Monday, August 27, 2007

Good Visioning Needs Good Glasses

Part II Regional Focus: Visioning And Building the Transit Region

Jeffrey. M. Casello

Coordinated Transit and Land Use Planning In Waterloo Ontario. | Presentation

100km from Toronto, 500,000 people, growing to 720,000 by 2030.

Post War growth similar to others in North America.

Blackberry was developed in Waterloo

The region has a central corridor called the CTC.

Regional approval is needed before you can get services. Urban Growth Boundary created but called a Country Side Line (CSL)

40% of new development needs to go towards already built up government. Mandated by the province of Ontario. Plans all have to be consistent.

Asked residents if they would consider living in higher density housing. 40% said yes.

Quantitatively ties densities to pictures. They show photos so that people will understand what it will look like.

The regional government runs the land use planning and the transit agency.

Students are given a bus pass for their four years at the University.

Growth in ridership on specific iXpress. 2,500 to 5,500

Rapid Transit EA underway for a fixed route dedicated ROW line. (LRT or BRT) Will be paid for by the local, regional, provincial governments. Provincial might take the regional share as well.

Brownfield redevelopments occurring

Strong inertia against the project. You can drive from one side to the other in about 40 minutes.

Elephant in the room is parking. Looking at the region, Kitchner has a lot of parking. They are looking to build even more.

Redesigning the network is the greatest challenge. There is also a want to connect to the Toronto area. There is also a want to be self contained.

Transferable lesson: 500,000 people and looking at rapid transit. It will be a real test.

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Charles R. Goodman (FTA)

Transit at the Table: MPO Support of Land Use/Transit Coordination| Presentation

Some interesting anecdotes: It's not the big bad government taking out the ability of the transit operators. Transit operators were the culprits, they believed that it wasn't worth their staff time or the bureaucracy.

"If transit is not at the table, you may find yourself on the menu"

Many of the folks during the study were unaware of some of the add on benefits of the MPO.

Flex funding is a good example of how the MPO could spear other planning processes

Albany, Seattle, Columbus, Denver

Columbus, the MPO helped local agency study TOD

The translation of the metro vision plan into the TIP.

Strategies: Getting involved, be a strategic player in shaping the region, take financial planning seriously, participate actively in TIP development.

Findings in Small and Medium Sized Areas: Frank Spielberg

Role and Organization of Private Providers
Type/Level of FTA Staff Involvement
Relative Power Roles of State DOTs/MPOs
Resource Needs

TRB 2007
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Richard C. Feder

Establishing a Transit Vision in Southwestern PA: A Collaborative Process | Presentation

The region around Pittsburgh. The topography is a bit difficult. Many people think of the Port Authority when they think of public transit. But it's surrounded by 10 operators in the region.

Operate 4 modes of transportation. Light Rail, Inclined Plain (Funicular), Paratransit, and Bus.

Light Rail and 4 Busways make up the fixed guideways.

Average Daily Traffic on Transit dwarfs anything on the freeway system.

The North Shore Connector is planned. Land Use Came First.

Mag Lev project planning underway.
Airport Corridor

Eastern Corridor Transit Study.

Land Use and Economic Development. Transit Oriented Development Education Program.

A Toolbox for TOD in Soutwestern PA.

Responding to the developing Market for TOD

The East Busway, $300 million in 13 years, $200 million in 9 years.

The Regional Vision Scenario

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Donna Day

Review & Assessment of the St. Louis Region's Efforts to Integrate the Transit and Land Use Connection into Regional Planning | Presentation

St. Louis is a complex region. 700 taxing districts. MPO is the East West Gateway of Governments. No real land use authority.

Ways they try to influence land use: 4 ways (Check the presentations for more details)

Initiative for Metropolitan Communities. Gateway Blueprint Model.

The BP Model is being linked to the transportation model as well. Put out as a tool that people can use in their own planning.

Environmental Stress Analysis.

When projects get into the long range plan, they are measured against certain goals. It's a bit subtle but they add up to a lot of points that are friendly to transit.

Corridor Planning: The transportation corridor improvement group. People were working on them every day, not just meetings.

St. Louis has quite a challenge, they are being persistent and having some success, but the future looks promising for the blueprint model. Once its linked to the transit network, it will make a big difference.

Transportation Planning, Transit Planning, and Land Use Planning in Calgary, Alberta.

UniCity

Question: What tools is the region of Waterloo using as a carrot to meet the 40% goal?

Answer: The province provide dollars. New Deal for cities, portion of gas tax is dedicated for sustainable infrastructure. Provincial set of policies are 2 years old, so things change in Canada. Calgary even has problems with say Big Box Starts.

Question: What can MPOs or Transit Agencies negotiate or influence decisions with major unfriendly transit generators.

Answer: I don't know.... I'd like to see financial incentives for these things. Without the incentives, it will be limited. Municipalities are in charge of the land use, state legislation should be in place as well. Regional tax base. Something in US metro areas needs to be changed to keep big boxes from holding certain cities hostages.

Question: Connectivity? In the diagram it wasn't obvious where the transit connected to other city services. Does it have satellite parking? Does it have ribs?

Answer: There are three big terminals which are malls. They are major connectors for the ribs that are discussed. Travel patterns make it difficult to connect with the Commuter Rail.

Question: Are the car factories in the core?

Answer: No they are not. The region is doing a land inventory so that they can have enough land. Congestion is costing them money because of their location. They are advocating transit.

Question: How many people are using the busway in Calgary?

Answer: 26% of ridership is on the busway system.

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