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The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Fostering Livable Communities Newsletter is intended to provide transportation professionals with real-world examples of ways that transportation investments promote livability, such as providing access to good jobs, affordable housing, quality schools, and safer roads. The FHWA Livable Communities Newsletter also includes topics related to Safe Routes to School (SRTS), Context Sensitive Solutions, and Environmental Justice. To access additional tools and resources, or to learn more about FHWA's Livability Initiative, please visit FHWA's Livability website or the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (PSC) website. The PSC is a partnership of three Federal agencies: the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To read past issues of the newsletter, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/newsletter/. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit GovDelivery.
Want to continue the discussion? Have a question about one of the topics you read here? Visit the FHWA Livable Communities Discussion Board to join the conversation.
Jeremy Raw, Community Planner, FHWA Office of Planning
To improve conditions and encourage safe bicycling and walking as healthy and environmentally friendly forms of transportation, local transportation agencies need reliable data to guide planning processes. By collecting bicycle and pedestrian counts, agencies can shift to performance-based planning, analyze trends over time, and evaluate the effectiveness of particular projects and interventions.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) works to support pedestrian and bicycle data collection through research projects, reports, and technical assistance. Recently, FHWA completed a one-year effort, the Bicycle-Pedestrian Count Technology Pilot Project, aimed at exploring challenges and opportunities for metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) that seek to establish bicycle and pedestrian counting programs. In the spring of 2015, FHWA offered grants to 10 MPOs that did not yet have bicycle and pedestrian counting capabilities.
The project grants funded the purchase of counters, along with installation and analysis activities, that would permit each MPO to gather bicycle and pedestrian counts to support their planning processes. Each of the selected MPOs also participated in a series of technical support webinars and developed plans for using the count data, ranging from corridor evaluation to support for comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian planning.
This summer, FHWA expects to publish a final report summarizing the project, to be posted to the project's webpage. The report will detail the experiences of the MPOs, what they learned through the process, and their recommendations to other agencies considering the development of a pedestrian and bicycle counting program. The technical support materials developed during the project will also be assembled and made available to the public on the webpage. The materials will provide information on selecting and procuring counters, determining their appropriate placement, and testing and installation. The materials will also offer suggestions on how to manage the count data, along with data analysis techniques in support of bicycle and pedestrian planning goals.
Participating Metropolitan Planning Organizations
The Bicycle-Pedestrian Count Technology Pilot Project is one of a series of initiatives currently underway at FHWA to improve bicycle and pedestrian planning and trend analysis with counts. Related efforts include adding bicycle and pedestrian data to the Traffic Monitoring Analysis System, which houses motorized traffic counts from every State, and providing guidance on coding count data in the standard format published in FHWA's Traffic Monitoring Guide.
By gathering more consistent and reliable pedestrian and bicycle data, agencies will ultimately be able to plan more effectively for these active modes, while gauging success by monitoring ongoing performance.
Christopher Douwes, Community Planner, FHWA Transportation Alternatives Program
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the 2012 surface transportation authorization, created the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to provide funding for a variety of smaller-scale transportation projects. The TAP primarily supports pedestrian and bicycle facilities; recreational trails; safe routes to school projects; community improvements such as historic preservation and vegetation management; and environmental mitigation related to stormwater and habitat connectivity. MAP-21 also placed new emphasis on performance management to introduce accountability and transparency into transportation decisionmaking, improve the performance of the transportation system, and achieve better returns on investment, measured in terms of social, environmental, and economic outcomes.
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015 replaced the TAP with a set-aside of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program funds called the “Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside,” retaining eligibility for all projects and activities that were eligible under the TAP. The FAST Act did not include any significant changes to performance management affecting this guidebook.
FHWA developed the TAP Performance Management Guidebook to provide sample performance objectives and measures that States, MPOs, and project sponsors may consider as they administer, implement, and evaluate TAP projects and program outcomes. The guidebook promotes voluntary best practices to ensure program transparency and accountability, but does not establish requirements or standards. The guidebook aligns with the national goals and FHWA's Transportation Performance Management measures.
What is Transportation Performance Management?
FHWA defines Transportation Performance Management as a strategic approach that uses system information to make investment and policy decisions to achieve national performance goals. In short, Transportation Performance Management:
The guidebook provides an overview of FHWA's performance-based planning and management, a discussion of resource requirements, how to manage limited resources, and a step-by-step method to create a performance-based planning and programming approach tailored to the TAP.
The research for the guidebook, which took place in 2014, found that few States or MPOs had much information about the TAP, but a number of States and MPOs had promising practices. The guidebook highlights these noteworthy practices, which include examples such as providing training for project applicants, evaluating existing and proposed conditions, and ensuring that projects match State and MPO plans and priorities. The guidebook also provides ideas about how to rate and select projects, including count data (for example, to measure pedestrian and bicycle facility use); crash and safety data; and data on environmental impact or benefit.
FHWA's seven-step Performance Management Framework serves as the foundation of this guidebook, which describes each step in detail. The steps are:
The guidebook notes that performance management will require some investment. It provides information about how to make efficient use of resources to ensure that funds are used in an effective manner. It also points out that program staff can make incremental changes to select and use performance-based elements consistent with available resources and data.
Guidebook Appendices with Additional Information
Although the guidebook focuses on the TAP, readers will find they can use the concepts for any small-scale program, especially the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside under the FAST Act, but also the Recreational Trails Program or State-funded programs. See FHWA's Transportation Alternatives Performance Management Guidebook webpage for more information.
Foreword by Fleming El-Amin, Community Planner, FHWA Office of Human Environment
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Center for Environmental Excellence (CEE) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty co-hosted an Environmental Justice Peer Exchange on February 17 and 18, 2016. The Peer Exchange was conducted to help State DOT and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) attendees build capacity and knowledge on environmental justice. The participants included representatives from 13 State DOTs and six MPOs who shared challenges, best practices, and lessons learned including deficiencies in practice that guided the development of an Environmental Justice (EJ) Roadmap. The EJ Roadmap describes current practices and actions that AASHTO, FHWA, and practitioners could consider to advance the state of the practice for EJ. On May 18, FHWA and AASHTO held a joint webinar to discuss the key focus areas of the EJ Roadmap. Below are reflections and key takeaways from four of the Peer Exchange participants.
I attended the conference as an environmental practitioner at MassDOT and a representative of AASHTO’s Standing Committee on the Environment. The Peer Exchange was informative and provided me with a much better understanding of some of the successful tools and effective public outreach strategies used to integrate EJ considerations into transportation decisions. I was particularly impressed with the case studies presented by our MPO partners and the robust GIS based mapping tools they have developed to help assess EJ impacts and compare alternatives. I look forward to implementing some of the best practices into project development at MassDOT.
- Kevin Walsh, Director of Environmental Services, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Highway Division
It was an honor to represent the Miami-Dade MPO at the AASHTO EJ Peer Exchange in Washington, DC. The face-to-face exchange of ideas was a very positive experience that allowed participants to better relate to one another, and to gain knowledge from collective experiences that can strengthen our own local EJ programs. While the Miami-Dade MPO provided a presentation on its GIS, internet-based “Transportation Outreach Planner,” the chance to talk in an open forum with others from around the country was an eye-opening experience that led to more ideas to consider. Some of these takeaways included:
- Elizabeth Rockwell, Public Involvement Manager, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization
At the AASHTO EJ Peer Exchange, I felt completely supported as I joined with my peers from across the country, to share my own experience as a practitioner of public involvement and environmental justice at my MPO, and to hear about others experience with their DOTs and MPOs as well. The Exchange provided an opportunity to participate in meaningful conversations and workshops with my peers who collectively offered a wealth of knowledge that was shared freely with humor and comradery.
My expectations were met. Prior to the Exchange I was privy to first-hand tutorials on EJ Mapping, and exchanges on EJ demographics, however, I had the unanticipated benefit of sharing my own experience. As a result, the Peer Exchange affirmed that those of us who practice the art of implementing environmental justice have a unique responsibility and expertise that arise when working to ensure the application of EJ is incorporated throughout the planning process.
- Kendall Miller, Public Involvement and Title VI Administrator, Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization
The EJ Peer Exchange was the perfect opportunity for equity advocates. I was able to improve my knowledge of the issues and approaches being used to address environmental justice, as well as being given an opportunity to share my own experiences. The Exchange raised provocative questions and provided “out of the box” approaches on future requirements and creative solutions for practitioners.
My takeaways listed below will be used to strengthen the update of our Public Participation Plan and build on our engagement efforts in the Wichita region.
- Gloria Jeff, Principal Planner, Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
For more information, see the materials from the EJ Peer Exchange on the AASHTO website.
Anthony Burton, Policy Analyst, USDOT Office of the Under Secretary for Policy
Launched in early 2015, the USDOT's Mayors' Challenge for Safer People, Safer Streets is in its final stretch, scheduled to conclude with a capstone summit event at USDOT Headquarters in Washington, DC in September 2016. The summit event will include an awards ceremony, opportunities for communities to share their stories, and a discussion of next steps related to pedestrian and bicycle initiatives.
In April 2016, the USDOT offered two unique opportunities for participating mayors and city staff to learn from international leaders on pedestrian and bicycle transportation. One was to participate in the Washington, DC ThinkBike Workshop. At ThinkBike Workshops, Dutch cycling experts provide hands-on assistance to help American practitioners improve bicycle planning and design in their communities. The Mayor of Springfield, OR, as well as staff from three other Mayors' Challenge cities-Nashville, TN; Chattanooga, TN; and Austin, TX - were able to bring home lessons learned from the site evaluations and brainstorming sessions of the ThinkBike Workshop.
That same week, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx visited Copenhagen, Denmark; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oslo, Norway as part of an ongoing effort to learn from international partners about innovative ways to meet the transportation challenges of the future. The trip focused on sharing best practices in bicycle and pedestrian safety. Secretary Foxx was joined by three Challenge mayors-Steve Adler of Austin, TX; Charlie Hales of Portland, OR; and Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, IN. Mayor Adler authored a blog post on his experience, and Secretary Foxx shared a Fast Lane blog post summarizing the lessons learned from the trip.
FHWA is in the process of conducting Transit Road Safety Audits in four Mayors' Challenge cities - Asheville, NC; Myrtle Beach, SC; Springfield, OR; and Tucson, AZ. FHWA is leading teams of stakeholders to identify safety issues and appropriate countermeasures to improve safety at transit facilities in each of the four cities. These four cities applied for this technical assistance through the Mayors' Challenge.
Many communities participating in the Challenge are actively measuring and reporting on their progress during the Challenge:
Some of the participating cities shared their experiences during a recent Mayors' Challenge webinar series (Part 1 recording here, Part 2 recording here, Part 3 recording here). The webinars highlighted the progress different Challenge cities have made: Columbia, SC; Louisville, KY; and Charlotte, NC. The series also provided Mayors' Challenge communities with information on related programs for which the Challenge provides a good foundation. These programs include Bicycle Friendly Communities, Walk Friendly Communities, and safety programs like Toward Zero Deaths.
For more information, visit the Mayors' Challenge website or email pedbikesafety@dot.gov.
Ben Williams, Community Planner, FHWA Resource Center and Team Lead, Macon SC2 Pilot
First Round |
Second Round |
|---|---|
| Chester, PA | Brownsville, TX |
Cleveland, OH |
Flint, MI |
Detroit, MI |
Gary, IN |
Fresno, CA |
Macon, GA |
| Memphis, TN | Rockford, IL |
| New Orleans, LA | St. Louis, MO |
| Youngstown, OH | Rocky Mount, NC |
Since its founding in 1967, one of the primary roles of FHWA has been to provide technical assistance to States and local communities. FHWA's technical assistance has evolved over the years to meet changing transportation challenges. In 2012, President Obama issued Executive Order 13602, establishing a White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) as an innovative approach for supporting cities experiencing challenges such as population and job loss, persistent poverty, and capacity constraints in an era of ever dwindling resources. Through SC2, 19 Federal agencies work together in partnership with committed city leaders as they implement locally driven economic visions. The Federal agencies most active in the initiative include the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Education. SC2 will ultimately work with over 80 cities through two primary assistance methods:
The SC2 Council selected Macon-Bibb County in the second round of pilot cities with deployed Federal community solutions teams. The Team Lead works in the Mayor's office and coordinates with 15 Federal agencies in support of the local vision for Macon-Bibb. Because many of the issues in Macon relate to transportation, FHWA provided several staff to serve as team leaders of the effort. The SC2 team supported the following transportation-related initiatives:
In addition to the transportation projects, the SC2 interagency Federal team assisted with redeveloping various areas of the city, addressing brownfield contamination, and supporting job growth with small business and low-income neighborhood financial assistance.
The SC2 team assisted Macon-Bibb in securing Federal funds that they otherwise would not have known to consider. The city has also been able to more effectively combine the Federal funds with funds from philanthropic organizations to address local projects. The SC2 team's technical assistance has enhanced livability by helping to facilitate efforts to reduce crime, keep kids in school, redevelop neighborhoods, address polluted and abandoned properties, and redesign the downtown.
The pilots with Federal SC2 teams will conclude at the end of 2016, though the pilot cities will continue many of the initiatives that began with SC2 support. Each SC2 team will complete a legacy plan focused on institutionalizing the relationships developed through the effort, to support ongoing work.
Looking beyond SC2, the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Community Solutions Task Force is working with numerous Federal agencies to ensure the endurance of similar place-based partnerships in support of locally driven goals. For example, in February 2016, 16 Federal agencies, including USDOT, signed a memorandum of agreement on interagency technical assistance, agreeing to work together to advance community goals. These goals include fostering economic growth, increasing opportunity, building local capacity, and creating healthier and safer communities.
Within the USDOT, collaboration between agencies has led to the launch of Secretary Foxx's Ladders of Opportunity Initiatives, which include the Federal Transit Administration's Ladders of Opportunity transit modernization and expansion funding program; the FHWA's LadderSTEP; and Community Connections, the USDOT White House Community Solutions Fellow assignment.
For those interested in place-based programs, the Partnership for Public Service's Delivering Outcomes for Communities course provides training on the topic. To join OMB's Community Solutions Community of Practice listserv, provide your contact information at the Community Solutions website.
David Leyzerovsky, Project Associate, Project for Public Spaces
FHWA’s Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) program fosters livability along suburban commercial corridors by presenting strategies for improving walkability, multimodal access, and functionality.
In March 2016, CSS hosted a webinar presenting success stories of this type of suburban transformation, featuring speakers discussing local projects. The presenters discussed two locations that are in the process of transitioning from auto-dominated commercial roadways to multimodal, livable corridors-South Boulevard in Charlotte, NC, and Bridgeport Way in University Place, WA. They related successful strategies including changes in infrastructure redesign, transit access, street design standards, and land use policy.
These successful cases also reflect a more fundamental shift in U.S. land use patterns. The overarching change in land use patterns enables communities to foster livability as development shifts from sprawling, auto-centric patterns to more compact and walkable neighborhoods centered around commercial boulevards. This shift is likely the result of various factors such as local land use policies; an increased desire for walkable, mixed-use communities; and evolving consumer behavior in response to high gas prices and the convenience of online shopping. Moreover, demographic changes underlie what some planners regard as the urbanization of traditional suburban developments. This article reviews the South Boulevard case from Charlotte, NC presented in the webinar, as well as an additional example from Arlington, VA, the Columbia Pike corridor.
A series of land use and transportation policy and infrastructure changes over the last dozen years has facilitated the multimodal redevelopment of Charlotte’s South Corridor. The Lynx Blue Line light rail opened to serve this corridor in 2007, with construction of the line costing $465 million. The city spent an additional $50 million on the South Corridor Infrastructure Program (SCIP) to improve connectivity and pedestrian infrastructure in the one-mile radius areas around the new Blue Line stations. The goals of the SCIP program are to improve accessibility, promote economic development, get people to the stations, and build neighborhoods around the stations. The city made pedestrian and bicycle improvements on streets parallel to and connecting to South Boulevard, creating a connected network along the corridor. Also in 2007, the city adopted new Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) based on complete streets principles. These Guidelines focus on creating safe and comfortable streets for all users, considering the land use/transportation connection, and engaging stakeholders during the planning and design process. The South Corridor Station Area Plans applied the USDG during the planning process to select appropriate street classifications and street intervals based on planned land uses. Between 2006 and 2015, the private sector invested $1.5 billion in this South Corridor, with new mixed-use development served by the Blue Line and pedestrian improvements. Charlotte plans to extend the Blue Line further south, and mixed-use development continues along the corridor.
A form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code. A form-based code is a regulation, not a mere guideline, adopted into city, town, or county law. A form-based code offers a powerful alternative to conventional zoning regulation.
- Form-Based Codes Institute
Columbia Pike in Arlington, VA presents another notable commercial corridor transformation. The redesign was planned to encourage mass transit investment, specifically the adoption of a new streetcar along the corridor. To do this, Arlington County implemented a form-based code in order to incentivize denser development along the corridor, while maintaining a Main Street character that encourages walkability. The code was adopted in 2003 and included guidance on frontage types, streetlight lines, building height, and minimum parking setbacks. In exchange for building according to these new standards, developers could build at densities considerably higher than the surrounding areas. Since adopting the form-based code in 2003, the Columbia Pike Corridor has added a 52,300 square-foot community center; a public plaza and mini-park; 213,000 square feet of commercial space; and 1,935 residential units, 439 of which are committed to people earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median income. While adoption of the plan did not lead to the streetcar the community had wanted, it did encourage investment in bus transit. Arlington County is slated to spend $12.4 million for 23 upgraded bus stops. The new bus shelters will include real-time transit information displays, and more space for people. Thanks to this mix of efforts, the Columbia Pike Initiative received the Congress for New Urbanism’s award for “Best Corridor Plan” in June 2014.
Commercial strip redesigns can be an effective strategy to revitalize a corridor and foster a multimodal, livable environment. Considering the high vacancy rate along commercial strips around the U.S., it is likely that these types of strategies will be adopted with ever greater frequency. To learn more about successful commercial strip redesigns, consider Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson’s seminal book Retrofitting Suburbia.
Colleen Oliver, Communications Manager, Safe Routes to School Programs, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center
Young people need to be protected from dangers presented by vehicle traffic as they walk or bike around their communities. The National Center for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) encourages States, regions, and cities to use SRTS as a foundation for advancing traffic safety for young pedestrians and bicyclists, whether they're going to school, visiting a friend's home, walking through a park, or going to a part-time job.
Safety has always been at the core of the SRTS Program. Local agencies can use SRTS strategies and accomplishments as a springboard for broader initiatives that create safer streets and paths for children and people of all ages. This year, the National Center is leading efforts to help communities integrate child and youth safety into initiatives such as Vision Zero, Toward Zero Deaths, and other safety plans.
Last fall, the National Center hosted the Roundtable on Safe Routes to School: Ten Years of Progress, held at U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Headquarters in Washington, DC. One focus of the event was to discuss the idea of using SRTS as a foundation to improve safe walking and biking for children and youth traveling to any destination. In April, the National Center released the report Advancing Safe Walking and Bicycling for Youth. This report features input from the more than 40 transportation and public health professionals and advocates who participated in the National Center's roundtable. It includes findings from the National Center's Creating Healthier Generations: A Look at 10 Years of the Federal Safe Routes to School Program and input from State SRTS coordinators. The report offers the following five ways that SRTS can be used to improve safety for young people as they move around their communities:
To bring greater attention to the need for safer streets for children and youth, the National Center for SRTS is partnering with USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx's initiative, the Mayor's Challenge for Safer People, Safer Streets,to encourage mayors to participate in the 20th anniversary of Walk to School Day in October 2016.Since Walk to School Day began with strong support from mayors, this collaborative effort will enhance the message around youth traffic safety.
Mayors will be encouraged to use the event to talk about how they prioritize youth traffic safety, and their plans to make streets safer for young people. The National Center for SRTS is convening an advisory group to explore how specific measures for children can be integrated into Mayor's Challenge activities, Vision Zero plans, and other plans for cities and counties.
Moving forward, the National Center will continue to engage its partners by encouraging them to use SRTS strategies to build communities where children can move around safely. SRTS projects have extended the benefits of SRTS beyond safety and can help enhance community life for everyone.
Colleen Oliver, Communications Manager, Safe Routes to School Programs, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center
New research from the National Center for Safe Routes to School, FHWA's clearinghouse for Safe Routes to School (SRTS), finds that more children and families in communities across the country are choosing active transportation for their trips to school.
The new findings are based a survey of parents of children from 5,700 schools located in all 50 States and Washington, DC. The participating schools conduct Safe Routes to School activities to differing degrees, from those just starting SRTS programs, to those schools that have been doing scores of SRTS activities for years. In total, researchers collected 970,253 survey responses from parents between 2007 and 2014.
The new data indicates that the percentage of children walking to and from school increased significantly since 2007 and has most recently leveled off in 2014. The percentage of children in kindergarten through eighth grade who walked to school in the morning increased from 11.5 percent to 15.7 percent between 2007 and 2013, and decreased slightly to 15.2 percent in 2014.
Similarly, the percentage of children in the same age range who walked home from school increased from 14.6 percent to 19 percent from 2007 to 2013, and dipped slightly to 18.1 percent in 2014.
Interestingly, the National Center's research shows that the strongest predictor of walking to school was whether parents perceive that their child's school encourages walking or biking to school. Additionally, parents' perceptions of how much fun walking and biking to school is for their children is a strong predictor of whether their children bike to school.
This research reflects the promising pattern of increasing interest in walking and bicycling to school across the country. A full report detailing the results of this student travel survey will be released in July 2016 on the National Center's website.
