----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ----------------------------------- Spring 2000 Vol. 3, No. 2 --------------------------------- The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website has numerous information resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *NEW* VTPI ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA *NEW* ========================================== A draft version of our "Online TDM Encyclopedia" is now posted at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm. This is a unique and comprehensive resource for Transportation Demand Management planning and analysis. It is a practical tool to help identify better ways to solve transportation problems. The Encyclopedia provides the following information on more than three dozen TDM strategies: · A description. · How the strategy can be implemented. · Travel impacts. · Benefits and costs. · Equity impacts. · Applications (where it is most appropriate). · Stakeholders. · Barriers to implementation. · Case studies. · References and resources for more information (many available through the Internet). Each strategy is rated in various ways, including its support for TDM objectives (congestion reduction, road safety, consumer choice, environmental protection, etc.), equity impacts, and appropriateness in various geographic and organizational conditions. These ratings can help users select the best TDM strategies to consider for a particular situation. For example, they can identify strategies that may be most appropriate for implementation by a suburban municipal government to address congestion and air pollution problems; a resort community business organization to reduce traffic problems and improve transport choices for non-drivers; or for a state/provincial government to improve the overall economic efficiency of its transportation system. The Encyclopedia also has information on transportation price elasticities, land use pattern impacts on travel behavior, TDM evaluation, equity analysis, TDM planning practices, criticism of TDM, an extensive bibliography, and other sections to be determined. You Can Help ------------ The Online TDM Encyclopedia is a work in progress. We plan to finalize it during the next few weeks, and will continually update it as new information becomes available. A future version being developed with support from Environment Canada will have automatic searching and sorting features. Our goal is to make the Encyclopedia as comprehensive, accurate and useful as possible, which is turning out to be quite a project. We had originally expected it to include about 100 pages of material, but there are already more than 350 pages in fifty files, and additional information is being incorporated regularly. We appreciate help. Please carefully review the chapter(s) on TDM strategies you know about, and send us your suggestions for improvements. We are particularly interested in identifying the best available information on travel impacts, benefits, costs and equity impacts. We want feedback on the assigned ratings. We also appreciate a short description of suitable case studies, preferably with a website reference for more information. Thanks to the many colleagues who contribute to this project! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRESENTATION ============ Shifting Gears: Win-Win Transportation Solutions In The Georgia Basin --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, May 31, 2000, 7:00-8:30 pm. Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, Room 1400 515 West Hasting, Vancouver, British Columbia. Admission is free but reservations are required. Call 604-291-5100 or email [log in to unmask] for reservation information. This event will include a presentation by VTPI Director Todd Litman on his study of the status of TDM efforts in the Vancouver region (i.e., who is doing what), and analysis of the value and feasibility of implementing additional "Win-Win Transportation Solutions" to address regional transportation problems. These issues will be discussed by a panel including Peter Ladner (editor of "Business in Vancouver"), Clive Rock (Manager of Strategic Planning at TransLink, the regional transportation and land use planning authority) and Cheeying Ho (Executive Director of Better Environmentally Sound Transportation - B.E.S.T., an advocacy organization). We hope that this event will help raise awareness and support for Win-Win Solutions. This program is co-sponsored by Environment Canada, the Simon Fraser University City Program, B.E.S.T., and the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation. It is part of these organizations' efforts to explore the potential economic, social and environmental benefits from innovative strategies that increase transportation system efficiency. The "Shifting Gears" report will be posted at the VTPI website by May 31. NEW REPORTS =========== The following new reports are now posted at our website: http://www.vtpi.org. * "Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning: A Guide to Best Practices" by Todd Litman, Robin Blair, Bill Demopoulos, Nils Eddy, Anne Fritzel, Danelle Laidlaw, Heath Maddox and Katherine Forster. This guide covers all aspects of pedestrian and bicycle planning. It describes general nonmotorized planning practices, how to measure and predict nonmotorized travel, how to evaluate and prioritize projects, and how to implement various programs that support nonmotorized transportation. There are also appendices that provide more detailed information on planning, design and evaluation. It is intended for policy makers, planners and advocates who want the best current information on ways to make their communities better places for walking and cycling. We believe it is the most comprehensive and current guide on this subject. * "Making Walking and Cycling Safer: Lessons from Europe" by John Pucher and Lewis Dijkstra The neglect of pedestrian and bicycling safety in the United States has made these modes relatively dangerous. Pedestrian fatalities are 36 times higher, and bicycling fatalities are 11 times higher, than car occupant fatalities per km traveled. Walking and bicycling can be made quite safe, however, as clearly shown by the much lower fatality rates in The Netherlands and Germany. Pedestrian fatalities per billion km walked are less than a tenth as high, and bicyclist fatalities are only a quarter as high, as in the United States. The Netherlands and Germany have long recognized the importance of pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Over the past two decades these countries have undertaken a wide range of measures to improve safety: better facilities for walking and bicycling; urban design sensitive to the needs of non-motorists; traffic calming of residential neighborhoods; restrictions on motor vehicle use in cities; rigorous traffic education of both motorists and non-motorists; and strict enforcement of traffic regulations protecting pedestrians and bicyclists. * "Clunker Mortgages and Transportation Redlining; How the Mortgage Banking Industry Unknowingly Drains Cities and Spreads Sprawl" by Patrick Hare This paper proposes a significant solution to two persistent planning problems: affordable housing and traffic congestion. The solution has no public cost. It would also help solve both urban decline, and suburban sprawl, and it would increase transit ridership. The solution relies on correcting a significant flaw in the mortgage approval system. Current mortgage approval practices ignore basic land economics. Specifically, they ignore the fact that the household transportation expenses usually increases as land costs decline in suburban locations. Ignoring these extra transportation costs makes suburban housing look substantially more affordable than urban housing to banks reviewing mortgage qualifications. This practice helps drain cities of middle class families and transit systems of riders, and fills highways with cars and open land with houses. It encourages sprawl. As described in this paper, Near Transit Mortgages (also called "Location Efficient Mortgages") help correct this distortion. A mortgage approval procedure that reflects basic land economics means larger mortgages for households that buy homes where they can reduce their cars expenses, and thus have more money available for mortgage payments. * "Sustainable Transport Systems: Linkages Between Environmental Issues, Public Transport, Non-Motorised Transport and Safety" by Dinesh Mohan and Geetam Tiwari, Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India This paper examines sustainable transportation from a developing country perspective. A sustainable transport system must provide mobility and accessibility to all residents in a safe and environment friendly mode of transport. This can be difficult when the needs of people in different income groups are considered. For example, if a large proportion of the population cannot afford to use motorised transport - private vehicles or public buses - then they must walk or cycle. Accommodating this travel requires consideration of cyclist and pedestrian needs in transport planning. * "Estimation Of Generated Traffic By New Developments: Current Practice And Possible Improvements Based On Bangkok Experience" by Shihana Sulaiha Mohamed and Kazunori Hokao This paper reviews current methods used to estimate generated traffic caused by new developments such as housing, shopping centres, conventional centres, hospitals, etc. It describes three case studies based on experience in Bangkok. It critiques current traffic generation prediction models based on ITE methods and data, and recommends better approaches that take into account additional demographic, economic and geographic factors. It indicates that this additional information is particularly important for use in developing countries. * "Transportation Market Reforms for Sustainability" by Todd Litman. A condensed version of this paper is forthcoming in Transportation Research Record. This paper evaluates potential transportation market reforms for achieving economic, social and environmental objectives. It identifies transport market distortions, considers their justifications, and describes strategies that could reduce these distortions. Three state-level reform packages are assessed in terms of their impacts on vehicle travel, emissions, congestion, consumer expenses, tax revenue and equity. This analysis indicates that such reforms can help solve a variety of problems. The incremental benefits of these reforms are estimated to be far greater than their incremental costs. Please let us know if you have transport policy papers that you would like to have posted at our website. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WEB LINKS ========= We continue to add links to other useful websites. Please add a link to us from your organization's website and we will reciprocate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our mailing list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Website: http://www.vtpi.org %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%