A study evaluating municipal planning for autonomous vehicles found that an overwhelming majority of cities have done little to prepare for their arrival. At the same time, many of those cities have concerns about the negative impacts AVs could bring along with the substantial benefits, from increased vehicle miles traveled and congestion to reduced transit ridership and increased sprawl.
planning
Motor vehicle dependence is making us sick: How transportation and urban planners are part of the solution
A recent study published in the medical journal The Lancet focuses on prevention strategies for the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) stemming from an unsustainable reliance on a transportation system reliant on fossil fuels. Such diseases include such as traffic violence, obesity, or respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. To address this crisis, the authors makes strong arguments that transportation and urban planners must coordinate across departments and accept their professional roles in determining how people travel.
How a Chicago suburb became car-lite and lessons for other communities
In a provocatively titled article—The Suburb That Tried to Kill the Car—Politico digs into how the Chicago suburb of Evanston reinvented itself through transit-oriented development. It is a tale with lessons for many other communities about the interplay and delicate balance of land use, transportation options, parking, zoning, tax revenues, affordable housing, and attracting new development.
Frankenbike assessing the state of Seattle’s bike trails
Alta Planning + Design is now using a modified bicycle, termed the “Frankenbike,” to assess bike trail conditions. While vans equipped with specialized measurement devices are used extensively by transportation agencies to assess roadway pavement conditions, the condition of bike trails has not generally received the same level of attention.
Trombino: “System is going to shrink”
Iowa DOT Secretary Paul Trombino created a minor wave in the blogosphere last week when he told an Urban Land Institute audience that the state’s highway and rail system was too big to maintain and would need to shrink.
Caltrans achieves first state road award from Greenroads
The Presidio Parkway Phase I in San Francisco is the first state highway to be awarded a Greenroads certificate, indicating a high level of environmental sensitivity and sustainability during design and construction of the roadway. The project received a Bronze Rating. Key elements recognized by Greenroads in the project’s certification included an extensive public involvement process with special attention paid to biological, cultural, and natural resources.
State DOTs recognize benefits of supporting local land use planning
As part of a new grant program, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) recently funded three local projects aimed at better coordinating transportation and land use decisions. VTrans has partnered with the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development to award approximately $200,000 each year for communities to develop plans, policies, and funding mechanisms that support local transportation options and reduce long-term infrastructure demands throughout the state.
Using Life Cycle Cost Analysis to control costs and inform project selection and development
A new report examining if and how state DOTs use Life Cycle Cost Analysis in project development and planning revealed that these types of tools see limited use by transportation agencies.
Research and practice show that compact, connected street networks can result in improved health and safety outcomes
A recent study found that traditional gridded street designs, which foster high levels of density and connectivity, have a greater association with good health than tree-like networks with their low densities and poor connectivity. More specifically, neighborhoods with compact and connected street networks and fewer lanes on major roads are positively correlated with lower rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and asthma.
What do video games and transportation planning have in common?
A new approach to the idea of visualization is using the real-time 3D tools that are normally reserved for interactive video games. A new tool developed by Spencer Boomhower of Cupola Media builds upon many of the technical tools that transportation planners traditionally use such as design criteria, flexible design techniques, and walkability analyses to build a visual model that can be understood and manipulated by the general public.