BEST PRACTICES: COORDINATION OF TRANSIT, REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND LAND USE

This session explores some of the “national” dimensions of the conference’s themes, as well as provide a bit of international comparison through a case study on Dutch practice on integrating transit and land use planning.

· Coordinating Transportation and Land Use Planning: A Review of National Experience, Christopher Porter, Virginia Smith and John Suhrbier, Cambridge Systematics, Inc.

· Connected Transit / Land Use Planning: SAFETEA-LU Opportunities, Charles R. Goodman, Federal Transit Administration

· Bus Transit Service in Land Development Planning – TCRP Synthesis 67, Mary Kay Christopher, MKC Associates

· Transit Inputs to Sustainable Land Use Development: Four Dutch Examples, Francis Cheung, Passenger Transport Section, AVV Transport Research Centre, Netherlands

10:45 a.m. - Noon

Regional Focus: Visioning and Building the Transit Region

Richard Weaver, American Public Transportation Association, Moderator

Transit involvement in MPO and planning processes, successes in integrating transportation and land use planning and community-based visioning efforts are explored in this session.

· Transit at the Table: MPO Support of Land Use/Transit Coordination, Charles R. Goodman, Federal Transit Administration

· Establishing a Transit Vision in Southwestern Pennsylvania: A Collaborative Process, Richard C. Feder, Whitman, Requardt and Associates, Larry J. Morris, Westmoreland County Transit Authority, Chuck Imbrogno, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

· Review & Assessment of the St. Louis Region's Efforts to Integrate the Transit and Land Use Connection into Regional Planning (EWGCOG), Donna L. Day, East-West Gateway Council of Governments

· Coordinated Transit & Land Use Planning in the Region of Waterloo, Jeffrey M. Casello, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,Kevin Curtis, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Graham Vincent, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

12:15 pm Luncheon

Speaker: Cal Marsella, General Manager and CEO, Denver Regional Transportation District

1:45-3:15 PM

Corridor Focus: Integrated Transit and Land Use Planning at the Corridor Level

Frank Spielberg, Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin, Inc., Moderator

This session focuses on the “corridor” as a critical basis for achieving a better integration of transit and land use planning.

· Land Use Impacts of new Bus and Subway Services, Jeffrey M. Casello and Clarence Woudsma, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

· Planning for the Corridor: Transit-Oriented Development Potential and Outcomes, Dena Belzer, Strategic Economics and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development

· Retrofitting the Strip: Creating Bus-Oriented Corridors and Centers, Bruce Appleyard, University of California, Berkeley/Dowling Associates

3:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Case Studies: Tapas Session and Poster Boards

Brendon Hemily, Hemily and Associates, Moderator

This session used an innovative approach of five-minute presentations and poster board presentations to explore a range of cases studies related to regional planning issues, transit involvement in land use development, and analytic tools related to transit, planning, and land use. Presenters will make a five-minute overview of their topic in a plenary format, followed by the opportunity for more informal discussions with participants at their posters.

Case Studies-Regional Planning

· Dots and Dashes: An Evaluation of a Pilot Visioning Program for Regional Transit, Joseph F. Hacker, and Candace B. Snyder, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

· Washington State’s Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers, Keith Cotton, Washington State Department of Transportation

Case Studies-Transit Involvement

· Lessons Learned from Transit Agency Involvement in Land Use Planning: A Case Study from the Puget Sound Region, Charles Prestrud, Washington State Department of Transportation

· Bus-Oriented Development in an Edge City: Transit and Planning in Emeryville, California, Nathan Landau, AC Transit, Wendy Silvani, Emery Go Round

· Innovative Collaboration of Transit Agency and New Home Developer to Promote Transit-Oriented Developments, Colleen M. Richter, Metrolink

Case Studies-Analysis

· TCRP Research on the Relationship between Urban Design and Mode Choice, Karla Karash, TranSystems Corp.

· Traveler Response to Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), John (Jay) Evans, Cambridge Systematics, Inc.

· Sugar House: A Sweet Transit Planning Recipe, Robin Cohn Hutcheson, Fehr & Peers Associates

~ Tuesday, August 28, 2007 ~

8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Neighborhood Focus: TOD, Transit-Sensitive Development and Development-Oriented Transit Todd Hemingson, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Moderator

What are the elements of a transit neighborhood? What can make it successful? What are the opportunities and challenges for the transit agency in participating in the process? These are central questions to the increasingly important goal for many communities- successfully integrating transit into the fabric of a neighborhood. This session features three presentations that speak to these issues. In combination, they should provide attendees with an improved understanding of what it takes to create a vibrant and successful transit neighborhood.

· Transit-supportive Spaces and Features (Place-Defining, Transit Ridership-Building TOD Projects), Cynthia Nikitin, Project for Public Spaces

· Housing Challenges and Policies to Support Transit - (Production of Mixed-Income Housing around Transit: Local and State Policies that Work), Samuel Zimmerman-Bergman, Center for Transit-Oriented Development,

· Reducing Parking Demand in Downtown (Influencing External Factors - Reducing Parking Demand), Ron Kilcoyne, Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority

10:30 a.m. – Noon Concurrent Workshops

Workshop #1 - Improved Planning and Analysis Methods for Transit Regions Erik Sabina, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Workshop Leader

What improvements are needed in analysis procedures and techniques to better deal with transit in a regional setting, especially when there is a lot of land use interaction? How do planning agencies effectively analyze transit projects? The workshop focused on defining issues and developing a research agenda for better techniques.

Workshop #2 - Thinking Beyond the Station

Sam Zimmerman-Bergman, Center for Transit Oriented Development, Workshop Leader

"Thinking Beyond the Station” addresses the challenges of integrating transit and development into communities, including the design and planning of transit facilities and station areas, opportunities for place-making, and capturing the value of public transportation investments through new development. “Thinking Beyond the Station” encompasses decisions as diverse as selecting alignments and stop locations or determining the appropriate development types and intensities to support both transit ridership and community vitality. The Center for Transit-Oriented Development and Project for Public Spaces will jointly lead the workshop this workshop to focus on Community Supportive Transit, including gaps in existing knowledge, barriers to Community Supportive Transit and potential research steps to further understand this issue. Questions discussed include: How can Community Supportive Transit be integrated into corridor planning early in the process? What are strategies for overcoming pedestrian barriers? What types and intensity of uses help catalyze transit ridership and create community assets around transit stops?

Workshop #3 - Improved Coordination of Transit and Land Use in Bus-only Locations

Ron Kilcoyne, Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority, Workshop Leader

This workshop examines how transit agencies can improve coordination with regional planning organizations and land use developers in locations that are bus only. Some questions addressed are: What can be done to enhance the tie between non-fixed guideway transit and land use? How to make non- TOD development (or, standard suburban/exurban development) transit friendly? What are minimum thresholds to support transit service (e.g., residential, employment or visitor density)? How can transit agencies work to make land use more transit friendly? The workshop will also explore the factors leading to successful coordination. What is the role of champions, funding sources, area growth trends and governmental cooperation in creating a transit region? Is it essential to be a new start community or are there other things that can be done?

Noon - 1:15 p.m. Luncheon

Speakers: Ferd Belz, President, Cherokee

Denver LLC

Kenneth Ho, Senior Associate

1:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m.

Workshop Reports

· Erik Sabina, Denver Regional Council of Governments

· Sam Zimmerman-Bergman, Center for Transit Oriented Development

· Ron Kilcoyne, Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority

Conference Summary

Edward Beimborn, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

3:00-5:30 PM