Transportation Study Documents

Below is an annotated  list of transportation studies, resources and documents we will be using in our 2011-13 study of Newton’s transportation system.

This is a work in progress.

Please suggest additional resources and amendments to our annotations by emailing transportationstudy@lwvnewton.org.

History & Background:

Transportation Theory

“Analyzes the complex social, physical, psychological, and technical factors that dictate how traffic works, why we drive the way we do, and what our driving reveals about us, discussing the unintended consequences of attempts to engineer safety.”

  • What about Parking? Shoup, Donald, The High Cost of Free Parking (book, available through the Virtual Library, and in paperback for $22)

Shoup argues that free parking has contributed to auto dependence, rapid urban sprawl, extravagant energy use, and a host of other problems, including that up to 90% of traffic in some neighborhoods is people cruising to find free parking. Shoup shows how charging the right price for parking according to local demand can get rid of this problem. Bus service benefits, too, because the buses don’t have to sit in traffic jams and can arrive at their stops on time. 

Shoup NYT op-ed, Gone Parkin‘  

Parking & Privatization: a 2×2 grid

Transportation Laws

Planning Information:

NACTO

The National Association of City Transportation Officials http://nacto.org/ has a site for sharing ideas, best practices and insights between major cities. They have just released an Urban Bikeway Design Guide to share what can be done to improve bike safety and attractiveness in large cities.

MAPC

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has an entire transportation division that has been working on the specifics of plans for better movement in Eastern Massachusetts. This page includes a useful overview of that work.

The MAPC has done studies on Rt. 128 and Rt. 9 that speak to some of the issues Newton faces:
  • Route 128 (report) “The portion of Route 128 reviewed for this corridor plan is a 12.6 mile segment between I-90 and Route 3 North, through the communities of Weston, Waltham, Lincoln, Lexington, and Burlington.”
  • Route 9 (report) “A June 2010 summary prepared by MAPC describes the potential for commercial, industrial and office growth in the Route 9 Corridor between Route 128 and I-495.”

And their recommendations for pedestrian planning, here.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization–which is affiliated and encompasses the areas immediately around Boston, has a long-range (to 2030) plan for transportation in our region, here.

They also have several transportation studies, including a study of Newton Corner’s traffic circle:

State Transportation:

Funding:

In Oct. 2011, a coalition of state groups called Transportation for Massachusetts released a report on the funding for all modes of transportation across the Commonwealth. It asserts:

The people and economy of Massachusetts depend upon the state’s network of rails and roads, but the transportation system is living largely on borrowed time and borrowed money. Faced with a crushing burden of debt, the system lacks the revenue to maintain its current condition, let alone meet future needs.

The full report is here. A briefer powerpoint, which links transit and housing costs, is here.

At the same time, Mass Inc. released a report on public transit:

Massachusetts faces a choice. The state can continue on the current course, applying fresh financial bandages, or Massachusetts can depart boldly from the status quo by giving regions across the Commonwealth tools to invest in public transportation at levels consistent with their needs and aspirations for economic growth.

The full report is here.

Stephanie Pollack, a professor at Northeastern University and chair of Newton’s Transportation Advisory Committee, gave several presentation on transportation funding, in 2011 and Pollack120110

 

Newton-specific information:

The Transportation Advisory Committee draft recommendations, agendas, etc. are here:

The Comprehensive Plan–see particularly the chapter on  transportation (pdf takes a long time to load)

Roughly 30% of Newton’s green house gas emissions are related to transportation. For details, see chapter 5 of the 2004 Energy Action Plan

Transportation accounts for 30% of Newton’s energy use and emissions, and if the current trends in car ownership and driving habits continue, these emissions will grow significantly over the next decade. The statistics are telling. Thirty years ago, the sight of children walking and biking to school was common—66% of all children did so. Now, only 13% walk to school.

News:

Forum Resources

(mentioned at the Transportation Forum 11/29)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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