Key
Transportation Planning Principles--
Maximize Transportation Choices
Making Communities Bicycle-
and Pedestrian-Friendly
A wide range of incentives and disincentives
can be used to help communities entice motorists to get out
of their cars. A good way to begin is to give them an attractive
way to walk or bike to their destination.
On-Line Publications
Walkable Communities: Twelve
Steps for an Effective Program
Summarizes key planning, zoning, engineering, and development
recommendations that can make communities more walkable. From
the Florida Department of Transportation Pedestrian Facilities
Planning & Design course. A PDF file.
Improving Pedestrian
Access to Transit: An Advocacy Handbook
This handbook was written under the auspices of the Federal
Transit Administration. It can be downloaded as a PDF file.
Guide
to Bicycle Advocacy
This publication from the Bikes
Belong Coalition in Massachusetts is available online
in PDF format.
The Electronic
Bicycle Blueprint
Serves as a challenge to New York City to promote bicycling
as a tool for achieving a more livable city. This publication
is a specific action plan full of recommendations for city and
state agencies and departments. Produced by Transportation Alternatives.
Bicycles
Mean Business
Explains the advantages to retail business
and employers of promoting bicycling as a means of transportation.
Washington
State Bicycle Commute Guide
Provides "how-to" information on bicycle commuting
in a 15-page guide available as a PDF from Climate Solutions.
"Bicycle
Travel Forecasting"
Explains transportation modeling and its importance
to bicyclists.
Links
America Walks
America Walks is is a non-profit national coalition of local
advocacy groups dedicated to promoting walkable communities,
and seeking to foster the development of community-based pedestrian
advocacy groups and to educate the public about the benefits
of walking.
Bicycle
Friendly Community Campaign
Provides certification, public recognition, and motivation for
municipalities that actively support better bicycling, while
providing others with a blueprint and incentives for attaining
the same distinction.
Carfree Cities
A companion to the book of the same name, this website introduces
the carfree city concept, offers details on city design and
transportation options, and provides links to print and online
resources on alternatives to automobile transportation.
Federal
Highway Administration
A website on Traffic Calming offers example measures, links
to programs, and studies related to traffic calming, which can
help make streets safer for non-motorized transportation users.
National Center for Bicycling
and Walking
The NCBW offers information support, training, consultation
services and resources to public agencies, non-governmental
organizations and advocates, as it works for more bicycle-friendly
and walkable communities.
Rails to Trails Conservancy
Rails to Trails is a non-profit organization that helps communities
utilize existing railroad right of way to create bike and pedestrian
trails across the United States.
Bureau of Transportation
Statistics
A great shopping center for bicycle and pedestrian
research, policy, and plans, as well as traffic control and
traffic management.
National Transportation
Enhancements Clearinghouse
An information service sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration
and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, this website provides professionals,
policy makers, and citizens with timely and accurate information
necessary to make well-informed decisions about transportation
enhancements, including bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
Two websites, bicyclinginfo.org
and walkinginfo.org
offer resources, references, news and events related to bicycling
and walking, respectively.
Thunderhead
Alliance
A national coalition of organizations advocating for bicyclists.
Their website offers an e-manual of best practices in bicycle
advocacy.
Transportation Alternatives
This New York City-area group provides one example of a local
nonprofit citizens' group working for better bicycling, walking
and public transit, and fewer cars, as well as safer, calmer
streets and car-free parks. Another example is the Bicycle
Transportation Alliance in Portland, Oregon.
Two Wheel View
Based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, this nonprofit organization
uses bicycles to provide outdoor educational and recreational
opportunities for kids. School programs introduce students to
images of the people, cultures and environments of the world
from the seat of a bike. Trained volunteer staff lead local
and international bicycle trips that combine lessons in personal
responsibility, achievement, community and environmental awareness.
Less Traffic.com
This website is designed for people and cities that want less
traffic, slower speed and better neighborhooods. The site provides
traffic reduction and street reclaiming information and practical
experiments for local action.
Traffic
Calming
The Traffic Calming Website was developed by the Institute of
Transportation Engineers with financial support from the Federal
Highway Administration. It focuses on measures that reduce the
negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior
and improve conditions for non-motorized street users.
Walkable Communities
Helps whole communities, whether they are large cities or small
towns, or parts of communities, i.e. neighborhoods, business
districts, parks, school districts, subdivisions, specific roadway
corridors, etc., become more walkable and pedestrian-friendly.
Articles
Why Don't We Do It in the Road?
This article from Salon.com examines "second generation" traffic calming, which is growing in popularity, particularly in Europe. Rather than supporting ever more traffic controls, this type of calming discourages more rules and encourages pedestrians, cyclists, and motorized vehicles to share the same streetscape.
Publications
Worldwatch Paper 90, The Bicycle: Vehicle
for a Small Planet, 1989, Marcia Lowe, Worldwatch
Institute
Discusses the bicycle as a responsible method
of transportation.
Making Streets That Work, City of Seattle,
May 1996.
A valuable guidebook that provides step-by-step
strategies for creating livable streets. Includes successful
case studies and an excellent bibliography. There's also a 15-minute
video, giving a humorous overview of what makes a good street.
Available from: The
Center for Livable Communities. Phone: (800) 290-8202.
Mass Transit
Next to walking and biking, public transit is
the most energy-efficient and most environmentally-sound way
to move people. Among the benefits of mass transit are that
it conserves energy and other resources, and reduces pollution
and its impact on the environment, and reduces traffic congestion.
Traffic congestion doesn't just waste time, it also wastes
fuel: 5.7 billion gallons of fuel in 2002, to be exact. The
2004 Urban
Mobility Report, published by the Texas Transportation
Institute (TTI), examined 85 urban areas throughout the United
States and found growing congestion. Trips that would've required
20 minutes in free flowing traffic extended to 27 minutes on
average during peak congestion times in the 85 urban areas,
wasting fuel and causing a total of 3.5 billion hours of wasted
time. But some approaches are helping: The report credits "operational
treatments"—metered on ramps, motorist assistance
programs, traffic signal timing, and street designs that encourage
smooth traffic flow—for avoiding 335 million hours of traffic
delays, while it credited public transportation systems for
avoiding 1.12 billion hours of delays. Together, those two approaches
saved more than 2 billion gallons of fuel in 2002.
One example of a successful program to encourage
the use of mass transit is a program in the Bay Area, where
more than 30 percent of employees who were given transit vouchers
report that they increased their transit use. For more information,
contact Robert Huang, Metropolitan Transportation Commission,
at (510) 464-7784.
Las Vegas, Nevada, is embarking on the largest monorail
system in the United States. With funding coming entirely
from the private sector, the Las Vegas Monorail will run along
the east side of the Las Vegas Strip, linking seven stations
over four miles. A fleet of nine 4-car trains is expected to
begin operating in early 2004. The system is expected to carry
19 million passengers in its first year of operation. Other
cities that have recently launched light rail systems include
Houston
and Seattle.
Links
American Public Transit Association
APTA is a nonprofit international association of organizations
including transit system managers, academic institutions, departments
of transportation, contractors and financial institutions. Here
you will find links to other related sites, as well as a listing
of upcoming conferences.
Commuter
Challenge
An annual program sponsored by the Twin Cities (Minnesota)
Metropolitan Council thatpromotes awareness and use of
commuting options such as busing, carpooling, vanpooling,
biking, walking, and telecommuting.
IDEA
Programs
Provides information on Transportation Research Board programs
that encourage investigation of innovative transit concepts.
IDEA, or Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis, focuses
particularly on cost-effectiveness, safety, quality, and customer
base.
Light Rail Now!
This website offers news stories on light rail progress in cities
across the nation, as well as listings of events and arguments
in support of light rail.
TransAct’s
Library
Provides links to a number of useful publications and other
resources.
Publications
2003 Urban Mobility
Study
An annual report by the Texas Transportation Institute, which
conducts an urban mobility study measuring highway congestion
trends and their consequences.
"Your Own Personal Monorail?" is an article on Personal Rapid Transit systems being tested in the U.S. and Europe, from The Christian Science Monitor.
Comprehensive Evaluation of Rail Transit Benefits, a report by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, evaluates the benefits of rail transit based on an analysis of transportation systems in U.S. cities.
"Worldwatch Paper 98, Alternatives to the Automobile:
Transport for Livable Cities," 1990, Marcia Lowe, Worldwatch
Institute, Washington, DC.
"Transportation: Efficiency and Alternatives,"
Building Sustainable Communities: An Environmental Guide
for Local Government, The Global Cities Project, San Francisco,
1991. Phone: (415) 775-0791.
Back on Track: The Global Rail Revival,
Marcia D. Lowe, Worldwatch
Institute, Washington, DC , 1994.
Transportation Demand Management
(TDM)
TDM strategies are those which reduce and reshape
demand on, or use of, the existing transportation system. Examples
include alternatives to driving and a variety of incentives
and disincentives to get us out of our cars.
Links
Online TDM Encyclopedia
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute provides this comprehensive
source of information about innovative management solutions
to transportation problems. It provides detailed information
on dozens of demand management strategies, plus general information
on TDM planning and evaluation techniques.
Commuter Choice
Leadership Initiative
In this business/government partnership, EPA and DOT assist
participating Commuter Choice Employers by offering technical
assistance, public recognition and promotion, training, Web-based
tools, and forums for information exchange. The program offers
environmental benefits and cost savings for both employees and
employers.
TDM
Resource Center
The Washington State Department of Transportation has an online
resource center that is engaged in expanding regional mobility
options, like vanpooling; studying TDM innovations and efficiencies
for congested corridors; integrating land use with transportation
plans, and providing TDM resources and success stories.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting is an approach that allows employees
to work from their homes one or more days per week. Telecommuting
saves energy and time, cuts pollution, reduces the need for
parking spaces, and helps companies comply with air-quality
trip-reduction ordinances.
Research shows that telecommuting also can boost
worker efficiency by as much as 20 percent. Morale reportedly
improves because people don’t have to sit in traffic.
On-Line Articles
"Telecommuting:
Transforming the Bay Area Workplace"
Describes the benefits of telecommuting to employees, employers,
the environment, and explains how the Bay Area is uniquely positioned
to be a leader in the transition to telecommuting.
"Telecommuting
quickly becoming benefit for employer, employee"
Provides an overview of telecommuting, its benefits to both
employer and employee, and considerations to make a telecommuting
program successful.
Links
Ecommute Program
GETF has teamed up with five local pilot cities, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, and Resources for the Future (RFF) to implement
Phase III of the ecommute Program. The ultimate goal of the
ecommute Program is to achieve meaningful emission reduction
results, develop credible analysis and strategy to communicate
those results, and stimulate replication of the approaches that
work to provide incentives for the greater use of telework in
meeting air quality goals.
International Telework
Association and Council (ITAC)
ITAC is a non-profit organization that shares information about
the design and implementation of telework programs. It also
features a variety of links to other telecommuting business
and organizations.
AT&T Telework
Webguide
This website presents basic information and articles on telecommuting,
with sections tailored to employees, managers and companies,
to help develop effective telework programs. It includes an
air pollution caluculator to figure pounds of CO2 saved by telecommuting.
RAIN
Community Telecommuting Center
Provides a host of information on telecommuting, including transportation
resources, a link to the CalTrans Telecommuting Resource Center,
and the Smart Valley Telecommuting Guide.
Telecommunications
and Travel Research Program
Part of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University
of California, Davis, this program has produced many scientific
studies and articles related to telecommuting.
telework!va
The State of Virginia offers telework!va, a public/private partnership
in Northern Virginia that provides financial incentives for
businesses to start or expand a formal telework program.
Publications and Software
TIET:
The Teleworking Impact Estimation Tool
A JavaScript-based decision support tool created for analyzing
the environmental and economic impacts of telework, from the
Consortium for Green Design and Manufacturing at the University
of California, Berkeley.
Teletrips
Teletrips and its subsidiary Commute Reduction Strategies help
to track the emissions savings of employers' trip reduction
efforts, to compile them as an asset that can be traded. The
website also contains lists of the benefits of teleworking for
employees, employers and the community.
Van and Car Pools and Car Sharing
Carpooling and vanpooling are easy ways to reduce
automobile pollution and conserve energy. There are other benefits
as well, including decreased automobile expenses, free time
for riders during the commute, and reduced commuting stress.
Many communities and companies have started vanpooling, carpooling,
or rideshare programs to decrease automobile usage.
Meanwhile, in an increasing number of communities across the
United States and around the world, people are finding that
car sharing programs allow them to meet their occasional motorized
transportation needs without the expense or resource consumption
of owning a car (or second car) of their own.
On-Line Publications
Carsharing
2000: Sustainable Transport's Missing Link
A special issue of the Journal of World Transport Policy and
Practice that describes the philosophy of carsharing and details
carsharing programs around the world. This 351-page document
is offered as PDF shareware.
"Vanpooling,
a Handbook to Help You Set Up a Program at Your Company"
Presents tools to help you start a vanpool program
at your company. Offers a vanpooling overview, information on
program design and program management, and includes an appendix
of sample forms and resource materials.
Links
www.carpoolworld.com
A new version of the website will make it easier for commuters
to find others willing to carpool along their route. Based on
latitude and longitude, the system works anywhere in the world.
Patented TripMatch software checks the coordinates that commuters
enter to find potential matches, and the potential carpooler
then pays a nominal fee to e-mail other commuters with matching
coordinates.
CarpoolMatch NW
The CarpoolMatch.org website matches rides in Oregon and Southwest
Washington with software using zip codes of origin and destination.
CarpoolMatchNW.org is sponsored by the City of Portland Office
of Transportation in cooperation with Mid-Valley Rideshare,
Tri-Met and C-TRAN.
CarSharing.net
This website provides a hotlinked list of car-sharing
programs in North America and worldwide, and offers an online
library of car-sharing information, including CarSharing News.
City Car Share
A nonprofit car-share program operating in Oakland, Berkeley
and San Francisco, California.
eRideShare.com
This free U.S. and Canadian registration service links people
that can share in carpooling or long-distance travel.
Flexcar
Car-sharing in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the
Washington DC metro areas, as well as Los Angeles, San Diego,
the Bay Area of California, and Denver's Stapleton community,
with a fleet of hybrid and low-emission vehicles. Flexcar has
pledged to become a carbon-neutral business, offsetting emissions
through tree planting.
GoMaine
Commuter Connections
The state of Maine's commuter services program includes rideshare
information for carpools, vanpools and other transportation
solutions.
hOurcar
A new effort in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, that will bring
car-sharing to the area by spring of 2004.
I-GO
A membership based not-for-profit organization that offers car-sharing
service in Chicago.
ZEV-NET
An experimental car-sharing program for commuters in Irvine,
California that uses zero-emission and low-emission vehicles
that participants reserve on the Internet and track using Global
Positioning Software.
Zipcar
A car-sharing program for members, serving the Boston, Denver,
New York/New Jersey and Washington, DC metro areas.
Publications
Building Sustainable Communities, An Environmental
Guide for Local Government, published by The Global Cities
Project, San Francisco, CA.
This publications offers tips on starting
van pools and rideshare programs and advice on how to start
a transportation demand association. For more information, call
(415) 775-0791.
Parking Taxes, Tolls,
Congestion Fees
The Sensible Transportation Policy Act, approved
by Maine’s voters, requires testing alternatives to reducing
congestion before adding any new road capacity. The Natural
Resources Council of Maine (NCRM) advocates changes in toll
rates to encourage people to change the time they drive to a
time when there is less traffic. This is called "time-of-day
tolling." For more information, contact Bruce Hammond, NRCM,
at (207) 622-3101.
Links
The
National Transportation Library’s Congestion section
contains studies and programs on congestion pricing, parking
programs, congestion management, and High Occupancy Vehicle
programs.
Publications
A policy study titled Managing
Transportation Demand: Markets Versus Mandates compares
a mandated trip-reduction program to a congestion pricing program
to see which approach is best for reducing vehicle miles traveled.
The Myth of Free
Parking, from the Transit for Livable Communities, documents
the impact parking and parking availability has on the Minneapolis/St.
Paul region. "Raising the cost of development projects,
reducing tax-revenue generation, and inducing traffic congestion
are all consequences of the region's obsession with cheap, abundant
parking."
Overcoming
Public Aversion to Congestion Pricing
This report studies why congestion fees have not been more widely
implemented. An abstract is online, and the entire report may
be downloaded in PDF.
Last updated: September 16, 2004
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