What Livability Means: Rural Areas and State Policies

Last year, 32,885 people were killed on the nation's roads, according to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in a recent blog post. Rural roads witness a far greater rate of accidents, injuries and deaths than urban roads. The Secretary's words are chilling.

[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.

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.

Technical Assistance

Local coordination stories are featured in today's NRC Technical Assistance News about how communities are growing or reconsidering transit and transportation services. Stories come from York, Pa., Corpus Christi, Tx., and Portland, Or.

From our technical assistance network, an offering that national organizations and state and local stakeholders may be interested in is the National Transit Institute webinar on Jan. 12, 2012, Public Transportation Systems as the Foundation for Economic Growth (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 Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) international study mission.

[A light rail area of Denver's upcoming new Union Station multi-modal hub.]

What Is Rural Smart Growth?

Federal Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities 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 Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture. A list of staff contacts at each agency appears in Appendix B.

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.

State Legislation and Livability

AARP
I attended the recent AARP Public Policy Institute forum on aging in place and read the report connected with the event. Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices was a joint venture with the National Conference of State Legislatures. 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."

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.

Connectivity also reduces the cost of providing emergency services. In Charlotte,
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.

[Portland's round-the-block food cart destinations are a wonderful example of a transit-oriented, mixed-use, neighborhood's potential offerings.]

Variety of State Action

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.

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.

What Is a Citizen to Do?
Idaho Smart Growth
Idaho Smart Growth releases a citizen's guide 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.

Events and Local Coordination Stories

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Webinar - Tackling the Question: Will Complete Streets Cost Too Much? - Dec. 1, 2011. Communities Putting Prevention to Work 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.

National Association of Regional Councils
Annual conference - 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.

[View of mid-renovation Union Station area in Denver at dusk.]

Coordination Stories

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 Brownsville Herald, Study: Valley's Transit Providers Must Connect Services, 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."

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 television news piece explains.

Webinars - Performance Measurement, Creative Responses to Reduced Funding

Performing For Individual, Organizational and Collective Impact - webinar - Sept. 14, 2011 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The Partnership for Mobility Management and the Community Transportation Association of America jointly present this webinar to explore the fundamentals of performance measurement. Hear how a results-based accountability framework is used to support quality of life. Learn about mobility management measures that gauge success of programs and outcomes for customers. Speakers include representatives of transit, transportation services and workforce agencies as well as a staff member of the Federal Transit Administration.

Creative Solutions to Reduced Funding for Public and Human Services Transportation - webinar - Sept. 20, 2011 at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Services Transportation presents this colloquium via webinar to assist national organizations, states and communities during these fiscally challenging times. Speakers are representatives of communities that have taken different approaches to solving or alleviating the problem of cutbacks as well as a panel representing national organizations.

Planning for Emergencies and Disaster Response

On Wednesday morning, members of the National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Services Transportation engaged in a colloquium about emergency planning and disaster response, both in general and in particular regarding transportation, transportation providers, and transportation-challenged populations and areas. The speakers were Sheryl Gross-Glaser of the National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination (NRC) (a technical assistance center housed at the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)), Virginia Dize and Jo Reed of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A), and Patricia Monaghan of the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP).

To understand the different types and categorization of emergencies and disasters, and preparedness, a good concise guide is the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Introduction to All-Hazards Preparedness for Transit Agencies.

Never Introduce Yourself at the Disaster

"Never introduce yourself at the disaster" was a terrific soundbite from a recent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) webinar. Richard Devylder, Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation at the U.S. Department of Transportation, gave this advice. It is too late to be involved in planning for emergency response when disaster hits and even at the point where officials are looking for endorsement of a plan.

Early and Often Involvement

Unlike voting, involvement in emergency planning should be early and often, counsels Devylder (who did not refer to voting). Involvement while a plan is being crafted ensures that preparedness actively includes populations beyond those of average age and abilities.

[Central Park South yesterday was full with pedicabs, taxis, buses, cyclists and walkers (left out of the photograph).]

After Hurricane Katrina's disproportionate impact on older adults (47 percent of the people who died were 75 or older), area agencies on aging (AAAs) are participating in emergency preparedness by providing information, establishing partnerships, providing communications links, outreach and services in the event of a disaster. (More information about AAA participation in emergency preparedness and response is available in an N4A 2009 survey.)

Redundant and Universal Communication

Also mentioned during the webinar, which is not currently archived, was the wisdom of redundant communications in multiple formats and with attention paid to those with communication challenges, such as people with visual or auditory impairments. Information provided in visual updates, such as maps or information scrolled at the bottom of a screen, or announcements via radio or television, should be duplicated in other formats.

[A bus stop on Broadway, about 63rd St. The new shelters are chic, though not hi-tech like the Portland ones.]

Building in Redundancies for an Imperfect World

Since no one measure is perfect to identify and keep track of who will need assistance, transportation, health-related or otherwise, redundancy in identification and monitoring is necessary. No one system of determining need - before or during an emergency - will be completely accurate. There will be people who are injured or disoriented during a disaster who were perfectly well beforehand and who would not show up on a registry. Likewise, depending on time of day, many children who do not usually have transportation challenges would be unsupervised and in need of assistance.

For example, we discussed the value of registries for meeting the needs of transportation-challenged individuals. Both N4A and CTAA include the development and use of registries in their recommendations. A participant in the FEMA webinar, June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant/Associate Director at Western University in California, spoke against reliance on registries because she believes that they provide a false security to registrants, who assume that registering means that the government will be taking care of them, and they provide no service to those who fail to register, whether out of ignorance, distrust of the government, or privacy concerns.

Kailes recommends that governments assess what will be needed and in what amounts to keep people independent and in good health - wheelchairs, medications, vehicles, meals, health aides - based upon the demographics. Jo Reed of N4A described door hanger notification systems that residents can hang outside to indicate whether they are fine or need assistance. As Reed's door hangers suggest, notification of need can be inexpensive and will supplement whatever other monitoring or identification systems are in place.

The Model of AAAs

Other examples of AAA involvement in preparedness are :
* Florida's emergency communications network, its plans for people with disabilities and home health care, and its registries;
* Iowa's requirement that local transportation providers have emergency plans; and
* A rural Colorado area's designation of the AAA as the designated emergency transportation provider.

Numbers Speak

Jo Reed spoke about emergency planning findings in the 2011 Maturing of America survey of local governments, last performed in 2005. An exception to a general finding of lack of assessment and preparation for the greater number of older adults in the future was the tremendous increase in specialized training to handle older adult needs in emergencies. However, a smaller percentage of communities than in 2005 were planning for evacuations of older adults or had systems in place to track where older adults reside.

Patti Monaghan discussed the relevant RTAP products, two updated training resources. The highest attendance numbers for an RTAP webinar was the one held about its emergency procedures training, demonstrating the substantial interest in this topic. Patti also noted the current preparation of a TCRP handbook for emergency preparedness.

Resources

CTAA:
On the CTAA website is the Transportation and Emergency Preparedness Checklist, which organizes the planning and response measures that community, regional and state leaders, as well as stakeholders, should be paying attention to. Training and information are available for planning and response from the National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) resource center and the Incident Command System.

The NRC has an Emergency Preparedness and Response Bookshelf with resources that focus on populations with special needs. CTAA also maintains a webpage with emergency preparedness resources.

RTAP:
Emergency Procedures for Rural Transit Drivers - a training module.
Threat and Vulnerability Toolbox.

Personal Notes

Special thanks to Kelly Shawn of CTAA for his assistance in discussing important emergency preparedness issues and resources and thanks to Patti Monaghan for discussing RTAP's resources and Hal Morgan for bringing and discussing the FTA All-Hazards publication.

I have seen some disasters and potential disasters in New York, one of which was the blackout of 2003 that affected the whole Northeast. I visited an apartment house that was a naturally occurring retirement community. Many people could not get to their apartments and others could not walk down the stairs and to go out of the building. Staff and neighbors knocked on all doors, retrieved medications (some from apartments on the 20th floor and above), arranged for meals, and made people in their 80s and 90s comfortable for a night spent in the lobby. Most everyone else walked up the stairs to their apartments or spent the night elsewhere. I saw police officers calmly direct traffic on streets filled with both packed vehicles of all types and pedestrians (some barefoot and carrying their high heels). The Port Authority bus terminal recreated itself outside on 43rd Street.

Every disaster is unique, but what remains the same is that there are special challenges to getting through an emergency and its aftermath being older, living with a significant disability, or living in a rural community. Neighborliness, flexibility and ingenuity all have a place, but preparedness makes a big difference.

Policies and Funding for Rural and Coordinated Transportation Options

Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA)
CTAA has on its homepage a collection of materials that declare the benefits of rural transportation services, including rural public transit, and an explanation of the history and scope of Medicaid's non-emergency transportation (NEMT) benefit.

American Bus Association (ABA)
ABA responds to the Obama Administration's recommendation for funding to develop a high-speed rail network with a reminder that intercity bus travel is a far less expensive form of long-distance publicly-available transportation.

Quoting from the ABA publication, the Insider, the association declares:

"We're asking lawmakers to invest in motorcoach transportation," said ABA President and CEO, Peter J. Pantuso, CTIS. "Even under the best circumstances, a high-speed rail network will not become a reality for years. Motorcoaches are here today. We cost a tiny fraction of what high-speed rail will cost. We are environmentally friendly, and we provide service to rural Americans that high-speed rail will never be able to reach. When you look at all of that, it just makes sense to go with the motorcoach."

The Insider article emphasizes the importance of motorcoach service to rural Americans. Bus service still covers a much greater proportion of rural residents than current or projected train lines.

Detailed Look at Coordination of Government Programs

In his NRC Capitol Clips post on March 4, Chris Zeilinger, the Director of the National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination (NRC), does a terrific job of summarizing and examining the findings of the recent Government Accountability Office report, Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue. The blog finds in the report strong evidence to support coordination of government services. The report is well worth reading and transportation coordination is addressed at pages 48-50, which will appear as 53-55 in your pdf toolbar, and discussion of coordination for the transportation-challenged appears at 134-138 (appearing as 139-143).

Speaking of coordination, I read an interesting opinion blog in the New York Times online edition about coordination to improve education for low-performing public school systems. Coming Together to Give Schools a Boost talks about strong coordinating organizations and partners with clear goals and a focus on performance measures. I will not say that the strategies mentioned should be transferred to transit and transportation services, but the model is worth considering for its comprehensiveness and the honest assessment of its proponents that new methods were needed.