RSSTue 29 Dec 2009
Great variations on Living Streets themes from around the nation – brought to you by Denver’s Living Streets Initiative.
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See the Denver Living Streets Video here: Denver Living Streets Video
What are Living Streets? The Denver Living Streets Initiative (LSI) describes living streets as vibrant places where people feel safe and comfortable using any mode of travel (walking, biking, transit, or private auto). Living Streets are designed to maximize the efficiency of a corridor’s person-trip capacity (compared to solely auto-trip capacity), and are also intended to integrate with the use and form of adjacent development to achieve great destinations for people—not just the movement of people.
What’s going in in Denver? Denver LSI is a citywide initiative that brings 8 city agencies and departments together to redevelop its enhanced transportation corridors in support of the Strategic Transportation Plan’s approach to moving people and not just vehicles, Blueprint Denver’s vision of directing growth to places with supportive transportation infrastructure, and the sustainability goals of Greenprint Denver’s Climate Action Plan.
What will Living Streets bring to Denver? The Denver LSI website puts it this way: “By integrating the street with the adjacent built environment, Living Streets add value to communities. By encouraging the creation of great places with transportation options that work for everyone, Living Streets can simultaneously promote healthier living, economic development, and increased mobility instead of enhancing one of these goals at the expense of the others”.
BikeDenver thanks the Denver LSI team for all their efforts in 2009, with special thanks to Gideon Berger, AICP, Denver Senior City Planner (pictured right), for putting together this list of recent important news related to the themes of Living Streets – placemaking, transportation, environmental sustainability, public health and economic development — from around the nation.
Want to learn more? For more on Denver’s Living Streets Initiative, check out http://www.denverlivingstreets.org/ or read this great snapshot: http://icma.org/upload/library/2009-03/%7B074EEE57-6475-4FD1-9250-C7E49A5ABE7B%7D.pdf
KEEP READING FOR RELATED NEWS FROM AROUND THE NATION >>>
HEALTH
Medical journal evaluates Sacramento complete streets program – In one of the first studies published in a peer-reviewed journal that analyzes a complete streets program, the 5-year, $12 million Partnership for Active Communities was found to have increased public and agency awareness of pedestrian and bicycle safety issues and influenced considerable changes to policies and the physical environment in the Sacramento area.
Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine; 12/09
http://www.ajpm-online.net/article/S0749-3797(09)00569-8/abstract (A PDF of the study will be posted on www.denverlivingstreets.org next week)
NY study links high-traffic neighborhoods to illnesses
The NYC Health Department found that people in areas with higher traffic are subjected to higher levels of particulates (27 percent greater), elemental carbon (45 percent greater), and nitrogen dioxide (37 percent greater) than those in areas with less traffic. In addition to triggering allergies and other illnesses that lead to more hospitalizations and work absences, exposure to these toxins has been linked to heart diseases, lung diseases, and cancer. Ground-level samples were collected at 150 sites for a community air-quality study conducted last winter for five pollutants emitted by vehicles and buildings.
Source: New York Streetsblog, 12/16/09
http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/16/nyc-health-department-traffic-is-poisoning-our-air/
NY Study finds strong correlation between active transportation and better health
The NYC Health Department found that people who incorporate walking and biking into their daily routine are significantly more likely to report good physical and mental health than those who don’t. The citywide survey of 10,000 NYers found the correlation between better health and frequent walking and biking is significant, regardless of income level.
Source: New York Streetsblog, 12/7/09
Utah Cities don’t use development regs to promote health — study
A University of Utah professor evaluated 81 Utah cities’ plans, codes and ordinances to see whether they promote healthy behaviors such as walking, biking and eating nutritious food. The Centers for Disease Control says such features have been shown to increase physical activity by making it easy to incorporate walking and biking into daily life.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, 12/7/09
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13940503
ECONOMY
Free holiday parking hurting merchants
Instead of encouraging shopping, as the Providence officials had hoped, free downtown parking has been occupied by downtown workers.
Source: NBC10-TV Providence, RI; 12/22/09
Economic growth associated with less VMT, more transit ridership
A new study by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute in Canada finds that GDP tends to increase with transit ridership and density, and decline with vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and roadway supply. This essentially validates general analysis on the economic benefits of agglomeration (the value of locating economic activities close together, which is why cities exist) and of a more diverse and efficient transport system (indicated by higher transit ridership).
Source: Victoria Transport Institute; 12/09
http://www.vtpi.org/econ_dev.pdf
Downtowns turning streets two-way again
A growing number of cities, including big ones such as Minneapolis, Louisville and Oklahoma City, have converted the traffic flow of major streets to two-way or laid out plans to do so. There has been virtually no movement in the other direction. Governing magazine editor Alan Ehrenhalt looks at the economic benefits of Vancouver, WA’s recent conversion.
Source: Governing Magazine, 12/09
http://www.governing.com/column/return-two-way-street
TOD, workforce and student housing poised for echo-boomer market
Three unconventional sectors—student housing, transit oriented development (TOD), and workforce housing—are poised to become viable alternatives to standard market-rate developments. Demographic trends suggest that all three will play an increasingly larger role in the industry over the next decade.
Source: Apartment Finance Today, 11-12/09
Study finds suburban TODs increase adjacent SF home values
The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University has released a report that explores the impact of four San Francisco Bay Area suburban transit-oriented developments on single-family home sale prices. The study finds that the case study suburban TODs either had no impact or had a positive impact on the surrounding single-family home sale prices.
Source: San Jose State University, 6/09
Economy Keeping TOD from new Minneapolis commuter line
Minnesota‘s first commuter rail line has been up and running for a month, but it has yet to spur any development along the route of the train. Planners and community developers in the cities along the Northstar corridor are hopeful that will change, although that’s not likely for at least another year.
Source: Minnesota Public Radio, 12/7/09
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/12/07/northstar-development/
ENVIRONMENT
Walkable cities key to fighting climate change – NRDC
NRDC Smart Growth Director Kaid Benfield urged the negotiators in Copenhagen to look at their host city and Portland, OR as examples of how walkability can lead to growth that actually lowers aggregate carbon emissions. He notes Mayor Hickenlooper’s participation in a panel discussion on this topic.
Source: NRDC Switchboard Blog, 12/14/09
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/hello_copenhagen_climate_prote.html
Scientists urge planners to take bigger role in climate change
At the 2009 World Town Planning Day Online Conference, a panel of scientists urged urban planners take over from scientists in advocating climate change policies.
Source: Next American City Magazine Daily Report Blog, 12/3/09
http://americancity.org/daily/entry/1919/
TRANSPORTATION
President acknowledges problems with “shovel-ready” stimulus
Obama: “The tension we’ve been seeing is that what’s good in the long term may not necessarily work as an immediate, short-term stimulus. We’re still getting smacked around from the Recovery Act on this … infrastructure generally has a longer tail. The term “shovel-ready,” let’s be honest here, doesn’t always live up to its billing. There is also a tension embodied in infrastructure … between immediate maintenance [such as] repaving a highway, which is generally more shovel-ready but may imply duplicating the needs of the past as opposed to projects that are visionary and will deliver real bang for the buck in the long term but may require extensive planning.”
Source: Capitol Hill Streetsblog, 12/3/09
House bill would lower cost-effectiveness rating for federal rail funding
The legislation, introduced by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Pete DeFazio (D-OR), would effectively revoke a 2005 FTA rule that withheld New Starts money from any transit project that failed to earn a “medium” or higher cost-effectiveness rating. The program’s highly bureaucratic hurdles has been the target of House Transportation Committee Chair Jim Oberstar (D-MN), who joked it should be renamed “small starts, low starts, and no starts.”
Source: Los Angeles Streetsblog, 12/18/09
Disabled win CA transit access suit
In a landmark proposed court settlement, Caltrans agreed to spend $1.1 billion over the next 30 years to repair and improve state-controlled sidewalks, crosswalks and park-and-ride facilities so they are accessible for people with disabilities. Advocates said they hoped that the agreement would become a national model for resolving disputes between the disabled and other state and local governments.
Source: Los Angeles Times, 12/23/09
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-caltrans23-2009dec23,0,5587783.story
Bay Area MPO allocates $80M for projects to reduce auto use
The nine-county Bay Area regional transportation planning and funding body, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), established a pot of $80 million to be used over the next 3 years for innovative transportation projects from Safe Routes to School programs and bicycle educational campaigns to parking policies and demand management strategies meant to reduce the over-reliance on automobiles.
Source: San Francisco Streetsblog, 12/21/09
Updated MUTCD has complete streets focus
A new version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices was just released, and it includes new requirements for pedestrian countdown timers at intersections, improved bicycle lane markings, and “changing the formula used to calculate crosswalk times to give walkers more time.” The DOT press release specifically mentions these as complete streets concepts.
Source: FHWA: 12/19/06
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/fhwa3709.htm
Colorado Springs undertakes streetcar feasibility study downtown
A group of streetcar advocates that includes Colorado College, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the Downtown Development Authority, and Bircham’s Office Products pooled $58,000 in donations to snag $330,000 in grants for the study.
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette, 12/3/09
http://www.gazette.com/news/bus-90206-springs-streetcars.html
Salt Lake City rolls out plan for downtown streetcars
Mayor Ralph Becker imagines a 21st-century version of the city’s old streetcars snaking through the capital’s urban catacomb. Salt Lake City’s Washington lobbyist says the climate in Congress under the Obama administration seems advantageous for the city to snag some streetcar funding.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, 12/5/09
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13930360
Three times as many men bike as women — study
As many as three times more bike trips are made by men than women in the U.S., according to research by John Pucher, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers. One theory as to why: Women don’t ride bikes because biking is still perceived to be dangerous.
Source: The Infrastructurist Blog, 12/2/03
PLACEMAKING
Toronto requires TOD developers to provide transit passes
Developers building condos on Toronto transit lines will now have to buy every unit transit pass for a year in order to obtain condominium approval from the city. City council voted in favor of the policy, which adds a cost of about C$1,400 per unit.
Source: (Canada) National Post, 12/5/09)
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=2305628
Mayors should focus on unique local environment for urban solutions
Cities have a natural advantage over suburbs, writes Aaron Renn in Forbes Magazine, since they are home to most of the nation’s supply of traditional urban style development. “Trying to out-suburb the suburbs with auto-oriented living is a loser’s game (as in implementing strip malls and large private parking lots). If people prefer a suburban lifestyle, they can get a better version of it for cheaper just by moving there. .. The lesson of Portland is that it found a strategy that worked for it based on embracing traditional urbanism, public transit and bicycle transportation. That doesn’t mean every city should copy it; others found different paths.”
Source: Forbes Magazine, 12 3/09
Citizen participation prevents smart growth — Duany
New urbanism founder Andres Duany says, “If you ask people what they want, they don’t want density. They don’t want mixed use. They don’t want transit. They don’t even want a bike path in their back yard. They don’t want a grid that connects. … They can’t see the long term benefits of walkable neighborhoods with a greater diversity of housing types.”
Source: Builder Magazine; 12/17/09
Portland streetcar district to get first school
Portland Public Schools will lease ground-floor space in the Pearl Family Housing development, scheduled to open in spring 2011, for an elementary school. The unique arrangement could serve as a model for future development, school district officials say. Developers are realizing that families with children want to live in the Pearl, McNamara said. They’re not moving out as their families grow.
Source: Oregon Journal of Commerce, 12/1/09
http://djcoregon.com/news/2009/12/01/school-district-tests-a-creative-strategy/
Exhibit chronicles history of parking, impacts
There are 735 million cars in the world. As a new exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., reminds us, those vehicles spend most of their time at rest. “House of Cars” traces the unexpectedly fascinating history of parking garages. It’s the untold chapter of the story of America’s love affair with its cars. And it’s a study in the sorry sacrifices cities have made to adapt themselves to the auto age.
Source: Governing Magazine, 12/09
http://www.governing.com/column/fascinating-history-parking