Despite an influx of jobs in Seattle’s downtown area, the number of people driving to work has barely changed since 2010. According to a survey from Commute Seattle, a non-profit working with downtown employers, the working population in and around downtown increased by 45,000 in the past six years, but drive-alone commutes increased by approximately 2,255 morning trips. Drive-alone commute mode share decreased from 35 percent to 30 percent in the same time period. So how did the city accomplish that?
TDM
San Francisco updates planning code with TDM measures
San Francisco has approved an amendment to its existing planning code that incorporates an ambitious transportation demand management program for future residential and commercial development. Working to manage its transportation system across modes in the growing city, San Francisco will now require TDM measures for new developments for a variety of land uses.
GPS data informs transportation projects in Northern Virginia: SSTI study
Transportation agencies, dependent for decades on traffic counts and travel demand models, are turning to new sources of data to understand the movement of vehicles and people. These include aerial photography, Bluetooth sensors, and cellular location data. Adding to that list, SSTI recently completed a study of vehicle trip-making patterns in Northern Virginia (NOVA), using commercially available GPS data. That study, presented to the Commonwealth Transportation Board in March, is now available for download.
Trip-making data, TDM, and connectivity in Northern Virginia (SSTI and Michael Baker International, 2016)
Commercially available GPS data offers valuable new insight about trip origins, destinations, and routes, including short trips that travel demand models often cannot capture. Using this data, SSTI worked with Michael Baker International, the Virginia DOT, and local stakeholders to identify opportunities for managing travel demand and improving connectivity throughout Northern Virginia. This final report describes the full data set and 17 selected case studies, along with recommended projects and policies, estimated costs, and benefits for each.
TDM study suggests we are overestimating vehicle trip generation rates
In a recent study done in Melbourne, Australia, researchers compared transportation demand management plans at four new residential developments with control sites with similar characteristics. The results showed lower car mode share and trip generation in the sites with TDM plans, but also significantly lower rates of vehicle trip generation than those published in commonly-used sources.
U.S. 36: Changing commute habits through infrastructure, incentives, and education
The Colorado Department of Transportation is putting the final touches on the reconstruction of U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder, and their efforts to both accommodate and encourage alternatives to driving alone in the corridor seem to be working. Prior to the completion of construction, a two-year social media-based TDM program launched. The TDM program, managed by 36 Commuting Solutions, is showing success at generating mode shift from single-occupancy vehicles to carpooling and transit.
Expanded transit tax incentive can’t compete with the lure of subsidized parking
Many municipalities and the federal government have goals of improving air quality, reducing traffic congestion, and increasing transit use. However, until recently federal policies providing greater tax breaks to car commuters than transit commuters have thwarted these goals. However, recent equivalency in financial incentives does not fully counterbalance the attraction of driving alone to work.
Growing a Culture of Transportation Sustainability in Massachusetts (McCahill, Ebeling and Codd, 2014)
MassDOT is among a growing number of state agencies tackling sustainability efforts in the transportaiton section and its approach offers valuable lessons for others. number of state agencies tackling this issue and its approach offers valuable lessons for others. This paper traces the evolution of MassDOT’s sustainability efforts, beginning with its revised Project Development and Design Guide, published in 2006, and ultimately encapsulated in its ongoing GreenDOT program, launched in 2010. These efforts represent the combined actions of state legislators, agency leaders, and personnel at all levels of MassDOT.
Shared-Use Mobility Reference Guide (Shared-Use Mobility Center, 2016)
This reference guide is intended to provide government, business and community leaders with an introduction to shared-use mobility and help prepare them to address the rapid changes currently taking place in cities across the nation.
Study finds dynamic ridesharing can boost TDM effectiveness
In a newly released report from the Mineta Transportation Institute, researchers found that ridesharing might actually reduce VMT in the San Francisco Bay area by as much as 23 percent over the long run—more than land use, transit, and VMT-pricing policies alone. The researchers also tested how TOD and pricing might affect demand for battery electric vehicles.