Peer Exchanges, Planning for a Better Tomorrow, Transportation Planning Capacity Building

Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program

– Peer Exchange Report –

Positioning Rail Transit in Sustainable Regional Transportation Plans and Programs

Event Location:	Chicago, IL
Event Date:	June 17, 2009
Roundtable Host:	American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Rail Conference
Roundtable Participants:	Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Headquarters Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Portland Metro (Metro) Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Port Authority of Alleghany County (Port Authority) Sound Transit Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center)

The following report documents the presentations and discussions of an afternoon roundtable on "Positioning Rail Transit in Sustainable Regional Transportation Plans and Programs" held in conjunction with the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Annual Rail Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The roundtable was sponsored by the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) Program, which is jointly funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The report includes the following sections:

Background and Goals
Key Findings
Summary of Presentations
Appendix

I. Background and Goals

The "Positioning Rail Transit in Sustainable Regional Transportation Plans and Programs" roundtable was part of an ongoing dialogue on "Transit at the Table" that identifies opportunities for transit agencies to make more effective partners in the regional transportation planning process. Its goals were to provide an overview of emerging Federal policy and research, and to highlight the collaborative work of transit agencies and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) from around the country to advance sustainability. Key questions asked of panel speakers included:

How can transit agencies work with MPOs to create enhanced options for transit and other sustainable transportation choices in regional transportation plans and programs?
What are the opportunities (and barriers) for more and better collaboration between transit agencies and MPOs?
How does transit investment support sustainable regional development?
How can transit agencies and MPOs develop and use outcome-based performance measures to help prioritize projects and advance sustainable, multi-modal regional development solutions?

Approximately 30 people attended the session. Diana C. Mendes, the chair of APTA's Policy and Planning Committee and Senior Vice President of AECOM, served as facilitator for the event. Roundtable panelists were:

Charles R. Goodman, Director, Office of Systems Planning, FTA
Paul N. Bay, Professional Engineer (PE), Transportation Consultant
Jesse A. Elam, Senior Planner, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)
Richard Brandman, Oregon Director, Columbia River Crossing Project, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
Tony R. Mendoza, Transit Project Analysis Manager, Portland Metro
David E. Wohlwill, Manager of Extended Range Planning, Port Authority of Allegheny County (Port Authority)
Gregory A. Walker, Policy and Planning Officer, Sound Transit
Nat Bottigheimer, Assistant General Manager, Planning and Joint Development, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

II. Key Findings

The roundtable presentations and discussion identified numerous ideas and possibilities for transit agencies to be more proactive partners in regional transportation decision-making and support sustainable development goals in their work. Key actions for transit agencies to take are:

Outreach and Relationship Building

Participate actively in MPO Boards and committees.
Attend relevant agency and committee meetings and hearings even if you are not on the agenda and ask to be added to the speaker list to communicate your message.
Provide leadership to foster regional awareness and dialogue on smart growth issues and transit-oriented development (TOD).

Policy Development

Work with MPOs to get TOD supportive goals, objectives, and policies in the long-range transportation plan (LRTP).
Work with MPOs to create and adopt multimodal performance measures (e.g., multimodal level of service) for use in the LRTP, as well as project prioritization and selection in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
Work with MPOs to create and adopt environmental performance measures (e.g., green house gas reduction) for use in the LRTP, as well as project prioritization and selection in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Implementation

Collaborate with MPOs and other regional stakeholders on technical studies that highlight specific opportunities for smart growth and TOD in your region.

Education and Technical Assistance

Position your agency as a technical resource for MPO planners on smart growth and TOD planning and financing.
Propose studies on topics supporting regional transit development or coordination between transit, land-use, and economic development for inclusion in MPOs' Unified Planning Work Programs (UPWP).

III. Summary of Discussions

A. Federal Policy Context: "Transit at (and on) the Table" for Sustainable Plans and Programs

Charlie Goodman, Federal Transit Administration, Office of Planning

In order for transit to play a meaningful role in creating sustainable transportation systems, the FTA believes that transit agencies have to become more meaningful and pro-active partners in the Federal transportation planning and programming process. The premise is that in order to get transit on the table (i.e., included in plans, funded, and built), transit agencies have to make their way to the table and actively participate in decision-making. Recognizing that this is not a traditional role for most transit agencies nationwide, the FTA has sponsored a series of studies called "Transit at the Table" that identify ways for transit agencies to address this challenge. Two studies are already complete and a third is currently underway:

Transit at the Table 1 focused on how transit agencies in larger metropolitan areas (more than 200,000 in population) could be more effective partners with MPOs in the metropolitan transportation planning and programming process.
Transit at the Table 2 focused on how transit agencies in smaller metropolitan areas (populations between 50,000 and 200,000) could be more effective partners with MPOs in the metropolitan transportation planning and programming process. (Not available yet online)
Transit at the Table 3 will explore how transit agencies in non-urbanized and rural areas can be more effective partners with state departments of transportation (state DOT) in the statewide transportation planning and programming process. (Currently in development — not available yet online)

Through interviews with key transit agency, MPO, and state DOT staff, each report provides anecdotes and testimonials on the:

Barriers transit agencies often face to full and effective participation in the MPO planning process.
Strategies used to overcome these barriers.
Benefits realized by transit agencies that successfully made their way "to the table."

An overarching theme of the series is the notion that "you have to play to win" — transit agencies will not achieve desired outcomes while operating and planning in isolation. Multi-stakeholder and multi-sector collaboration is key. (see Appendix B for a complete list of key findings)

Growing recognition of the importance of multi-sector collaboration was recently highlighted at a landmark hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs July 16, 2009 to announce the creation of an Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities between the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The goal of the Partnership will be to "help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide." At the hearing, the Secretaries of DOT and HUD and the EPA Administrator outlined six guiding "livability principles" they will use to coordinate Federal transportation, environmental protection, and housing investments in support of regional comprehensive planning:

Provide more transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices in order to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nations' dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.
Promote equitable, affordable housing. Expand location and energy efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
Increase economic competitiveness. Enhance economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expand business access to markets.
Support existing communities. Target Federal funding toward existing communities to increase community revitalization, the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.
Leverage Federal investment. Cooperatively align Federal policies and funding to remove barriers, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth.
Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods — rural, urban or suburban.

Mr. Goodman shared his excitement about the Sustainable Communities Partnership and noted that transit and TOD support all six of its guiding principles. He noted that in the proposed 2010 Appropriations Bill for HUD, there is talk of creating a discretionary grant program to fund integrated transportation, land-use, and economic development planning at the local and regional level. It has been mentioned that between $100 and $150 million dollars in discretionary grants may be available to communities nationwide to create integrated plans that develop innovative transportation, housing, land-use, economic development, and energy strategies to address congestion and transportation related greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Goodman noted that transit planning should play an important role in this type of integrated planning. He explained that the case studies generated by initial grantees could be used during the reauthorization of the Federal transportation bill to create new programs and funding opportunities within DOT. He also stressed the importance of "scaling up" and engaging land-use development at the regional level to develop transit networks — rather than individual projects — as a means to promote truly "sustainable" regional development outcomes. One opportunity for transit agencies to do this is to work proactively with MPOs to create a tighter connection between transportation investments and surrounding land-uses by promoting TOD in regional long-range comprehensive plans.

Comprehensive planning has not recently been a MPO role or responsibility. Yet some MPOs are now looking beyond a singular focus on transportation to develop collaborative land-use visions that help to steer transportation investments and more effectively integrate transportation and land use (e.g., San Diego, Seattle). As such, there may be growing opportunities for transit agencies to collaborate with MPOs in support of comprehensive planning efforts. To leverage this opportunity, the National Transit Institute (NTI) has recently developed a 2-day course called Transit-Oriented Development and Joint Development. The course is specifically designed for MPO and state DOT planners to build their capacity to engage in land-use and development issues through comprehensive planning, as well as their long-range transportation plans.

Lastly, Mr. Goodman recommended Reconnecting America's online Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD) as an excellent resource for transit and MPO planners, with numerous free reports and information on how to promote TOD in regional transportation and comprehensive planning processes.

B. New Report: "The Role of Transit Agencies in Regional Transportation Planning Processes"

Paul N. Bay, PE, Transportation Consultant and Principal Investigator

The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) recently completed a report on "The Role of Transit Agencies in the Regional Transportation Planning Process" that provides interesting comparative information and follow-up to the FTA's "Transit at the Table" studies. The research team looked at the 75 largest metropolitan regions in the country and conducted in-depth, confidential interviews with transit system and MPO managers in 12 case study regions. Mr. Bay noted that interviewees gave open and honest responses that reflected both challenges and opportunities for regional collaboration.

Major findings of the study were:

Improvements to regional planning processes are greatly needed, and both transit agencies and MPOs have a role to play in making these improvements.
- Transit agencies must learn how to:
  - Partner with MPOs and other regional agencies.
  - Help achieve a shared vision for growth.
  - Actively participate in all regional planning decisions, not just transit.
  - Provide leadership, and commit management and technical resources to the planning process.
- MPOs must learn how to:
  - Collaborate with local governments, state DOTs, transit agencies, businesses and other interests.
  - Conduct scenario planning to achieve a shared vision for regional growth.
  - Fix institutional and governance barriers to collaboration.
  - Build technical capacity for regional partners to engage in regional collaboration.
Successful regions have clear agency missions and effective leadership. Characteristics of successful regions include:
- Shared regional vision for economic development, land-use, growth management, and transportation development.
- Effective partnerships among key agencies, evidenced by a high degree of mutual trust.
- Transit-specific financial plans.
- State-of-the-art planning methodologies used from visioning and planning to programming and project selection.
There are huge variations in regional governance and decision-making across the U.S., which powerfully shape the nature and degree of collaboration that is possible.
- Uncertainty about how MPO structures and responsibilities may change under reauthorization of the Federal transportation bill has made some transit managers unsure of how to proceed with regional collaboration.
- Multi-state metropolitan regions have added complexity to governance and decision-making structures, which pose special challenges for collaboration.
Transit agencies face seven common challenges to regional collaboration in regional transportation planning:
- Land use collaboration is difficult due to fragmented, local control.
- MPOs are still dominated by highway interests.
- Truly multimodal planning is rare.
- Region-wide environmental planning is rare.
- MPO policy board structure is important and highly varied nationwide.
- Multi-state metropolitan regions face special and unique challenges.

C. Panelist Case Studies: Regional Transit & MPO Collaboration Stories from Around the Nation

Following the Federal policy context offered by Charles Goodman and the summary of Paul Bay's TCRP research, the remaining panelists — who represented both planning agencies and transit agencies - offered brief case studies of the work taking place in their own regions to increase inter-agency collaboration and successfully integrate transit systems planning in support of sustainable regional development goals.

1. Chicago's Go to 2040 Plan

Jesse Elam, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is a regional agency whose mission is to integrate land use and transportation in the 7-county Chicago region. CMAP serves as the Chicago region's MPO as well as the region's Planning Commission, so its planning charge spans a variety of issues:

Transportation
Land Use
Economic and Community Development
Environment and Natural Resources
Housing
Human Services

CMAP is currently preparing a long-range comprehensive plan, Go to 2040, which will also function as the RTP. Go to 2040 is a scenario-based planning exercise that develops three growth options (respectively called Reinvest, Preserve, Innovate), plus a baseline trend, that are used as a comparative framework for evaluating projects and making investment decisions.

Scenario One, "Reinvest," includes significant transit service expansion and a focus on TOD. The other scenarios under consideration do not include the same level of transit investment. Thus, when all the scenarios are modeled and compared they reveal how different packages of investment will impact regional growth and development in different ways. CMAP is running the regional travel demand model for each scenario and analyzing them to determine their impacts on air quality conformity as well. Mr. Elam noted that by taking a technical, analytical approach to decision-making such as scenario planning, CMAP is able to "sell" the benefits of different investment packages to the public objectively to gain its support and buy-in. All four scenarios are currently in public review and comment, and CMAP expects to choose a "preferred" scenario by the end of 2009.

Another distinguishing feature of the Go to 2040 plan is its use of indicators/performance measures. CMAP is using a variety of indicators to:

Assess the performance of alternate scenarios
Evaluate major capital investments (at the project level)
Track regional performance over time

CMAP's indicators include a number of measures that support sustainability goals, such as:

Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Provision
Mode Share (Travel by Mode)
Air Quality
Energy Consumption and Green House Gas Emissions
Preservation of Natural Resources and Land Consumption
Support for Infill Development and Existing Densely-Developed Areas
Mutual Consistency Between Regional and Sub-Regional Land Use and Transportation Plans

One indication that transit is "at the table" in Chicago is that transit providers are included as members and decisionmakers on the MPO Policy Board.

2. Portland's High Capacity Transit System Plan

Tony R. Mendoza, Portland Metro
Richard Brandman, Oregon DOT

There is a rich history of "transit at the table" in Portland. The Portland region's MPO, Metro, conducts long-range transit studies and works closely with TriMet (the region's major transit operator) to submit funding applications to the New Starts program and oversee environmental review. Mr. Brandman joked that in Portland, contrary to most parts of the country, it's the state DOT that wants a better seat at the table to get its interests heard. There are a number of reasons for the Portland region's success at pro-active transit collaboration. One piece comes from a long history of transportation and land use coordination, which was spurred by a state law requiring the establishment of Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) in all metropolitan areas during the 1970s.

Another stems from the unique charter of Metro itself, which is the only directly elected regional government in the United States. Metro serves as the region's MPO, but was also granted land use authority by the Governor in the 1970s, including the power to delineate and manage Portland's UGB. Many MPOs set density targets in their plans, but what distinguishes Metro is the ability to enforce those targets