Resource: Victoria Transport Policy Institute Fall Newsletter

This hefty seasonal report from Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute is a fine tool for researchers and policy makers world-wide. We are pleased to present it in its entirety here, together with references for you to take it further. Thanks for your continuing fine work Todd.

VTPI NEWS

News from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Autumn 2009 Vol. 12, No. 4

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website (http://www.vtpi.org) has many resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services.

New Documents

"Where We Want To Be: Household Location Preferences And Their Implications For Smart Growth" ( http:vtpi.org/sgcp.pdf).
This paper investigates consumer housing preferences and their implications for future urban development patterns. Market research indicates that households increasingly prefer smart growth features such as location accessibility (indicated by shorter commutes), land use mix (indicated by nearby shops and services), and transportation diversity (indicated by good walking conditions and public transit services), and many will choose small-lots and attached homes that offer these features over large-lot sprawl homes that do not. The current stock of large-lot housing should be adequate for decades, but the supply of small-lot and attached housing will need to approximately double by 2025 to meet consumer demands.


"Evaluating Transit-Oriented Development Using a Sustainability Framework: Lessons from Perth's Network City" (www.vtpi.org/renne_tod.pdf ), by Professor John Renne.
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is compact, mixed-use development that facilitates walking, bicycling, and use of public transport through its urban design. This chapter from the book 'Planning Sustainable Communities,' presents a method to evaluate TOD sustainability based on outcomes, including travel behaviour, local economic development, natural environment, built environment, social environment and policy context. The study applies this analysis framework to five rail transit precincts in Perth, Western Australia to test the feasibility of data collection and analysis.


"Who Is Really Paying For Your Parking Space? Estimating The Marginal Implicit Value Of Off-Street Parking Spaces For Condominiums In Central Edmonton," (www.vtpi.org/jung_parking.pdf ), by Owen Jung.
This master's thesis (economics) uses hedonic pricing to estimate the marginal effect of each additional structured parking space on condominium prices in downtown Edmonton, Alberta. The analysis indicates that the value of a parking space is statistically significant but substantially less than the typical cost of supplying such spaces. The results suggest that retail prices do not fully reflect the parking costs. This adversely affects housing affordability because developers must charge more per unit, and to the degree that the additional parking costs cannot be recovered by higher prices, are likely to provide less housing, leading to a higher market-clearing price, particularly in lower price ranges.


"Making the Most of Models: Using Models To Develop More Effective Transport Policies And Strategies" ( http://www.vtpi.org/FerWig_Modelling.pdf ) by Peter Furnish and Don Wignall
This paper discusses how simplified transport models in evaluating transportation policies and programs. An example of a simplified model is described to illustrate the use of this type of modelling for policy and strategy development purposes.


Published Elsewhere

"Healthy, Equitable Transportation Policy: Recommendations and Research" (188-page report) and "The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America" (36-page summary report) by PolicyLink and the Prevention Institute Convergence Partnership ( http://www.convergencepartnership.org/transportationhealthandequity )
These publications, written by leading academics and advocates, discuss key issues related to health, equity and transportation. They identify specific transportation policies and programs that can improve public health and quality of life, particularly for vulnerable communities. Includes an introduction by Representative Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

'Mobility as a Positional Good: Implications for Transport Policy and Planning,' by Todd Litman, in "Car Troubles: Critical Studies of Automobility and Auto-Mobility" (Jim Conley and Arlene Tigar McLaren eds), Ashgate ( http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754677727 ). Introduction at http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Car_Troubles_Intro.pdf . Chapter summarized in http://www.vtpi.org/prestige.pdf .
This book, with chapters written by various researchers, uses social theory, specific case studies and policy analysis to examine issues related to automobility.

"Parking Solutions: Essential Info Packet, Planning Advisory Service" http://www.planning.org/pas/infopackets), published by the American Planning Association’s Planning Advisory Service. Includes papers by various authors including Todd Litman if VTPI.
These packets include:
• 'Parking Solutions' (130 pages): six documents that describe modern approaches to parking management.
• 'Shared Parking” (133 pages): more than thirty documents concerning shared parking, parking in-lieu fees, parking requirement reductions and exemptions, and downtown district special parking requirements.
• 'Green Parking Lot Design” (66 pages): three documents that describe ways to improve parking lot environmental performance including landscaping, stormwater management and reduced heat island effects.
• 'Permeable Pavement and Bicycle Parking' (38 pages): five documents concerning the use of permeable parking lot pavement materials and five documents concerning bicycle parking requirements and design.

"Investment Of Commonwealth And State Funds In Public Passenger Transport," 31 July 2009, Rural And Regional Affairs And Transport References Committee, Australian Senate; at http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/rrat_ctte/public_transport/report/report.pdf . Todd Litman’s comments are at www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S12320.pdf .
This study identified various benefits of public transportation and recommended various reforms to increase the value of transit investments.

'Creating Safe and Healthy Communities,' by Todd Litman, in "Environments: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies," ( http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/research/environments/index.html ), Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 21-43.

'Integrated University Parking & Access Management Programs' by Dennis Burns and Todd Litman, in "Parking Management - Planning, Design and Operations" (Volume 3 in the Parking 101 Series, 2009), International Parking Institute ( http://www.new.parking.org/products/parking-management-pdo ).

Recent Planetizen Blogs ( http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394 ):
"Rea Vaya ('We are Moving') In South Africa" ( http://www.planetizen.com/node/41414 )
"Sidewalk Design Vehicle" ( http://www.planetizen.com/node/41262 )
"Universal Design - Accommodating Everybody" ( http://www.planetizen.com/node/41097 )
"Home Location Preferences And Their Implications For Smart Growth" ( http://www.planetizen.com/node/40461 )
"Moving Cooler Report: Solutions and Criticisms" ( http://www.planetizen.com/node/39945)

Recent presentations by VTPI:

"Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: Implications of Population Aging on Transportation and Community Planning" presented at, Exploring Age-Friendly Environments, Winnipeg, Canada.

"Capacity Building for Young Professionals," professional development classes in Argentina. This enjoyable visit to Buenos Aries involved teaching transportation and land use planning principles to a class of smart, enthusiastic young professionals. Muchas gracias to my hosts!

"Sustainable Transport Performance Indicators," presented at Toward Sustainable Transport System for Green Growth in the North Pacific, sponsored by the East-West Center and Korean Transport Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii.


Upcoming Events

"Where We Want To Be: Home Location Preferences And Their Implications For New Urbanism," to be presented at The Congress for the New Urbanism's 2009 Transportation Summit ( http://www.cnu.org/transportation2009 ) to be held in Portland, Oregon, 4-6 November 2009.
This Summit will advance new ideas for creating compact, walkable communities that provide residents a high quality of life while preserving the natural environment. It brings together 150 to 200 expert engineers, planners, public officials and design professionals to present ideas and work toward reforming transportation standards that obstruct urbanism.

"Bicycle Friendly Planning," to be presented at the International Cycling Symposium for Gumi, South Korea, 18 November 2009.

"Transportation and Health: The Evidence and the Opportunities," to be presented at the American Public Health Association 137th Annual Meeting, Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 10:30 AM, in Philadelphia, PA. ( http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/Session27792.html ).

"The VMT Reduction Target Debate: Will This Get Us Where We Want to Go?" (P10-0710)
Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, 10-14 January 2010, Washington DC (http://www.trb.org ).
This session will debate the role of VMT reduction targets to help achieve climate change emission reductions and other planning objectives .
Todd Alexander Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Canada
Marlon G. Boarnet, University of California, Irvine
In opposition to the use of VMT Reduction Targets as an effective GHG reduction strategy: (P10-0723)
Alan E. Pisarski, Consultant
Samuel Staley, Reason Foundation


Useful Resources

"Economic Impact Of Public Transportation Investment," American Public Transportation Association ( http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/economic_impact_of_public_transportation_investment.pdf ). This report describes methods for evaluating the economic development benefits of investments in public transportation.

"Non-Toll Pricing: A Primer," ( http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08044/cp_prim6_00.htm ). This short document by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration describes various innovative pricing reforms, including efficient insurance and parking pricing.

"What Policies Are Effective At Reducing Carbon Emissions From Surface Passenger Transport? A Review Of Interventions To Encourage Behaviroual And Technological Change," ( http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/ResearchProgrammes/TechnologyandPolicyAssessment/0904TransportReport.aspx ) by the UK Energy Research Centre.

"On-Street Parking Management and Pricing Study" ( http://www.sfcta.org/content/view/303/149 ).
This study by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority reviews the city's existing on-street parking management programs, considers innovative strategies and technologies for improved parking management, and discusses residential parking management issues, including the use of parking revenues to support neighborhood transportation enhancements. It includes several peer city parking management case studies. It provides recommendations for comprehensive neighborhood parking management to improve parking conditions and support policy goals.

"Walkability and Health; BC Sprawl Report 2009," ( http://www.smartgrowth.bc.ca/Portals/0/Downloads/sgbc-sprawlreport-2009.pdf ).
This study by Ray Tomalty and Murtaza Haider evaluates how community design factors (land use density and mix, street connectivity, sidewalk supply, street widths, block lengths, etc.) and a subjective walkability index rating (based on residents' evaluation of various factors) affect walking and biking activity, and health outcomes (hypertension and diabetes). The analysis reveals a statistically significant association between improved walkability and more walking and cycling activity, lower body mass index (BMI), and lower hypertension. The study also includes case studies which identified policy changes likely to improve health in specific communities.

"Moving Cooler: Transportation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions," ( http://www.movingcooler.info ).
This report, sponsored by a number of major transportation, business and environmental organizations evaluates several dozen climate change emission reduction strategies, including their emission reductions, implementation costs, impacts on vehicle costs, and equity impacts. It estimates the emissions that could be reduced under a range of assumptions about how they are implemented.

"Real Transportation Solutions for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions" ( http://www.transportation1.org/RealSolutions/index.html ).
This report by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials identifies various ways to reduce transportation climate change emissions.

"A Conceptual Framework For The Reform Of Taxes Related To Roads And Transport" ( http://apo.org.au/research/conceptual-framework-reform-taxes-related-roads-and-transport ), School of Economics and Finance, La Trobe University for the 'Australia's Future Tax System' review by Treasury, Canberra.
This report examines how transport services in Australia should be priced and transportation facilities funded. It discusses various economic principles related to efficient prices and taxes, estimates various transportation-related external costs (road and parking facilities, congestion, accidents, energy consumption and pollution), evaluates current pricing efficiency and recommends various reforms to help achieve transportation planning objectives.

"Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities" ( http://www.ceosforcities.org/files/WalkingTheWalk_CEOsforCities1.pdf ).
This study by Joe Cortright of CEOs for Cities evaluates the effects of walkability on housing prices using the used Walkscore ( www.walkscore.com) and 95,000 real estate transactions, controlling for house (size, number of bedrooms and baths, age) and neighborhood characteristics (proximity to the CBD, income, and accessibility to jobs). It found that, each walkscore point increase was associated with a $700 to $3000 increase in home values, after controlling for other observable factors, so for example, shifting from a 50th to a 75th percentile walkscore typically increases a house’s value $4,000 to $34,000, depending on the market.

"Are TODs Over-Parked?" ( http://www.uctc.net/papers/882.pdf ).
This study by Robert Cervero, Arlie Adkins, and Cathleen Sullivan investigated the degree to which residential developments near urban rail stations are "over-parked," that is, more parking is provided than needed. It found the mean parking supply of 1.57 spaces per unit was 31% higher than the 1.2 spaces recommended in ITE Parking Generation, and 37% higher than the weighted-average peak demand of 1.15 parked cars per unit at 31 residential projects near BART rail stations. The analysis indicates that increased parking supply tends to increase vehicle ownership: an increase of 0.5 spaces per unit is associated with a 0.11 additional cars parked per unit at the peak. Parking demand tends to decline with improved pedestrian access to stations and improved transit service frequency.

"Applying Health Impact Assessment To Land Transport Planning" ( http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/research/reports/375.pdf ).
This report by the NZ Transport Agency describes Health Impact Assessment (HIA), a process to inform decision makers about the likely positive and negative effects of a proposal on public health and on health inequalities in order to avoid unintended consequences and to make informed decisions. This report recommends transport policy and planning practices to protect and promote public health.

"Transportation Demand Management: A Small and Mid-Size Communities Toolkit" ( http://www.fraserbasin.bc.ca/programs/documents/FBC_TDM_toolkit_web.pdf ).
This toolkit provides guidance on implementing TDM programs and strategies in smaller and medium-size communities. It includes an introduction to transportation demand management (TDM) and what it takes to implement a TDM strategy. There are 10 TDM case studies of small and mid-size communities. The toolkit shows how to start a TDM initiative and how to turn it into a comprehensive program, offering helpful resources.

Co-Benefits Asia Hub Website ( http://www.observatory.ph/co-benefits_asia ) provides information on climate change emission reduction strategies that provide additional benefits related to environment (e.g. air quality management, health, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity), energy (e.g. renewable energy, alternative fuels and energy efficiency) and economics (e.g. long-term economic sustainability, industry competitiveness, income distribution).

"Getting More with Less: Managing Residential Parking in Urban Developments with Carsharing and Unbundling" ( http://www.citycarshare.org/download/CityCarShare2009BestPracticesReport.pdf ).
This new report describes examples of residential developments that rely on unbundled parking and on-site carshare services to significantly reduce parking requirements. Provides guidance to developers and planners on applying these strategies.

"CityTalent: Keeping Young Professionals (and their kids) in Cities," ( http://www.ceosforcities.org/files/CEOs_CityTalent_Kids.pdf )
This new report by CEOs for Cities helps urban leaders understand, support and scale the behaviors of multi-generation urban families. Researchers studied parent concerns of safety, space and schools developing concepts to counter them through density, public space and using the city as a classroom.

"The Challenge of Sustainable Mobility in Urban Planning and Development in Oslo" ( http://www.toi.no/getfile.php/Publikasjoner/T%D8I%20rapporter/2009/1024-2009/1024-2009-nett.pdf )
This report provides detailed analysis of transportation and land use development trends in Oslo, Norway. It indicates that smart growth policies and investments in alternative modes (particularly high quality public transit) can reduce per capita vehicle travel and energy consumption. It discusses this decoupling of economic development and VMT.

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About the author:

Todd Litman is founder and executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transport problems. His work helps to expand the range of impacts and options considered in transportation decision-making, improve evaluation techniques, and make specialized technical concepts accessible to a larger audience. He can be reached at: 1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada. Email: litman@vtpi.org. Phone & Fax: +1 250-360-1560

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