />
Community Transportation Association of America</a><br />
<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=2851&z=109">EXPO conference</a> - May 20-25, 2012, Baltimore, Md. This year's EXPO will feature tracks on mobility management, connectivity and livability, transportation operations, and management, as well as separate tracks on transportation for dialysis, veterans and employment. There will also be a two-day <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=2855&z=110">Job Access Conference</a> that will focus on transportation partners, namely economic development, workforce development, employers and chambers of commerce; and highlight the many transportation options for students, job seekers, employees and businesses.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com">American Public Transportation Association</a><br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/mc/legislative/Pages/default.aspx">2012 Legislative Conference</a> - March 11-13, 2012, Washington, DC.<br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/mc/bus">Bus & Paratransit Conference</a> - May 6-9, 2012, Long Beach, CA. <br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/Pages/default.aspx">Rail Conference</a> - June 3-6, 2012,Dallas, TX<br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com/mc/university/Pages/default.aspx">Public Transportation & Universities Conference</a> - June 16-19, 2012, Fargo, ND. This conference explores the unique needs of university communities and the population they serve, including the issues of universal access and land use development.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apwa.net/">American Public Works Association</a><br />
<a href="http://www.apwa.net/sustainability">Sustainability in Public Works Conference</a> - June 25-27, 2012, Pittsburgh, PA.<br />
<b><br />
Local Stories</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/">Children’s Health Fund</a><br />
Instead of traveling to the doctor, a CHF mobile medical clinic goes to children and families. This entertaining <a href="http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/blog/close-worthy-cause">video</a> shows what the mobile clinics do and what that means for families.<br />
<br />
At the other end of the age spectrum, a travel training program for older people fosters independence. This article, <a href="http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/nov/10/program-takes-aim-seniors-bus-fears/">Program takes aim at seniors' bus fears</a>, about a Wisconsin mobility manager who does travel training, and the older people he is training, personalizes the significance of the training and the confidence, and the mobility that using public transportation provides for those with transportation and mobility challenges. The article appeared in the <a href="http://gazettextra.com/">GazetteXtra.com</a>.<br />
<b><br />
Transit Riders by Mode</b><br />
<a href="http://transweb.sjsu.edu/index.htm"><br />
Minetta Transportation Institute</a><br />
<a href="http://transweb.sjsu.edu/project/1003.html">Understanding Transit Ridership Demand for a Multi-Destination, Multimodal Transit Network in an American Metropolitan Area - Lessons for Increasing Choice Ridership While Maintaining Transit Dependent Ridership</a> explores ridership patterns in the Atlanta area, specifically what bus and rail commuters have in common and what transit variables separate them. Though the report looks at the Atlanta area, the findings seem useful for thinking about transit possibilities and realities in other areas of the country. Here are a few excerpts. Many more details can be found in the report.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Bus riders were overwhelmingly transit-dependent riders, and rail riders included a disproportionate number of choice riders. By and large, rail riders tend to come from zones with high levels of vehicle access and bus riders from zones with low levels of vehicle access. The model results highlight important similarities as well as differences between the two rider groups. In terms of similarities, both bus and rail trips are produced in larger numbers in zones with higher populations and higher population densities, and attracted to destinations with larger numbers of jobs, but generally not areas with the highest densities of employment. Both bus and rail riders are also generally quite sensitive to in-vehicle travel time and transfer time.<br />
<br />
In terms of differences between bus and rail riders, bus riders tend to come from zones with lower income, lower vehicle access (as noted above), and higher minority populations. While rail riders also disproportionately come from minority zones, they come from zones with high levels of vehicle access and the income variable is not significant, except in the cases of rail riders destined to more dispersed destinations, who tend to come from zones with lower incomes, but also relatively high levels of vehicle access. Bus riders do not place the same importance on out-of-vehicle travel time to transit as do rail riders ... Rail riders, on the other hand, do place a premium on out-of-vehicle travel time ... This is not surprising given the small number of rail stations and their spatial distribution relative to the patterns of population and employment in Atlanta.</blockquote><b><br />
TOD at Destination</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote>The results for the land-use variables also reveal important differences between bus and rail riders as well as insights into the importance of transit-oriented development (TOD). Bus riders in Atlanta are not influenced by the presence of a transit-oriented development at either the origin or destination. The CBD does not emerge as a statistically significant destination for bus riders; indeed, lower density employment clusters emerge as important destinations for these riders. For rail riders, on the other hand, the CBD does emerge as an important travel destination, and two of Atlanta’s TODs (Midtown and North Avenue) emerge as important contributors to rail patronage, in excess of what would otherwise be predicted by the employment levels or densities of these zones.<br />
<br />
...</blockquote><br />
<b>Length of Wait Time Matters</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote>The variable that had the greatest effect in determining transit ridership was the transit travel time between the origin zone and the destination zone. [T]ransit-dependent ridership, rather than being a fixed amount regardless of service quality, increases tremendously if the transit travel time between origin and destination is reduced.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
What we see by looking at the parameters is a model that depicts more affluent, auto- owning riders using transit than does the bus model. The rail riders are willing to use rail transit to get to jobs throughout the region (not just jobs in the CBD), so long as they can walk to jobs once they get off the trains or can easily transfer to frequent buses that do not take long to reach jobs in the vicinity. CBD and TOD at the rail destination (though not at the rail origin) are highly important to potential rail riders.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
In-vehicle travel time is relatively less important than out-of-vehicle travel time because trains are relatively fast, and their travel time is not an issue to passengers, in contrast to the depressing effect of slow buses, as shown earlier in the bus models. What really matters, however, are lengthy waits when transferring between trains and buses ... This conclusion is reinforced when we look at the tremendous impact that destination TODs have on multiplying rail ridership in comparison to the insignificant impact that origin TODs have on ridership. Where destination TODs exist, walking to the final destination is relatively short and attractive, and rail ridership to the TOD increases by 500% over what the model otherwise would predict for that zone.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-87889834407816327702012-01-31T08:31:00.000-08:002012-01-31T08:49:38.900-08:00Transit + Technology = Algorithm of Multiple PossibilitiesIf you are perturbed that the $230 transit benefit was not extended (the monthly benefit went <a href="http://apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2012/Pages/120104_TransitBenefits.aspx">back to $125</a> and the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/opinion/second-class-commuters.html?_r=1&src=tp">opinion page</a> is not happy either), here are tools for transit and transit boosters. <br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/01/i-hate-blue-line-and-other-things-transit-can-learn-twitter/1040/">'I Hate the Blue Line' and Other Things Transit Systems Can Learn From Twitter</a>, an article that appeared on the <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/">Atlantic's Cities page</a>, transit systems should employ the free customer service data that twitter provides. What are the riders praising or complaining about? The answers are easier to find on twitter than via conventional tools, such as carefully-worded customer surveys, the author argues. I would agree that is the case in places where ridership is well connected - to apps and smartphones. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6081/6123739929_3443502860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6081/6123739929_3443502860.jpg" /></a></div>[Cute animal sculptures in Portland.]<br />
<br />
What do people want in terms of public transportation? View this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BBb8XLZhLEM">video from Kansas City</a>. Lots of transit love and energy even from people accustomed to using their cars.<br />
<br />
<b>Penguins: Better than Mad Men?<br />
</b><br />
And if you have 30 seconds of work time to waste, I mean be productive, view a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/gBnvGS4u3F0?hl=en&fs=1&autoplay=1">transit ad from Belgium</a>. Cute, has penguins; need I say more?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.apta.com">American Public Transportation Association</a><br />
APTA's public transit ridership numbers are out and the numbers are up. What is causing the momentum in favor of transit? Thrift, environmental consciousness, quality improvements, free wifi, desire for a vacation from doing traffic battle before and after work?<br />
<blockquote>This is a 2.0 percent increase over the same quarter last year, representing an increase of nearly 52 million trips. Ridership in all public transportation modes increased, led by light rail which increased by 5.8 percent.<br />
<br />
This is also the first time in three years that ridership has increased for all three quarters. The ridership increase is attributed to a number of factors including high gas prices, improved real time passenger information, and a recovering economy.</blockquote>The full <a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2011-q3-ridership-APTA.pdf">ridership report</a> is available. I usually read the whole thing, but this time I relied on the summary. If you have an extra 10 minutes or so, there are always thought-provoking details in the report as well as interesting statistics by mode and locations. APTA also posted an explanation about the <a href="http://apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2012/Pages/120104_TransitBenefits.aspx">transit benefit reduction</a> and the increase in the parking benefit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6075/6123741351_59abf42375_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="180" width="240" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6075/6123741351_59abf42375_m.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6189/6123741059_c375730ce5_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="180" width="240" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6189/6123741059_c375730ce5_m.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>Can Technology Boost Ridership?</b><br />
<br />
The answer is yes if the technology provides real-time information regionally. The <a href="http://www.dailyiowan.com/">Daily Iowan</a> reports that ridership is up five percent in the one month since real-time information monitors were installed around the University of Iowa's campus - even in dorms. The article, <a href="http://www.dailyiowan.com/2012/01/26/Metro/26693.html">Officials: Bus monitors help to increase ridership</a>, goes into more detail, but implies that the transit system is the same otherwise, so that the jump in business is attributable to the one significant change. Thank you to the <a href="http://www.thetransitwire.com/">TransitWire</a> for the link. <br />
<br />
Interesting blog post from <a href="http://www.planetizen.com/node/53728">Planetizen</a> about mapping health, commuting, income and educational patterns across the United States.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-33553945243940099752012-01-25T07:39:00.000-08:002012-01-25T07:47:24.891-08:00Apps for Local Trips and Long-Distance Travel Options<a href="http://www.dot.gov/new/index.htm">Department of Transportation</a><br />
None other than Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood is getting on the smartphone apps bandwagon. The apps are providing transit riders in many places with real-time information. But not enough places, according to the Secretary. <br />
<blockquote>In fact, a review of 276 transit agency systems revealed that only 45 of them provide some information on mobile devices. And of those 45 agencies, only 15 offered their riders the real-time information precise planning requires.<br />
<br />
We think we can do better for our nation's transit riders. So last week, Deputy Secretary John Porcari and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra gathered a variety of stakeholders to see what we can do to help millions more transit riders get better access to information.<br />
<br />
Some transit agencies want to share this information with their customers, but lack the resources. So one of the challenges for the folks around the table was to find a way to reduce the cost of providing the data in a format that can make riders' lives easier.</blockquote>For more information, visit the <a href="http://fastlane.dot.gov/2012/01/transit-apps-.html">Fastlane</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.atu.org/">Amalgamated Transit Union</a><br />
ATU is featuring on its homepage links to articles with depressing news for transit workers and for public transportation - attacks against bus drivers and transit equipment. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6204/6124287830_3ae14e2ea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6204/6124287830_3ae14e2ea2.jpg" /></a></div>[Buses and bikes at the Takoma Metro station, which serves the Washington,DC/Maryland border community.]<br />
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<a href="http://www.transportation.org">American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials</a><br />
AASHTO's President is praising rail performance around the country. Systems in Virginia and Michigan, as examples, have recently delivered service to double the riders they had a few years ago. "Ridership on Amtrak's many long-distance lines are at all-time highs, ... From October 2010 to September 2011, more than 30 million trips were recorded on America's intercity passenger rail lines." More from AASHTO President John Horseley's post about rail in the <a href="http://www.aashtojournal.org/Pages/012012horsley.aspx">AASHTO Journal</a>.<br />
<a href="http://www.buses.org/"><br />
American Bus Association</a><br />
The ABA presents an update to its advocacy for the past few years that Congress should save money and fund essential bus service to rural residents far from airports. In a report issued in the fall, <a href="http://www.buses.org/files/Foundation/EAS%20Study%20Final%20Report%20FINALv2%20%2012sep11.pdf">Keeping Rural Communities Connected: Comparison of EAS Program To Coach Bus Service</a>, ABA "compares the cost and environmental impact of current subsidized air service provided to rural communities under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, to an alternative method of connecting these rural communities to the nationwide air transport system." Costs for bus transportation would be almost 70 percent cheaper than EAS currently funded. However, travelers would spend more time en route were bus service to replace EAS, though two-thirds would only need an hour or less of extra time to reach their destinations.<br />
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According to ABA's data:<br />
<blockquote>The use of scheduled coach bus service instead of air service would also reduce annual fuel use by 5.7 million gallons, would reduce annual CO2 emissions by over 63,000 tons, and would reduce annual emissions of NOx, HC, CO, and SO2 by 13.2 tons, 1,186 tons, 2,066 tons, and 27.8 tons respectively.</blockquote>ABA also makes the case that buses could operate profitably on most of these routes, after initial expenses, whereas EAS is heavily subsidized. The report includes details about the methodology and assumptions that produced its conclusions.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6184/6124286790_2c27c4f212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6184/6124286790_2c27c4f212.jpg" /></a></div>[California landscape from Amtrak's Coast Starlight train.]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-31324526724663514742012-01-23T12:28:00.000-08:002012-01-23T12:28:52.279-08:00Transportation CampA camp that does not require or supply duffel bags, trunks, bunks, tents, swim instruction, or counselors, Transportation Camp is an unconference - no pre-planned sessions or experts - with transit, alternative mode, planner and data, self-described geeks gathering for a day of exchanging ideas and learning.<br />
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I met friends from the worlds of transit technical assistance, mobility management, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). I also ran into people whom I had not met before, but have been in contact with through twitter and blogs. Two surprises were meeting <a href="http://www.thetransitwire.com/">TransitWire</a> (Susan Bregman, who started the blog/twitter service as a <a href="http://www.thetransitwire.com/2010/11/15/tcrp-study-of-social-media-want-to-take-part/"> Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) project</a>) (I felt like I was meeting a transit celebrity) and someone from Austria who knows all about mobility management in the European Union and pointed me to performance measures developed in Sweden. There were even a couple of people from my neighborhood who are involved in local transit and alternative mode issues. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6426881387_f4aa91dce6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="308" width="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6426881387_f4aa91dce6.jpg" /></a></div>[Multi-modal in Denver at the under-construction hub at Union Station.]<br />
<b><br />
Designing Your Own Unconference</b><br />
<br />
Because there were so many sessions, maybe 10 at a time, everyone's experience was different. I attended a mix of sessions on topics I know something about and others about which I acknowledge total ignorance. So, on the ignorant side, I went to a demonstration of an open trip planner that provides route information for walkers, bikers, wheelchair users and transit riders. Incredibly impressive, especially for bikers because the program allows for input of preferences, but not on a real-time level. For example, for wheelchair users, the program has data about accessible streets and transit entrances and exits, but it does not collect or transmit data that an elevator just went out of service at a particular station. I do not doubt, however, that the techie folks will get there.<br />
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I also went to Greening the Suburbs, which connected two DC-exurban planners from far outside different circumference points on the Beltway, to discuss common issues of residents who drove til they qualified for a mortgage and others who want a country-like lifestyle. The question is not preference as the idea of green is popular (where would we be without Kermit?), but how to make green convenient, particularly in relation to travel habits, as that is a prime consideration of people with long commutes and no infrastructure to walk or bike to a convenience or grocery store even if it is only a few blocks away. Arlington's decades-long effort to be a green city/suburb and Houston's decentralized employment nodes were examples discussed. A Houston native said that high energy prices would soon green the suburbs whatever the preferences of their residents, while another decried the huge expenditures to support the expense and costs of the auto-centric lifestyle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6202/6124283168_53b025003d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6202/6124283168_53b025003d.jpg" /></a></div>[A Portland tech-savvy bus stop with wait times, seating and protection from precipitation.]<br />
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I also went to a session in which a rural Virginia transit employee asked for ideas about promoting and improving transit, particularly for young professionals. Though, like many sessions, conversation veered off course at times, he walked away with suggestions about how to engage transit leadership, market transit and make low-cost improvements that will attract riders. <br />
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For a wonderful synopsis of the energy and connections made at Transportation Camp, read today's <a href="http://www.thetransitwire.com/2012/01/22/transportationcamp-comes-to-dc/">TransitWire</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-64945637915273465732012-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:002012-01-17T10:51:52.482-08:00AARP Informs Reauthorization Conversation with Equity Considerations<a href="http://www.aarp.org">AARP</a><br />
Expecting transportation reauthorization to happen, AARP in <a href="http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/transportation/info-12-2011/transportation-funding-reform.html">Transportation Funding Reform: Equity Considerations for Older Americans</a> "examines whether current or proposed transportation funding sources at all three levels of government are in some way inequitable for low-income people, rural residents, people with disabilities, or older adults." <br />
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AARP is analyzing this issue now because revenues from the gas tax are decreasing and are increasingly inadequate to pay for our transportation infrastructure needs.<br />
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<b>Gas Tax Most Popular Road Fee</b><br />
<br />
While the current gas tax is equitable in that users pay the fees, the current gas tax is described as regressive - disproportionately costing low-income users - and further distributing costs unevenly in that it is a relative bargain for those who own fuel-inefficient vehicles and it does not charge for peak-time usage of the roads. The report also looks at alternatives to the traditional gas tax that have been popping up at the state and local levels. These include tolling and mileage fees. <br />
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The report notes that the current federal gas tax only takes into account use, but not impacts.<br />
<blockquote>Many analysts think it is only fair for travelers to pay a fee that takes into account the negative impacts their travel has on the highway itself (through the weight of their vehicle, for example) and the time and health costs they impose on other travelers (when they travel in the peak period or drive polluting vehicles). Without this link, drivers partially escape the financial, pollution, and health costs they impose on others and create excess demand for new highway capacity. Drivers who act to conserve gas end up subsidizing those who do not. For example, off-peak users subsidize peak-period users. Some highway advocates note that paying for public transportation (and underground storage tanks) from the HTF [Highway Trust Fund] breaks the link between those who pay and those who benefit. The transit advocates’ response to this argument is that payments into the Mass Transit Account help offset drivers’ pollution and congestion costs. </blockquote>Three quarters of states charge a gas tax in addition to the federal tax. States also charge user fees for car ownership, licensing, and tolls. In terms of new types of taxes, the report analyzes the equity ramifications of fees based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and high-occupancy lane usage (which it finds relatively non-regressive because they are not usually located in areas where people with low incomes travel in great numbers). Not mentioned are public transit fare rates.<br />
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<b>Sales and Other Taxes Unrelated to Driving</b><br />
<br />
Though income taxes are the most progressive, they do not account for impact. Property and development-related infrastructure taxes are relatively regressive, while sales taxes are completely regressive. <br />
<blockquote>The improvements funded by a retail sales tax, for example, while failing to link payment to transportation system use, may provide benefits even to people who infrequently travel by car or public transportation. Living in a community with uncongested roads, a good transportation system, or a safe cycling network may have intrinsic value. </blockquote>The report calls for equity in terms of mobility availability for all.<br />
<blockquote>Increased investment in public and community-based transportation options, highway modifications, driver assessment and training, pedestrian facilities, and attention to urban design and land use policies would help to ensure that those who pay receive their fair share of benefits.</blockquote><b>Fairness for Older Americans</b><br />
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In terms of older Americans, the AARP report observes that they are more likely than the general population to live in rural areas (20 percent of rural residents are over 65) and more likely to live in suburban areas of metropolitan areas. The report's interpretation of the numbers is that 70 percent of older Americans live in "low-density places, where, for example, regular fixed-route public transit use may not be a practical option." Their travel patterns indicate that older people travel more during mid-day than those 16 to 64 and less during rush hours. Their cars are older; they travel less on highways and they do not drive for much of their miles traveled.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-25228743416438368282011-12-20T11:24:00.000-08:002011-12-20T11:24:46.393-08:00What Livability Means: Rural Areas and State PoliciesLast year, 32,885 people were killed on the nation's roads, according to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in a recent <a href="http://fastlane.dot.gov/2011/12/fars.html">blog post</a>. Rural roads witness a far greater rate of accidents, injuries and deaths than urban roads. The Secretary's words are chilling.<br />
<blockquote>[D]river distraction continues to be a significant safety problem. For example, in a survey we're releasing ..., more than three-quarters of the drivers told us they answer calls on all, some, or most trips when they're behind the wheel. They also said there are very few driving situations when they would not use the phone or text, and that they rarely consider traffic situations when deciding to use their phone. That behavior poses a safety threat to everyone on the road.</blockquote>We owe our rural neighbors mobility options beyond the single-occupancy vehicle. To bring options to people in every type of community involves partnerships and an eye on the prize of what type of transportation options a community needs, or, given the realities of funding scarcity, what kind of transportation service a community or region desperately needs. This blog addresses the "how" of options that are available and what national organizations, government at every level, and other partners are doing to make getting from here to there (channeling Dr. Seuss) easier.<br />
<b><br />
Technical Assistance</b><br />
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Local coordination stories are featured in today's <a href="http://nrctanews.blogspot.com/2011/12/local-coordination-news-from-pa-tx-or.html">NRC Technical Assistance News</a> about how communities are growing or reconsidering transit and transportation services. Stories come from York, Pa., Corpus Christi, Tx., and Portland, Or. <br />
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From our technical assistance network, an offering that national organizations and state and local stakeholders may be interested in is the <a href="http://www.ntionline.com/">National Transit Institute</a> webinar on Jan. 12, 2012, <a href="http://www.ntionline.com/courses/courseinfo.php?id=214">Public Transportation Systems as the Foundation for Economic Growth</a> (RRD 102), which examines the experiences of four cities outside the U.S., Istanbul, Cairo, Johannesburg, and Cape Town, through the eyes of staff from much-smaller American transit systems and cities who participated in the <a href="http://www.tcrponline.org/">Transit Cooperative Research Program</a> (TCRP) <a href="http://www.tcrpstudymissions.com/">international study mission</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6426880057_551b6e43c9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6426880057_551b6e43c9.jpg" /></a></div>[A light rail area of Denver's upcoming new Union Station multi-modal hub.]<br />
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<b>What Is Rural Smart Growth?</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/partnership/index.html">Federal Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/pdf/Supporting_Sustainable_Rural_Communities_FINAL.PDF">Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities</a> is a partnership report that presents brief case studies and explanations of benefits of livability for rural communities. The report seeks to make the practical case for livability outside its usual metropolitan area or urban contexts. Walking, biking, transit and economic development are part of the usual cast of livability characters discussed by the federal partner agencies, the <a href="http://www.dot.gov/new/index.htm">Department of Transportation</a>, the <a href="http://www.epa.gov">Environmental Protection Agency</a>, and the <a href="http://www.hud.gov ">Department of Housing and Urban Development</a>, in collaboration with the <a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome">Department of Agriculture</a>. A list of staff contacts at each agency appears in Appendix B.<br />
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The agencies are promoting community self-determination in rural areas, espousing particular strategies for economic vitality that also support transportation-challenged populations, historic downtowns and rural landscapes and agriculture. In an agency-cross-cultural exchange, the report explains the relevant programs of each agency to rural areas. Performance measures are suggested for each type of goal - whether environmental, housing, land use, transportation, economic. Case studies are from many sparsely populated places, especially from the Plains to the West Coast. My favorite transit-focused case studies are the Opportunity Link in Montana, the Tennessee Intercity Bus Program, and the Downeast Transportation and Island Explorer transit service in Maine, which grew out of a meals-on-wheels program.<br />
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<b>State Legislation and Livability</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.aarp.org">AARP</a><br />
I attended the recent AARP Public Policy Institute forum on aging in place and read the report connected with the event. <a href="http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/livable-communities/info-11-2011/Aging-In-Place.html">Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices</a> was a joint venture with the <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/index.htm">National Conference of State Legislatures</a>. It presents case studies about transit, human services transportation, pedestrian safety, volunteer driver programs, transit-oriented development, and housing-related issues. There is an appendix with a summary of state laws and programs. AARP and NCSL "offer state legislators and officials concrete examples of state laws, policies and programs that foster aging in place."<br />
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The report gives many state legislative examples and points out which ones are mandatory and which do not actually require changes. One concrete example given of the dollars-and-cents ramifications of sprawl and exclusively auto-centric communities versus more compact and mixed-use development concerns emergency service delivery in Charlotte, N.C. <blockquote>Connectivity also reduces the cost of providing emergency services. In Charlotte,<br />
the most efficient fire station—in a connected 19th-century neighborhood—served 26,930 households in 14.1 square miles with a per capita life cycle cost of $159 per year. In contrast, the least efficient station—in a sprawling community built in the 1980s and 1990s—served only 5,779 households in 8 square miles at a per capita life cycle cost of $740 per year.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6076/6124276652_675c1ecd3b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6076/6124276652_675c1ecd3b.jpg" /></a></div>[Portland's round-the-block food cart destinations are a wonderful example of a transit-oriented, mixed-use, neighborhood's potential offerings.]<br />
<b><br />
Variety of State Action</b><br />
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The report discusses what is necessary in terms of transportation and pedestrian-friendly street networks for people to age in place and the movement at the state legislative level on related policies. From Virginia's complete streets legislation to Utah's transit-oriented development, the report contains many examples of programs and laws that are the starting blocks for communities to be hospitable to a wider range of transportation modes. An example of progress is Montana, a very sparsely-populated state.<br />
<blockquote>Three years ago, the state had nine rural transportation systems; today, there are almost 40. To achieve this, the state went to city and county governments and several county Councils on Aging (each of which already operated some type of bus service) and offered to help them devise and pay for a coordinated plan. “We went to these Councils on Aging and said, ‘You’re already running a senior bus service; if you open your doors to everyone, print a schedule and follow the FTA guidelines, we will help you pull it all together and receive FTA funding,’” said [Audrey] Allums. The localities have provided matching funds by using Title III-B Older Americans Act money, property taxes, donations and other local government money.</blockquote><b>What Is a Citizen to Do?</b><br />
<a href="http://www.idahosmartgrowth.org/">Idaho Smart Growth</a><br />
Idaho Smart Growth releases a <a href="http://idahosmartgrowth.org/images/uploads/files/final_smart_growth_guide_11-28-11_25pg_for_web_lo-res.pdf">citizen's guide</a> that could easily function as a template for other states and communities. Language is plain for laypeople. It defines livability concepts and walks through jurisdictional responsibilities and steps for becoming involved in planning and community participation in land use, transportation, and public health decisions. Included is information specific to Idaho and local organizations, but most of the guide and resources listed are relevant nationally.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-70416021341390893872011-12-13T10:38:00.000-08:002011-12-13T10:40:51.763-08:00Models to Improve Transportation for Veterans, Patients and People with Disabilities<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=23&z=2">Community Transportation Association of America</a> <br />
CTAA's <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=8&z=62">National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination</a> released <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/articlefiles/NRCVeterans.pdf">NRC Report: Transportation for America's Veterans and Their Families</a>, which discusses improving transportation for our nation's veterans through partnerships and coordination. Examples of the work of regional ambassadors are given. The NRC also maintains a webpage "bookshelf" with <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=2693&z=62">veterans transportation resources</a>.<br />
<b><br />
Life-Saving Transportation</b><br />
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CTAA also distributed the <a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=2831&z=5">Dialysis Report</a>, which discusses the dire, complicated transportation demands that dialysis patients present. <br />
<blockquote>The crux of the transportation challenge is that the majority of dialysis patients are covered by Medicare, which — unlike Medicaid — does not offer non-emergency transportation as a benefit. Three out of four dialysis patients in the U.S., are Medicare primary, meaning that Medicare sets the reimbursement rate and pays 80 percent of that amount ... <br />
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Indeed, in background discussions with community and public transit officials around the country for this article, a common refrain was the difficult position in which many transit operators find themselves — how to continuously add new dialysis patients to the transit schedule with no means of payment. </blockquote>The situation places transportation providers between the proverbial rock and a hard place. CTAA is advocating for a funding mechanism within Medicare and for increased kidney organ donation. "Transplants can add decades to people’s lives and significantly forestall the need for dialysis, but only when the needed organs are available."<br />
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<b>Solutions Possible to Realize Decades-Old Commitments</b><br />
<a href="http://www.april-rural.org/"><br />
Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living</a><br />
APRIL's Executive Director, Billy Altom, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about the need for affordable, accessible and available rural transportation. Forty years after the Urban Mass Transportation Act and 20 years after the passing of the ADA, Altom argues, "minimal or nonexistent transit services in rural areas still create serious barriers to employment, accessible health care, and full participation in society for people with disabilities." <br />
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Altom sees some solutions that are working - mobility management and voucher programs. Altom praised the <a href="http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ESPA_homepage">Easter Seals Project ACTION</a> Mobility Management Independent Living Coaches program and he cited as an example the Center for Independent Living for Western Wisconsin Regional Mobility Management/New Freedom Program, which provided 12,000 rides last year and coordinates in seven counties with public and private transportation providers. More than 140 volunteer drivers provide the rides and the program is expanding into an 18-county area. Already weekly rides are being supplied to 130 veterans.<br />
<a href="http://web1.ctaa.org/webmodules/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=1790"><br />
Partnership for Mobility Management</a> member Denise Larson is the mobility manager for the program. She also serves on the Partnership's advisory committee. <br />
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<b>Another Type of Coordination</b><br />
<a href="http://www.aphsa.org/Home/home_news.asp"><br />
American Public Human Services Association</a><br />
<a href="http://www.aphsa.org/Home/Doc/NWI-report.pdf">Bridging the Divide: Leveraging New Opportunities to Integrate Health and Human Services</a> is APHSA's new report about the value added of coordinating and aligning health and human services for clients beyond eligibility and enrollment for a "customer‐focused, one‐stop shop, 'service home'." Such coordination makes sense, according to the report, because:<br />
<blockquote>Many of the same people who qualify for Medicaid, CHIP or some level of premium subsidy identified through the Exchanges also qualify for one or more human service assistance programs.<br />
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The positive impact of coordinated care and integrated case management on improving the overall health and well‐being of individuals and populations— strengthening families, achieving employment and independence, improving the well‐being of children, youth, people with disabilities, seniors and other vulnerable populations—is well documented. Better outcomes mean healthier, safer, stabilized individuals and families with a better chance of sustainable independence from government services and long‐term personal success.</blockquote>The report contains case studies of what several states are doing and the impending impact of the new healthcare law.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-60895660808951261852011-12-07T06:32:00.000-08:002011-12-07T06:32:38.386-08:00What it Takes to Walk - When You Cannot See<a href="http://www.acb.org"><br />
American Council for the Blind</a><br />
ACB releases an updated <a href="http://www.acb.org/node/625">Pedestrian Safety Handbook</a>, a publication that informs the visually impaired and blind communities "about contemporary approaches to assuring safe paths of travel for blind pedestrians and effective ways to advocate for accommodations like accessible pedestrian signals, tactile warnings at the edges of curb ramps, and mechanisms for routing travelers safely through problematic intersections." This is a valuable resource for two reasons. First, this handbook is an excellent guide to the ADA and how it is implemented in states and localities. Step-by-step advice is given about how to work within the ADA's requirements and when and how to advocate for accessible pedestrian sidewalk and intersection features. Its value is not limited to those who are visually impaired. <br />
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Second, the handbook provides detailed information for people who are blind and visually impaired about navigating streets and intersections and what improvements are currently available. Considering how much we who are sighted rely on visual cues, this resource aims to supply those types of details via senses other than sight. For example, cues are described and possibilities explained for what happens at the end of the building line. Airflow changes and a curb is the most frequent, but not the only, possibility of what is in close proximity.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-87797523945137432542011-12-06T13:42:00.000-08:002011-12-06T13:42:25.178-08:00Local Success StoriesIn the <a href="http://nrctanews.blogspot.com/">NRC Technical Assistance News</a><br />
State coordinating council profiles<br />
Mobility management grants<br />
Livability briefs<br />
Online dialogue about senior transportation<br />
I&R training<br />
FTA procurement facts <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6426885837_b81dd724c9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="500" width="368" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6426885837_b81dd724c9.jpg" /></a></div>[Details high up inside Chicago's Union Station.]<br />
<br />
<b>Planning Assistance</b><br />
<a href="http://www.narc.org/"><br />
National Association of Regional Councils</a> <br />
<a href="http://narc.org/resource-center/publications/eregions.html">NARC's newsletter</a> welcomes communities to apply for the American Planning Association's <a href="http://www.planning.org/communityassistance/teams/">Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) program</a>. Communities facing a range of challenges including, but not limited to, social equity and affordability, economic development, sustainability, consensus building, and urban design are well-suited for assistance through the program. Demonstrated need for assistance is an important qualification. The deadline for applications is Dec. 13, 2011. <br />
<b><br />
Transit Partnerships</b><br />
<a href="http://www.buses.org/"><br />
American Bus Association</a><br />
The ABA celebrates the new <a href="http://www.buses.org/insider/article/332">bus deck at Union Station</a> in Washington, D.C., making the station truly multi-modal, with intercity bus and train services as well as local transit and bikeshare. The Union Station parking garage now accommodates Megabus, Bolt Bus, Washington Deluxe, DC2NY and tour bus parking. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6426884367_116415f8bf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="319" width="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6426884367_116415f8bf.jpg" /></a></div>[Chicago Transit Authority bus outside Union Station.]<br />
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<a href="http://www.apta.com">American Public Transportation Association</a> <br />
APTA awards six <a href="http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/aptapt/issues/2011-12-02/12.html">Local Transit Coalition Grants</a>, which "support grassroots coalitions and their advocacy efforts to achieve public transportation goals on the state and local levels." These include education and advocacy campaigns. The current winners are:<br />
* Arizona Transit Association (AzTA), Gilbert, AZ, which will use the grant award to support a first-ever statewide poll of voter preferences for public transit in Arizona. <br />
* Community Transportation Association of Idaho (CTAI), Boise, ID, which is working with Idaho Smart Growth and community leaders to place the question of local option tax authority on the November 2012 ballot. <br />
* Friends of Transit for Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, MI, which will support grassroots advocacy efforts to secure local funding for public transportation services in Kalamazoo County and to increase public transportation funding in the state and federal budgets. <br />
* Transit Alliance, Denver, CO, which will continue its educational efforts on the benefits of public transit in the Denver metropolitan region. The group is working with other regional stakeholders to identify ways to solidify long-term leadership and advocacy for the region’s livability.<br />
* Transit Now Nashville (TNN), Madison, TN, which is partnering with the Metro Nashville Public Health Department to develop a pilot educational program focused on incorporating public transportation as a component of a healthy lifestyle. <br />
* Washtenaw Partners for Transit (P4T), Ypsilanti, MI, which advocates for reliable funding to implement the 30-year Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Transit Master Plan. <br />
<b><br />
Smart Growth Achievement Awards</b><br />
<a href="http://www.epa.gov"><br />
Environmental Protection Agency</a> <br />
Last week at EPA, the agency celebrated this year's <a href="http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards/sg_awards_publication_2011.htm#policies_reg">Smart Growth Achievement Awards</a>. Terms like mixed-use, transit-oriented and walkable figured prominently. While none of the projects was a transit project, some provided access to transit and sought to engineer transit-oriented living. Two stand out from a transit perspective.<br />
* LEED-platinum residential project in downtown Albuquerque, N.M., which is affordable and placed near transit, intercity transportation, restaurants and shopping. The site was previously a bus holding facility.<br />
* Plan El Paso that envisions three mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhoods that will make possible responsible environmental stewardship and reduced car usage. Bus rapid transit service has already started.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6075/6124286922_9e2edafd4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6075/6124286922_9e2edafd4b.jpg" /></a></div>[View of California coast.]<br />
<b><br />
Big Partnerships in a Big State</b><br />
<br />
From the newsletter of the <a href="http://www.completestreets.org ">National Complete Streets Coalition</a>:<br />
<blockquote>Though most everything else is bigger in Texas, AARP Texas isn't convinced mobility options for the state's aging population are the right size. Volunteers have begun conducting pedestrian safety audits across the state, including in El Paso, Dallas, Houston, Beaumont, Sherman, San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio, and McAllen. This information will be used to make the case for more Complete Streets solutions, including a renewed push for a state law when the legislature meets again in 2013. A bi-partisan group of legislators put forward a Complete Streets bill this year, but it failed to reach the floor in either chamber.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-58146449442218215812011-11-29T12:22:00.000-08:002011-11-29T12:22:44.954-08:00Events and Local Coordination Stories<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a><br />
Webinar - <a href="https://www149.livemeeting.com/lrs/vcmeeting_ccc/Registration.aspx?pageName=qngqhl6cqfznn769">Tackling the Question: Will Complete Streets Cost Too Much?</a> - Dec. 1, 2011. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/communitiesputtingpreventiontowork/">Communities Putting Prevention to Work</a> Webinar series presentation about implementing Complete Streets policies and strategies for responding to the cost concern, including examples and resources. The webinar will provide information both about the low cost of many complete streets treatments, as well as ways to talk to transportation professionals about the added value and community support that result from complete streets implementation.<br />
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<a href="http://www.narc.org/">National Association of Regional Councils</a> <br />
<a href="http://narc.org/events/conferences/ncr/2012-national-conference-of-regions.html">Annual conference</a> - Feb. 12-14, 2012, Washington, DC. The conference will focus on the Administration's priorities, Congressional activities, critical policy issues and pending federal legislation that will impact regions. Environmental and transportation policy, livability and the effect of the current U.S. fiscal situation will be addressed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9XNhMF5RuA/TtU8_ogrpyI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/uV_O8OlLMQ0/s1600/Denver-20111116-00104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9XNhMF5RuA/TtU8_ogrpyI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/uV_O8OlLMQ0/s320/Denver-20111116-00104.jpg" /></a></div>[View of mid-renovation Union Station area in Denver at dusk.]<br />
<b><br />
Coordination Stories</b><br />
<br />
The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is realistically appraising its coordination and connectivity challenges via its coordinated transportation plan. "The public transit coordination plan was completed this month to comply with Federal Transit Administration rules requiring similar plans to be in place for access to its funding streams, but the study also provided an overview of how well the Valley’s providers have implemented existing coordination efforts." An article in the <a href="http://www.brownsvilleherald.com">Brownsville Herald</a>, <a href="http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley-134196-services-study.html"><i>Study: Valley's Transit Providers Must Connect Services</i></a>, also explains the plan for further coordination to enable commuting from one city to another in the area. Other transportation services on the horizon are medical and shopping trips and routes with consistent schedules "throughout the day in the Valley’s urbanized areas."<br />
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Binghamton, a city in Upstate New York is using its half million dollar Community Challenge Grant, the only one awarded in the state, to engage the community to envision what type of community it should be in the future and follow up on that vision by writing it into its zoning code. A brief <a href="http://www.newschannel34.com/news/local/story/Binghamton-Federal-Grant/RRg1HyFcbkKyN0uwM9z7vQ.cspx">television news piece</a> explains.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-29130453440219596622011-11-28T06:58:00.000-08:002011-11-28T06:58:33.752-08:00Legislative Push to Improve Transportation for People with Disabilities<a href="http://www.ncil.org">National Council on Independent Living</a><br />
NCIL published a new <a href="http://www.ncil.org/news/TransportationPosition.html">position paper</a> on transportation that starts out with the observation that 80 percent of federal transportation funding goes to highways, which discriminates against people with disabilities, along with the unfulfilled promise of the ADA for transit service accessible to all and the lack in rural areas of transportation options and accessible streets for people with disabilities. <br />
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NCIL declares <a href="http://www.ncil.org/news/TransportationPosition.html">11 goals</a> that it is seeking via the next transportation authorization bill. The following list is edited, but quotes from the position paper.<br />
<blockquote>1. Address the continued discrimination against individuals with disabilities by ensuring through legislation that all public transportation is accessible to and for individuals with disabilities. According to the Rural Transportation Institute, a recent study indicates that only 7 states require public transportation to be wheel-chair accessible under Section 5310. ...<br />
<br />
2. Provide major new investments in public transportation and complete street designs ... . The lack of transportation and pedestrian safety and right of way options in many communities is a major barrier to employment of individuals with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities heavily rely on public transportation and the expansions of transportation and complete street options will significantly improve the mobility of individuals with disabilities. ...<br />
<br />
3. Include the creation of innovative, creative, universally designed, and accessible and energy efficient vehicles in any future Economic Stimulus, Climate Change, or Surface Transportation Reauthorization Legislation. ... Legislation should maximize the development of federal incentives to increase local and state transit investment. All community and public transportation systems should be able to decide locally when and how to best deploy federal and local investment for either operating or capital uses.<br />
<br />
4. Require states to establish an advisory committee to the state Department of Transportation including at least 51% of persons with disabilities and senior citizens, for all types of transportation services. An advisory committee should also be created in counties and/or areas where there are no transportation services, in order to help establish a transportation system to meet the needs of that county. ...<br />
<br />
5. Develop a federal standard that requires all taxi fleets to be wheelchair accessible/universally designed that can be adopted by the U.S. Access Board. At a minimum private transportation services such as taxis, limousines and/or shuttle services, must have 10-20% (with a minimum of at least one accessible vehicle) wheelchair accessible/universally designed vehicles.<br />
<br />
6. Make all train cars, stations, and any mechanism used to assist with boarding, doorways and vestibules accessible. According to the Amtrak staff at The Piedmont in Charlotte, North Carolina, there are no accessible cars for wheelchair users. As a result, one may be able to get to his or her destination on a car that is accessible but may not be able to travel home because the car on the return train may not be accessible. ... Also, all stations must maximize accessibility improvements including stations not designated as key stations.<br />
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7. Create legislation that requires support for mobility management and coordination programs and voucher programs among public transportation providers, other human services agencies providing transportation services, and volunteer driver and aide programs ... by establishing a dedicated funding source for these services. The mobility needs of individuals with disabilities in rural communities are significant. New initiatives to address their unique needs, such as the need for accessible transportation services to transport individuals between the various Municipalities, must be included in any transportation reauthorization.<br />
<br />
8. Expand Section 5310 [rural general purpose], the Job Access and Reverse Commute program and the New Freedom program that serves a critical need in the disability community. ... The program should be strengthened by improved oversight and transparency to help nonprofit partners understand how to access the program and assist policy makers understand how the program is being used.<br />
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9. Produce all information by transportation authorities for the purpose of informing the general public of their function and schedule of operations in an accessible format upon request. Such formats must address the needs and requests of the patron requesting such an alternative format like large print (18 size font), braille, and computer disk (digital format). In addition, transportation websites must meet the requirements set forth under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.<br />
<br />
10. Establish a federal standard that requires all commercial airline carriers, as well as small air carriers, to provide personnel with adequate training in safe methods of transfer for passengers with mobility disabilities onto both small and large aircraft. ...<br />
<br />
11. Allow service animals including psychiatric service dogs & emotional support animals (ESA) to follow their user.</blockquote><br />
<b>ABLE Act</b><br />
<br />
NCIL and other disability rights organizations, particularly those representing people with cognitive disabilities, are advocating for the ABLE Act, which stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience Act. Modeled on the qualified tuition program, the Act would amend the tax code to encourage saving for "disability-related expenses on behalf of designated beneficiaries with disabilities that will supplement, but not supplant, benefits provided through private insurance, the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act, the supplemental security income program under title XVI of such Act, the beneficiary's employment, and other sources." These expenses include housing, transportation, education, employment supports, health and wellness, and assistive technology, among others, including spending on public transit or modifying personal vehicles.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1529436476502341592.post-34867454748860309812011-11-04T07:42:00.000-07:002011-11-04T07:42:53.415-07:00Smart Growth Community Assistance and Walkability News<a href="http://www.epa.gov">Environmental Protection Agency</a><br />
EPA has <a href="http://www.epa.gov/schools/siting/download.html">school siting guidelines</a> that include access to transit and biking, as well as walkability. <br />
<blockquote>Connecting a school to a network of sidewalks, bike paths and other infrastructure encourages physical activity by making walking or biking safe and enjoyable. It is also important to provide walking and biking routes that do not bring children close to large roads, highways and other major pollution sources (for both health and safety concerns). Site size, location and design all play a role in determining whether walking or biking will be an option for students. Locations that provide access for students and staff via public transit will also reduce vehicle use as well as potentially promote increased physical activity in getting to the transit stops from both home and school. </blockquote><b><br />
More EPA Technical Assistance Opportunities</b><br />
<br />
Through an EPA grant to the <a href="http://www.pps.org/">Project for Public Spaces</a> under the <a href="https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/showReg?udc=8muhx96pmdei">Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program</a>, <a href="http://livabilitysolutions.org/">Livability Solutions</a> will be offering free technical assistance workshops to six to 12 communities around the country. This technical assistance will take the form of one- to two-day workshops utilizing livability tools such as a Community Image Survey (CIS) public engagement tool, a Walk Audit workshop, a Safe Routes to School workshop or a Design Mini-Charrette, among other <a href="http://livabilitysolutions.org/?page_id=7">community-focused analyses and exercises</a>. Selected communities will also be linked to a network of other communities with similar goals and challenges. Each community team will be led by Livability Solutions <a href="http://livabilitysolutions.org/?page_id=11">coalition members</a>. <br />
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The application deadline is Nov. 22, 2011. Visit the Livability Solutions <a href="http://livabilitysolutions.org/?p=1">technical assistance page</a> for details and the <a href="http://livabilitysolutions.org/?page_id=438">application</a>. <br />
<br />
A <a href="https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/showReg?udc=8muhx96pmdei">webinar</a> next week will cover four technical assistance programs under the <a href="https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/showReg?udc=8muhx96pmdei">Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program</a> program.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6124274272_caa730ebd0_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="180" width="240" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6124274272_caa730ebd0_m.jpg" /></a></div>[Bicycle promoting the goods from a bakery in Hood River, Oregon.]<br />
<br />
<b>Streets for All Walkers and Wheelchair Users</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.access-board.gov/">Access Board</a><br />
Three weeks left for public comment on <a href="http://www.access-board.gov/news/row-nprm.htm">Accessibility Guidelines for Public Rights-of-Way</a>. The US Access Board posted the proposed guidelines on its website these are available for public comment through November 23, 2011. <br />
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The guidelines will cover sidewalks, street crossings, medians and traffic islands, overpasses, underpasses and bridges, on-street parking, transit stops, toilet facilities, signs, and street furniture. They will apply to permanent as well as temporary facilities, such as temporary routes around work zones and portable toilets. <br />
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Issues related to particular disabilities and pedestrian safety are noted.<br />
<blockquote>Wheelchair users usually have a lower eye height above the street than most adult pedestrians, and may be hidden from motorist view behind parked vehicles, plantings, or other visual obstacles. People may have vision, hearing, cognitive, or other considerations that must be considered within the public right-of-way.</blockquote>Please be aware that certain public comments will be allowed regarding the Access Board's <a href="http://www.access-board.gov/sup/anprm.htm">Advance NPRM (notice of public rulemaking) for Shared Use Paths</a>, announced on on March 28, 2011. Although comments were due June 27, 2011, these guidelines are in initial development stages. The proposed guidelines will consider differences between public right-of-way guidelines and recreational trail guidelines. More information is available in the FHWA's <a href="http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/pedforum/2011/fall/">Pedestrian Forum</a> newsletter.<br />
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Please note that a public hearing will be held in Washington, DC on Nov. 9 at the Access Board Meeting Room, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 800.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7wf6-PqKhY0/TrP5ElVyflI/AAAAAAAAAJg/vfQ9lVIMV6M/s1600/NY%2Bbuses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="213" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7wf6-PqKhY0/TrP5ElVyflI/AAAAAAAAAJg/vfQ9lVIMV6M/s320/NY%2Bbuses.jpg" /></a></div>[Buses on Central Park South on a June morning.]<br />
<br />
<b>Template for Multi-Modal Street Networks</b><br />
<a href="http://www.completestreets.org "><br />
National Complete Streets Coalition</a><br />
The coalition is recommending the <a href="http://modelstreetdesignmanual.com/index.html">Model Design Manual for Living Streets</a>. Offered as a street-design template, the manual:<br />
<blockquote>focuses on all users and all modes, seeking to achieve balanced street design that accommodates cars while ensuring that pedestrians, cyclists and transit users can travel safely and comfortably. This manual also incorporates features to make streets lively, beautiful, economically vibrant as well as environmentally sustainable.</blockquote>For more information about walkability best practices and places, visit the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center's <a href="http://www.walkinginfo.org/"> walkinginfo.org</a> website, which also houses information about the <a href="http://www.walkfriendly.org/">Walk-Friendly Communities Program</a>. More walkability news and resources are available from <a href="http://americawalks.org/">America Walks</a> and the Federal Highway Administration's <a href="http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environMent/bikeped/publications.htm#Additional">pedestrian resources</a> website.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0