Category: CSG in the News

Crowding Prompts Renewed Calls For Rush Hour Bus Lane On 16th Street

Posted on by acustis

If you stand at a bus stop on 16th Street NW south of the U Street intersection after 8 a.m. on a typical weekday, there’s a good chance the next S line bus heading downtown will not stop to pick you up. It’s nothing personal. The driver simply cannot fit any more passengers on board.

The S line carries commuters from Silver Spring downtown.

More buses, same problem

Despite the recent addition of buses to augment service in the busiest part of morning rush hour — more than 40 S line buses travel the route between 8 and 9 a.m. — supply still does not meet demand on 16th St., now the busiest bus corridor in Washington D.C., with more than 21,000 weekday riders. The ridership explosion of 25 percent since 2009 has been fueled by the growing population in Columbia Heights and Dupont Circle, two neighborhoods in a city where forty percent of households are car-free and thus dependent on transit.

The inadequate service is not caused by a lack of buses. Traffic congestion continues to slow down the S line no matter how many more buses Metro adds to the mix (the transit authority currently runs 27 to 42 buses per hour during morning and afternoon rush hour), causing not only crowding but also eliminating spacing between buses. It is now common for commuters to watch two or three buses pass them within seconds of one another.

“Three S1s will pass by and I will be out here for 45 minutes waiting for one,” said Emma Kelsy as she stood at the bus stop at 16th St. and Corcoran St. Her commute only takes 20 minutes once she boards a bus.

New calls for bus lane

Commuters’ frustrations are prompting neighborhood representatives and transit advocates to call on the District Department of Transportation to act on the recommendations of the agency’s own studies and implement a rush hour bus lane on 16th Street NW from Columbia Heights all the way downtown, a total of 2.7 miles. DDOT has yet to fully commit to the idea, although agency planners say they will continue to study how the bus lane would work without significantly affecting car traffic or parking.

“Peoples commutes’ are just unpredictable now. They have to wait 5 minutes or 20 minutes or longer for a bus and it’s just becoming untenable for them to get to work,” said Kishan Putta, a Dupont Circle ANC commissioner who has been lobbying DDOT and the District Council since last year. In response to public pressure, most of the D.C. mayoral candidates have come out in support.

One morning this week, Putta asked commuters waiting at bus stops along 16th Street to sign a petition calling on officials to move ahead on the project. As he spoke to this reporter for about 45 minutes in the heart of rush hour, as many buses failed to stop as did stop at 16th and Corcoran. Each one that blew by was bursting with commuters. Some of those left standing on the sidewalk simply gave up and hailed a taxi.

“If you were to add more buses to this already congested route it would just add to the congestion, so we should also have a quicker way for them to get to work. The idea of dedicated bus lanes is new to D.C. but it’s not new in the world or in America,” Putta said.

DDOT study cites benefits and drawbacks

An internal DDOT study completed in 2013 recommended “key immediate next steps” to pursue, including starting the environmental impact process under NEPA, but it remains unclear when the agency will move.

“That study found there were potential benefits to bus lanes going downtown but there were also some big trade-offs. We felt the benefits were worth continuing to pursue. That doesn’t mean we are going to go out tomorrow and start installing them,” said Sam Zimbabwe, DDOT’s associate director for planning, policy and sustainability. “I can tell you it won’t be by the end of this year that we’ll have a dedicated bus lane.”

The internal study said the environmental process should begin after “DDOT’s long range transportation plan confirms high level goals.”

“We are looking at what will take us to the next stage in the process,” Zimbabwe added. “It will take us completing our long-range plan and understanding how this fits in to our priorities city-wide.”

Transit backers to DDOT: get moving

Transit advocates would like to see more urgency at the agency.

“DDOT needs to push. They have looked at this and talked about it for a while, but they need to hear from the public that we need to deliver better transportation service in this corridor,” said Cheryl Cort, the policy director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “With half of all 16th Street travelers on buses [during rush hour] we need to use these resources more efficiently. We just can’t keep adding more buses.”

According to the internal DDOT study, “Peak-hour Peak-direction Transit lanes are estimated to have the following benefits: increase transit travel speeds by 30-percent; and accommodate up to a 10-percent increase in person demand.”

The study also determined the bus lane could cause an “increase in vehicular delays at critical intersections along the corridor, including U Street, the Columbia/Harvard/Argonne intersections and R Street; and an inability to reduce crossing distances and vehicle exposure for pedestrians.”

The layout of 16th St. south of U St. is another obstacle. Although the road remains the same width (about 50 feet), it narrows from five painted lanes to four. Cort said 16th St. would have to be restriped to allow one bus lane and two lanes of mixed traffic in the rush hour direction (downtown in the morning, uptown in the afternoon), while keeping the off-peak side the same with one lane for traffic and one for parking.

“We don’t have to take away any parking,” Cort said.

Bikes and right-turning vehicles would be allowed in the bus lane, but a more detailed study is necessary to determine if taxis would interfere with operations, Cort added.

Metro supports bus lane

Metro, which has added more and longer buses to meet the demand in the 16th St. corridor, also supports a dedicated bus lane.

“We have recommended a bus lane be considered for implementation, but that is a DDOT decision,” said Jim Hamre, Metro’s director for bus planning and scheduling. “There are some physical challenges, but most of those can be overcome through thoughtful design and the little nip and tuck of a curb line here and there. The biggest challenges we face are policy and pragmatism.”

Meantime, Metro has chosen a contractor to begin testing traffic signal prioritization in five bus corridors in Washington, including 16th Street NW. Woodbury, New York-based Clever Devices is tasked with designing, testing, and implementing technology that will allow buses to keep consecutive traffic signals green. Hamre said the goal is to start implementation by the end of the year in collaboration with DDOT, which has the final word on the schedule.

DDOT is close to beginning construction on a dedicated bus lane on another congested corridor in Northwest: Georgia Avenue from Florida Avenue to Barry Place. The lane would be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Construction is expected to begin late this year. The 70 bus line carries more than 21,000 weekday riders, the second busiest bus corridor in D.C. behind the S line on 16th Street.

 Read the original article on WAMU >>

D.C. digs itself out from latest snowstorm and deals with icy roads

D.C. digs itself out from latest snowstorm and deals with icy roads

Posted on by Max Potter

Washington was in motion again Tuesday, one day after an icy snowstorm shut down the region, but many drivers inched along many minimally plowed neighborhood streets and pedestrians did the slip and slide on miles of sidewalks untouched by shovels.

Mother Nature may play out the hand she dealt Monday, trumping snow and ice with warmer weather that’s forecast to arrive Wednesday and continue through the weekend. A major melting should start by Friday, with high temperatures near or above 50 expected for five consecutive days, according to forecasts.

A combination of factors made snow removal challenging in the aftermath of the storm and into Tuesday. Roads normally treated before the first snowfall were left bare Monday because the rain that fell first would have washed the treatment away. The freezing rain that fell next left a crust of ice once the plows cleared the snow. Overnight and into the morning, frigid weather — with temperatures in the single digits most places — inhibited salt’s ability to chew through that ice.

“With the temperatures being so cold, and especially last night, we had a refreeze,” said Carol Terry, a spokeswoman with Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation. “Some of those areas refroze. So it takes a little more plowing than usual. After it gets so cold, the salt doesn’t even work. We are hoping that it warms up.”

She said that the county’s major roads were in good shape but that residential roads still needed plowing.

Late Tuesday afternoon in the neighborhoods around Catholic University in the District, plow operations had shifted into the “mop up stage” as veteran driver Michael Miller steered his 40,000-pound truck onto the roads. His target was the narrow residential streets. He and other drivers were hoping to clear leftover snow and treat the roads, cleared but still slick,with salt before it refroze overnight, causing even more problems.

It was Miller’s second 12-hour shift. On Monday, he started clearing major roads — Michigan Avenue, North Capitol near and around the university and streets at nearby Washington Hospital Center — at noon, when snowfall and roads were at their worst. Still, Miller, who’s been doing the job for almost three decades, said he’d seen worse. Way worse.

“The main thing is the temperature,” he said. “It got dicey [Monday] evening, when everything that was treated froze up.”

Joan Morris of the Virginia Department of Transportation said that patches of snow and ice remained on the shoulders and turn lanes of some major roadways on Tuesday.

“Typically, we could knock that out in one day,” she said, but when temperatures fell below 20 degrees, salt no longer worked as well to melt ice.

VDOT, which is responsible for all roads and neighborhood streets in Northern Virginia, hoped to clear a path through every subdivision road by the end of the day Tuesday. Curb-to-curb plowing in those neighborhoods, Morris said, would “take them forever.”

Sharon Bulova (D), chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, who has been critical of VDOT’s snow removal in the past, said: “This winter, they’ve done a much better job than they’ve ever done before. In the past, there was a lot that we’ve criticized them for. This time, there was nothing to complain about. VDOT has improved their performance in clearing the roads of snow just incredibly.”

Bulova also said that federal and local governments in the region have taken steps to improve the situation by communicating closures the night before and allowing more government employees to work from home, keeping more cars off the road. Federal agencies, in particular, learned an important lesson after a massive traffic jam last year when the government released all of its workers early, at the same time, and drivers spent several hours trying to get home, she said.

The gusty wind that came in with the snow and ice also hindered cleanup operations, officials said.

“Strong winds kept blowing snow back onto roads, requiring crews to repeatedly clear main and emergency routes before plowing neighborhoods,” said Montgomery County spokeswoman Esther Bowring.

This was the 25th storm in Montgomery this winter, which has had a total of 50 inches of ice and snow so far, Bowring said.

“There is that hard, crusty layer that is impossible to remove with just one plow,” she said. “We have been able to get into all the neighborhoods, but we realize that a lot of the neighborhood streets are very packed. So now the crews are going back out and trying to do more to try to make them more passable.”

Loudoun County officials issued an alert Tuesday warning drivers that the roads were still dangerous “because the snow’s consistency is more like ice than powder” and because low temperatures will keep refreezing the surface for several days.

Icy or unshoveled sidewalks posed a particular problem in many places.

“There is no sensible way of clearing snow from sidewalks,” said Akshay Birla, 26, a Columbia Heights resident. “D.C. is such a heavy commuter city, in terms of public transit and walking, as opposed to driving, that it makes sense to have some sort of strategy to make sure that people can get to work.”

Even walking a block from his home to the Giant grocery store on Park Road on Monday was impossible, he said.

Cheryl Cort, the policy director with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said the region as a whole should look at creating a more comprehensive policy for clearing ice and snow from sidewalks and pedestrian crossings.

“We put a lot of resources into clearing roads, but it is left up to individuals to clear sidewalks and intersections to cross. There needs to be more attention to prioritizing pedestrian routes. It’s got to be more than asking property owners to clear the sidewalks.”

Manassas residents face some of the region’s strictest sidewalk-shoveling policies, while just across the city border in Prince William County, there is no law mandating that residents shovel their walks at all.

Manassas residents have 12 hours to shovel their sidewalks once the snow stops — during the day. (For snow that stops overnight, homeowners have until 5 p.m. the next day.) Now that the 12-hour period is over for this storm, city officials are busy leaving notices at homes with snowy walks. There is no fine for failure to comply with the rules, but if residents fail to shovel after receiving a written warning, the city will do it for them — at a cost, Street Maintenance Manager Russ Graham said.

Graham recalled one homeowner’s association that received a bill for almost $1,000 when the city cleared all its sidewalks several years ago. He said that the city has not had to bill an individual homeowner in recent years, though. A warning is usually enough.

Prince George’s officials said they were receiving complaints about icy sidewalks. Inspectors were out Tuesday to warn property owners to clear sidewalks by 3 p.m. Wednesday, said Gary Cunningham, deputy director of the county’s department of permitting, inspections and enforcement.

Read the original article on the Washington Post >>

Drop In Driving Prompts Questions On Transportation Funding Priorities

Posted on by acustis
Anyone who gets stuck in traffic every day may find this hard to believe, but the amount of miles people are driving is dropping.

An axiom of U.S. transportation policy since the construction of the interstate highway system — to relieve congestion build more lanes — may be giving way to the realization that states cannot pave their way out of the problem.

People are driving less as measured by vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and the enormous cost of expanding lanes may be seen as prohibitive. But the shift in thinking is far from complete, as Maryland recently opened the $2 billion Intercounty Connector (ICC) and Virginia opened the 495 Express Lanes on the Beltway, which were built mostly with private capital. Critics contend both toll roads are lightly used by motorists at great cost to the treasury and the environment.

The drop in driving has transit and smart growth advocates calling on policy makers to reassess their states’ priorities before committing to spending billions more on highway projects that may have minimal long-term benefits. A report in The Atlantic Cities said Maryland transportation officials, after projecting VMT growth for decades to come, changed their forecasts, noting “a return to strong annual VMT growth is unlikely.”

While the Maryland Department of Transportation’s official policy is to tackle congestion relief through road and transit projects, the department’s data shows VMT has been flat for the past decade. When population growth is taken into consideration, VMT per capita has dropped significantly, from 10,041 in 2007 to 9,541 in 2013.

Advocates of road building say despite the decline in driving most trips in the Washington metropolitan area are taken still by the single-occupant vehicle, necessitating large investments to relieve bottlenecks on the roads.

“You wouldn’t stop building roads any more than you would stop building schools,” said Bob Chase, the president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance.

For years Chase has called on officials in both Virginia and Maryland to agree to build a new crossing over the Potomac connecting the two states west of the congested American Legion Bridge.

“We have more people commuting and traveling between jurisdictions in the metropolitan Washington area than in any other part of the country. Our economy — our lifestyle — is dependent upon moving goods and services between states, so you need to focus on the framework that connects the economy,” Chase said.

While Virginia continues to study whether a new bridge is necessary, Maryland remains uninterested in such a project.

The long-running contention over a new Potomac bridge reflects the debate happening across the region between supporters of highway expansions and smart growth advocates: which projects are the right projects?

“Bob’s approach is what got us into this mess in the first place,” said Stewart Schwartz, the executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “The effort to try to keep saving time by widening every road has meant we have spread out more and more, forcing people to drive longer and longer distances.”

Schwartz said the region’s anticipated population growth does not necessarily have to translate into worse congestion.

“D.C. has added 83,000 people and seen a decline in car ownership, vehicle registrations, and driver’s licenses in the city. So the more communities we are building in the D.C. area that are close to transit, are walkable, have a mix of jobs, housing, retail and other services, the less people have to drive,” he said.

“It is a product of a number of things: retiring, down-sizing baby boomers and young adults looking for urban living and wanting to drive less, the impact of high oil prices, and the lasting effect of the internet which has led to a huge jump in telecommuting and internet shopping,” Schwartz added. “All are contributing to less driving and merit re-evaluating our state transportation programs.”

Per capita VMT figures nationally have dropped significantly since peaking in 2005. But to Chase, the statistics do not prove more roads are unnecessary.

“VMT really is a bogus measure,” he said. “It’s a very hard thing to calculate and it is not how people make decisions. People make decisions on the basis of time, and the real measure of how well a transportation system is working and how we ought to make our investments is: how long does it take people to get places?”

The relatively few drivers who use the ICC or 495 Express Lanes on a regular basis are saving time. Both toll roads are congestion free, and supporters say the projects have improved traffic flow on nearby roads (or lanes, in the case of the Express Lanes) by drawing away vehicles from them.

To opponents of the expensive highway expansions like Schwartz, the costs will never justify the benefits.

“That is what this is about,” Schwartz said. “Trying to avoid wasting our scarce tax dollars by selecting our projects more wisely, focusing on fixing our existing infrastructure first, and also recognizing the significance of these [driving] trends. How they are tied to the types of communities people want to live in where they can drive less.”

photo credit via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pooniesphotos/4498385541/

read the original article on WAMU >>

RECAP: Silver Spring Rapid Transit Open House

Posted on by Nick Ruiz

On Wednesday, February 26, Communities for Transit and the Coalition for Smarter Growth debuted a new public meeting format during our Silver Spring Rapid Transit Open House. The meeting, attended by 44 local residents, contained a short presentation with videos to show different road treatment options and station features.  Following the presentation, attendees were invited to visit different kiosks around the room, where eight large information boards were placed, in order to learn more and ask questions about the matters of RTS that were most important to them. The Seventh State blogger, David Lublin, describes his take on the Open House and the RTS plan, including our new RTS Map, designed like the WMATA Metro Map.

To read original article, please click here. 

Photo courtesy of Communities for Transit.

ANCs Push for 16th Street Bus Lanes

Posted on by acustis

An effort is underway to have local Advisory Neigbhorhood Commissions (ANCs) pass nearly identical resolutions urging more progress on proposed dedicated bus lanes on 16th Street NW.

ANC 2B/Dupont Circle passed the resolution (available here) at its last meeting on February 17th, by a vote of 6-0 with one abstention. On February 20th, the Transportation Committee of ANC1B/U Street voted to recommend the full ANC approve a similar resolution. The recommendation was passed by a voice vote with no audible objections. ANC1B will probably vote on the resolution at its next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, March 6, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

ANC2B Commissioner Kishan Putta (district 04) and Cheryl Cort, Policy Director of theCoalition for Smarter Growth, appeared before the ANC1B Transportation Committee to urge they endorse the resolution. Cort said the purpose of the resolution was to urge the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to move forward on the long series of public consultations and studies (e.g., air quality approval, environmental assessment) necessary before the lanes can become a reality.

“We’d like them to go through the whole process,” Cort said.

The committee discussed the exact definition of a dedicated bus lane. Such a lane, in this case, would also allow bicycles and right-turning cars and taxis.  If not turning right, taxis would be forbidden from the bus lanes.

ANC1B Chair James Turner (district 09), although not a member of the Transportation Committee, was present at the meeting. He said he wouldn’t support the resolution, because it does nothing to address the congestion problems of buses that pass through his district, for example, buses that travel on 14th Street, 11th Street, and Georgia Avenue. Cort replied improved 16th Street service would draw off riders currently taking 14th Street buses, relieving congestion.

The ANC1B version of the resolution will have some additional language in it pointing out that bus demand has exceeded capacity on both 14th Street and Georgia Avenue buses as well.

Putta has been campaigning vigorously to get the bus lanes moving forward, most recently testifying at a D.C. Council hearing on February 20.

He has also been working hard to inject the issue into the April 1 D.C. primary elections, often asking candidates for their views at public events.

Putta says D.C. Councilmember Muriel Bowser (Ward Four) has declared herself in favor of the bus lanes, after initially expressing skepticism about the proposal. Other candidates from the city council — Jack Evans (Ward Two) and Tommy Wells (Ward Six) — have also expressed their support. In addition, both candidates in the Ward One City Council primary — Jim Graham and Brianne Nadeau — have told Putta they support the proposal.

“DDOT itself did a study last year recommending a rush-hour bus lane.  Now they need to make it formal and implement it,” Putta said.

The 2013 DDOT study found that bus lanes could reduce commute time by 30%, Putta said.  They could also increase total bus capacity by 10% because buses could be reused faster.

Read the original post on SALM >>

Planners approve transportation priorities for D.C. region

Posted on by Max Potter

People who represent the fragmented jurisdictions across the D.C. region agreed Wednesday on a set of priorities for transportation planners.

The plan adopted unanimously by the Transportation Planning Board urges local governments to think regionally in selecting projects, emphasize ones that fix the road and transit network we already have, strengthen public confidence in their decisions and give people more options about how to travel.

The Regional Transportation Priorities Plan attempts to shape planners’ thinking in choosing projects, but it doesn’t name any projects to advance. The lack of specificity frustrates some transportation advocates, including Bob Chase, the president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance. He refers to it as an Alice’s Restaurant “You can get anything you want” approach to planning.

Supporters, including Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, see progress in the fact that a planning panel is willing to set regional priorities. Virginia, the District and Maryland have their separate systems for selecting and advancing projects. They are more responsive to local interests than to regional needs. While Schwartz has criticized aspects of the plan, he has supported its emphasis on fixing things first, and on improving the efficiency of the existing road and rail network.

The priorities plan doesn’t affect the underlying structure of local planning. but the formal regional support for its goals could influence upcoming decisions. The power of the Transportation Planning Board lies in the legal need for the jurisdictions to incorporate their projects in the region’s Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan.

The priorities plan now becomes a policy guide for local and state leaders who want to get their projects into the regional long-range plan. Local travelers naturally remain more focused on how they’re going to get home tonight rather than on what the transportation network will look like in a decade or two. But as they back up on the Beltway or squeeze aboard crowded Metro trains, many do wonder if there is any connection between their plight and the planning process.

The plan approved Wednesday is one of those rare documents dedicated to the lateRonald F. Kirby, who as director of transportation planning for the board, guided the development of the document. The dedication says in part: “This plan, which Ron worked tirelessly to develop, is a reflection of his innovative yet pragmatic approach to improving the region’s transportation system and making the region a better place.”

The plan’s priorities are grouped into three areas.

Meet existing obligations. Maintain the region’s existing transportation system. For example: Fix Metro and maintain it in a state of good repair.

Strengthen public confidence and ensure fairness. Pursue greater accountability, efficiency and access to transportation for everyone.

Move more people, more efficiently. Make strategic decisions to lessen crowding and congestion on the region’s roadways and transit system to accommodate growth.

Use this link to see the Regional Transportation Priorities Plan.

Todd Turner, a Bowie city council member and chairman of the priority plan task force, said the existence of such a plan, underpinned by a survey that sought public opinion on these priorities, will help restore public confidence in transportation planning. “But people have to take leadership in their own communities,” he said. In effect, addressing his local government colleagues across the region, he added: “We’re giving you the guidance. It’s up to you to do it.”

Read the original article at Washington Post >>

Photo Credit: Gerald Marineau

Ten Things I Learned at TransportationCamp

Posted on by Max Potter

TransportationCamp DC ‘14, organized by Mobility Lab, Open Plans, Conveyal, Young Professionals in Transportation, the Transportation Research Board, and the George Mason University School of Public Policy, took place Saturday.

With more than 400 registered attendees (totally sold out), the third-annual conference in D.C. (it happens in other places like Atlanta and San Francisco as well) contained more information than one person could process, and innumerable lessons as well. Still, I’ve managed to enumerate 10 of them, in no particular order:

1. The importance of being an “unconference.” TransportationCamp, as a user-driven conference (or “unconference”), has a collaborative and empowering feel unlike most other typical conferences. As Paul Mackie, my friend and colleague at Mobility Lab, said, “At most conferences, you simply sit and listen to speaker after speaker. TransportationCamp offers inspiration on some aspect of your work that you are currently trying to complete. There will no doubt be tons of apps and products that will result from the networking there.”

2. TransportationCamp = technology. The event – with a Collaboration Site and whose attendees and organizers undoubtedly put stress on Twitter’s and Google Docs’ servers (tweets from the event can be seen at the Twitter hash tag #transpo) – uses technology in ways other organizations can and should emulate.

3. Collaborate, don’t compete. The vibe at the conference was one of tremendous collaboration, unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Mackie concurs, stating, “One small and simple example came from the excellent marketing session. A signup sheet was passed around so that transit marketers can start a listserv to work together towards getting more people educated and excited about transportation options that don’t involve driving alone.”

4. Open up data, and transform organizations. The emphasis on collaboration and opening up datasets is built in to the DNA of the participants at TransportationCamp, who seem determined to transform the old guard of transportation agencies as well. WMATA and DOT (and many others from around the country) were represented at the Camp, boding well for the future of these organizations.

5. “It’s all about the share.” That line was used by one participant at a breakout session I attended on mobility management. The future of transportation is all about the sharing economy: for example, bike sharing, car sharing, and information sharing.

6. Our industry is underfunded. The bang-for-your-buck produced by “transportation demand management” (for example) isn’t a secret, yet I ran across many transportation professionals whose full-time jobs are unrelated to this industry, or who are only part-time employed in our field. We need to lobby harder for funding.

7. We are passionate and idealistic. The fact that many of us at the Camp were essentially unfunded underlines another important issue: we are people who believe in our industry, who are passionate about transportation and technology. And as cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For indeed, that’s all who ever have.”

8. Marketing is essential but not well understood. The marketing session I attended, led by, among others, Alex Baca, communications coordinator of the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA), brought home the issue that while many of us know how important marketing is, we’re a little in the dark as to how to engage in it. Aimee Custis, communications manager of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, shared some of her valuable experience (among others: include people in photos of transportation), and the above-referenced listserv means members of that break-out group are going to share insights post-Camp as well.

9. Infrastructure is important. Mobility Lab Contributor Kurt Raschke, one of the developers of the OneBusAway infrastructure on display at the event, explained this takeaway to me: “People are far more interested in end results than the elegance of the underlying infrastructure. Our challenge is to make infrastructure something that the average person sees as important and values, because it has a huge long-term impact on sustainability.” Rashke’s infrastructure is one that’s truly open, available as an API for free to developers.

10. Equity issues can be tackled with ingenuity. The intersection between land use and transportation and the way these affect equity and access are issues that keep coming up, but more and more are being addressed by people passionate about the issue. Capital Bikeshare of D.C., for example, is extending memberships to low-income and homeless residents of the city via a partnership with Back on My Feet.

Read the original article at Mobility Lab >>

Photo Credit: M.V. Jantzen

Group appeals 460 plan

Posted on by acustis

Representatives from nine groups opposed to the new Route 460 have put their names on a letter to governor-elect Terry McAuliffe, calling on him to halt the project immediately.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club-Virginia Chapter, Virginia Conservation Network, The Piedmont Environmental Council, The Coalition for Smarter Growth, Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Program, Partnership for Smarter Growth and Wetlands Watch sent the letter to McAuliffe on Dec. 18.

“The proposed new U.S. Route 460 is one project that does not make sense economically or environmentally, and we agree with your recent statements about the wisdom of halting further spending on this project pending careful consideration of its merits,” the groups wrote.

“We believe the new Route 460 proposal is clearly not in the best interests of the commonwealth, and therefore urge you to take the further step of terminating this project.”

The groups claim the limited-access toll road would run parallel to an existing 460 that is underutilized to begin with, and note the $1.4-billion cost hits taxpayers for almost $1.2 billion while the rest comes from tolls.

Taxpayers will have to pay to maintain both new and existing roads, they say, and the project “would cause significant environmental harm, yet it would do little to address the critical transportation needs of the Hampton Roads region.”

Money earmarked for the project would be better spent on upgrading the existing Route 460, rail in the 460 corridor, Interstate 64 or U.S. Route 58, building the I-564 to I-664 connector, or extending light rail to Virginia Beach, they say.

Also, transportation officials should consider “buying down” the cost of coming tolls on the Midtown and Downtown tunnels, the groups write.

The letter goes on to cite a recent sizeable expansion in estimated wetlands impacts, describing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ concerns regarding the environmental cost versus public benefit, as well as mentioning impacts on farms and open space, habitat of endangered species, and air and water quality.

The project would “spur inefficient development along its lengthy route,” the groups wrote.

Arguments for the project proffered by the Virginia Department of Transportation and the outgoing Gov. Bob McDonnell, including freight and economic development, traffic and safety, hurricane evacuation and military connectivity, are criticized in the letter.

“Every one of the justifications for the proposed new Route 460 can be more effectively accomplished at lower cost to taxpayers by investing in other alternatives,” the groups state.

Finally, the groups call upon McAuliffe to request the McDonnell administration halt work on the project both ongoing and planned, including engineering, design, and right-of-way acquisition.

“We hope you will agree that this project is unnecessary and would waste scarce resources that should instead be invested in projects that can do far more to address Hampton Roads’ critical transportation needs,” the letter concludes.

 Read the original at the Suffolk News Herald >>

Some of the best travel apps to help holiday travelers this season

Posted on by acustis

Need to book a hotel at the last minute? Want to find cheap gas?

Just in time for the holiday travel season, we thought we’d recommend some apps that could make your trip — whether it’s by plane, train, car or bike — a little less stressful. We consulted with travel experts, including the folks at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and our own app expert, Hayley Tsukayama (be sure to catch her app recommendations each Sunday in The Washington Post’s Business section). Thanks, too, to Aimee Custis, communications director at the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

We’ve tried to focus on free apps, organized by mode of travel. If there are apps out there that you love, please feel free to share them with us.

(Note: Unless otherwise noted, all apps listed are available for iOS and Android devices.)

Driving

Travelers will fill the nation’s highways this holiday season. According to AAA, 86 million people are expected to drive to their holiday destination.

Headed to see relatives? RoadNinja could make that trip a little easier (and save you some money). RoadNinja tracks your location and lets you know the price of gas at stations at upcoming exits. It also lets you know what’s at exits in the opposite direction just in case gas is cheaper going that way. The app also will tell you which restaurants, shops and other attractions are just down the road.

If your travels take you through Virginia, the Virginia Department of Transportation has its VDOT 511 app. When you switch on this app, the first thing you’ll see is the following warning: “DO NOT USE THIS APP WHILE DRIVING.” It’s a straightforward app, without a lot of fancy doodads or graphics. It gives you travel times for the state’s major routes tied to your current location. The “Basic map” tab will show you a color-coded map that helps spot delays. There’s also a link to VDOT Twitter messages grouped by region.

If your travels take you beyond Virginia, think about downloading the INRIX app, which offers just about everything a commuter or road warrior might want. There’s traffic news and a traffic map. When I set my location, I also got screenshots from VDOT’s traffic cameras. With one click, you can text or e-mail your arrival time to family and friends. The app will note construction or congestion with small icons along your planned route and places a little checkered flag icon at your destination.

Parking

 

If you’re big-city bound, you may need to find a place to park once you arrive.

SpotHero is a parking app that allows you to find, reserve and pay for available spaces at nearby lots. Enter the time and date you need parking and the interface will show you a map of available garages and lots, complete with the cost for the time period selected. It will give you a description of the garage or lot complete with photo and directions for where to enter. It also will tell you how far the garage is from your destination. (In some cases you’ll need to print your reservation and hand it to the valet.) SpotHero is available in Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, Newark and New York City.

Along those same lines, ParkWhiz helps you find available spaces — in some cases with a discount — and reserve and pay for them online. It offers you a description of the lot and a handy Google map of the location. We found it worked on garages in Washington and around the region, in such towns as Rockville and Ballston.

 

Flying

 

According to AAA, about 5.5 million holiday travelers will be flying to their destination. Frequent fliers recommend downloading the app for the airline that you’re using.

There are lots of apps that will help you track your flights, but here are two recommended by our frequent fliers:

The FlightAware app will allow you to track your flight (or that of your loved one). You can check individual airports for delays. A map will show you the flights arriving and departing into the airport of your choice. As a reporter who writes about airports, theFlightAware Web site is indispensable.

The free version of Flight Tracker operates much the same as FlightAware. Input your flight information and it will tell you what type of aircraft you’ll be flying, advise you of any delays and tell you the gate from which you’ll be departing. It also gives you a weather forecast for your destination. A minor quibble: I wish the app had the same pull-down menu of airlines that FlightAware offers.

If you get stuck or perhaps you’re looking for an escape from all that family togetherness,Hotel Tonight offers same-night reservations of hotels close to where you are. We love the ranking system, which includes categories such as “luxe,” “solid,” “basic” and “hip.” The gold bed next to your selection is the “high roller” category.

Train

Amtrak ’s mobile app offers all the basics: It will allow you to book tickets and check schedules and train status. The welcome screen has a lovely shot of a train against a scenic background. (A second app offers Amtrak’s glossy on-train magazine, Arrive). It gets pretty good reviews from users, though one said he wished service alerts were available directly from the app, noting that it’s not always convenient to go to the Web site.

Weather

Part of traveling is knowing what the weather will be at your destination. Some folks are perfectly happy with the weather app that’s packaged with their phone, but many want a bit more.

The newest AccuWeather app version offers some fresh features, including forecasts that refresh every five minutes and options that allow you to get more detail. You can easily add cities by name or by Zip code. A fun feature takes the forecast and offers advice on whether it’s good weather for, say, a barbecue or a trip to the beach. The health tab ranks the risk for particular medical conditions, such as the flu or migraines. The app also has a video and news feed.

Another favorite among weather watchers is WeatherBug . There’s a lot to like here, with all of the weather data plus the chance to share your weather photos with others. The app also features Spark, an exclusive feature that will tell you about potential lightning activity in your area. There’s also a pollen counter and footage from weather cameras in your area.

Read the original article at Washington Post >>

Transportation Forecasts Suggests Reducing Car Dependency A Must

Posted on by acustis

As the Washington region’s population and employment grow, traffic congestion will worsen and the percentage of all daily trips taken using transit will remain at seven percent through 2040, according to a forecast by transportation planners at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG).

But the “financially constrained” forecast is based on the possibility Congress will not continue to fund Metro’s rehabilitation, maintenance, and expansion beyond 2020, leading transit advocates to label it a technical analysis rather than a vision of what policy makers want for the region.

The long range transportation forecast combines travel data from three regions: the regional core of D.C., Alexandria, and Arlington; the inner suburbs of Fairfax, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties; and the outer suburbs of Charles, Frederick, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties.

Inevitable congestion?
The forecast seems to indicate congestion-weary commuters are doomed to a future of gridlock, especially those living in the suburbs, but the Council’s mass transit proponents and smart growth advocates say the report fails to take into account the rise of transit-oriented development.

Without substantial investments in mass transit, including Metro’s move to using only eight-car trains during rush hours, the number of roadway lane miles that will be congested during the morning commute will increase by 71 percent, the forecast said. The increase in demand on the region’s roadways is expected to outpace the supply of new lanes.

“It is an open question. That’s the point. Those are choices that we make,” said Chris Zimmerman, an Arlington County board member and longtime transit advocate who also sits on the Council’s board. “We can choose not to do things that will make our lives better.”

Metro’s 10-year, $3 billion funding program expires in 2020. MWCOG’s transportation planners say Congress should begin planning to reauthorize the funding now. When this possible financial constraint is lifted from the forecast, there is an increase of 32,000 daily transit work trips by 2040, bringing the commuting mode share for transit up from 24 to 25 percent.

“The problem is getting the financial commitments by the state, local, and federal governments to maintain the Metrorail system, and allow the expansion to eight-car trains and additional station improvements,” said Robert Griffiths, the acting co-director of transportation planning at MWCOG.

Without additional railcars beyond those currently funded, all Metro lines entering the regional core will become congested by 2040, the forecast said. The report assumes only 50 percent of trains will have eight cars instead of six during morning rush hour by 2040.

Commuters want choices
Where commuters have choices, car dependency shrinks and mode shifting away from the automobile is expected to grow. In the regional core 43 percent of all trips are walking, biking, or transit. By 2040 that figure is expected to grow to 47 percent. In the outer suburbs, however, only eight percent of all trips currently are walking, biking, or transit, and the forecast predicts that figure will rise to ten percent.

“The data show how effective the planning in Arlington, Alexandria, and D.C. has been in terms of reducing the number of auto trips,” said Stewart Schwartz, the executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “The long range forecast in the region’s transportation plan doesn’t show enough gains for transit between now and 2040. That is because [MWCOG planners] are not recognizing and modeling enough of the same types of changes in the suburbs of Fairfax, Montgomery, and Prince George’s that we have already seen in Arlington, Alexandria, and the District. But more of that is coming.”

“You have 15 Metro stations at Prince George’s ripe for development right now. And every person who lives and works in a transit-oriented center is a transportation solution for our region,” Schwartz added.

The Council’s Griffiths said areas that saw a combination of improvements experienced less bumper-to-bumper traffic.

“We did see in the analysis of the plan there were segments of I-270, I-66, and the Dulles Toll Road where we actually had reductions in congestion. And those were places where we had multi-modal improvements. It was some highway improvements, some HOV lanes, and also transit.”

Follow the money
If the decisions of commercial real estate developers are any indication of where the region’s future lies, transit advocates may be right. “Land use is a transportation strategy. In the Washington metropolitan area with five million square feet of [commercial] development under construction right now, 84 percent of that is… within one-quarter mile of a Metro station,” Zimmerman said.

The forecast suggests reducing car dependency in the Washington metro area must remain a priority. Under current financial constraints, the Council’s forecast predicts the accessibility to jobs by transit will increase, but will stay significantly lower than by car. The average number of jobs accessible within 45 minutes by transit is expected to grow from 412 million to 516 million by 2040.

Read the original story on WAMU >>