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.

Study Questions:

1. Parking:  What is the best parking model for Newton?  What do we need to do to get there?

 Parking Resources:

 

2. Pedestrian Network:  What are the best practices for improving pedestrian safety and how do we prioritize improvements?  What are the impediments?  What are the elements that should be used to identify areas where pedestrian mobility can be maximized?
 
Pedestrian Resources: 
  • Guide to creating walkable and bikcable cities (PBIC)
  • Steps to a walkable community
  • Why don’t Americans Walk More (Slate)
  • Where Pedestrian Crashes Happen (Vancouver News)
  • Rate your neighborhood for walkability at walkscore
  • Creating Walkable Cities
  • Study on fatal pedestrian crashes and the factors involved — starts on p. 4: 
    • “With every small increase in speed,pedestrian deaths go up even faster. The authors cite research concluding that about 5 percent of pedestrians hit by a vehicle traveling 20 mph will die. The fatality rate jumps to 40 percent for cars traveling 30 mph,80 percent for cars going 40 mph, and 100 percent for cars going 50 mph or faster.”
 
3. Bicycle Network:  How do we set guidelines for road improvements and bike lanes?
 
Bicycle Resources:

Transportation Concepts:

“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 happens when you add traffic lanes? Some suggest urban decay. US cities with the most highway miles are also not vibrant. Coincidence? See Streetsblog. When highways are removed? See Better! Cities & Towns 
  • 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 with Dr. Shoup–video

Parking & Privatization: a 2×2 grid

Jason Schreiber Smart Parking Revisited

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:

  • Why Generation Y isn’t driving (Forbes)
  • Future population trends: older & not driving. (Futurist)
  • The MBTA=The driver’s best friend (Barry Bluestone)
  • AAA estimates average driving costs (AAA)
  • Road diet means same # of cars, fewer crashes (SeattlePi)
  • Our Streets are Making us Fat (AtlanticCities)
  • Wider, Straighter, Faster and Older Drivers (StreetsBlog)
  • Bus Transit & Communication (“Transit’s Job is to Create Freedom“)
  • Newton’s Transportation Advisory Committee releases its report (Your Town) 
  • Report calls for regional transportation taxes (MassInc) 
  • Are Walking and Biking really Transportation? (blog)
  • Why Traffic Jams are Bad for You (WSJ)
  • Wellesley looks at Bus Service (The Swellseley Report)
  • Across Europe, Irking Drivers is Urban Policy (NYT) 
  •  Can the state afford to expand the MBTA? (CommonWealth) 
  • Planning Group warns of Gridlock on 128 (Boston.com)  

Forums

Spring–Parking

Jason Schrieber’s power point presentation

Fall-Transportation

(mentioned at the Forum 11/29)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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