THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR

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1 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR 2009 Law ley Pub li ca tions. All Rights Re served. VOL 23, NO 4 MAY 4, 2009 Vir ginia Im ple ments Con nec tiv ity Re quire ment for Secondary Streets Changes Rules That Must Be Met For State Main te nance As of July 1, 2009, newly con structed sec - ond ary streets in Vir ginia will need to meet new rules in order to be accepted into the state sys tem for per pet ual pub lic maintenance. Under these rules, all new sub di vi sions must have through streets con nect ing them with streets in other sub di vi sions, and with schools and shop ping areas. The rules mean an end to the cre ation of devel op - ments with sin gle entrances and exits, and to streets end ing in cul-de-sacs. State offi - cials say the new rules will improve safety and acces si bil ity, and allow quicker responses by emer gency vehi cles. They say the rules will also reduce road maintenance costs. Called the Sec ond ary Street Accep - tance Require ments (SSAR), the rules gov ern the devel op ment of streets for accep tance by the Vir ginia Depart ment of Trans por ta tion (VDOT) for per pet ual pub - lic main te nance. They were devel oped as a result of leg is la tion unan i mously adopted by the Gen eral Assem bly dur ing the 2007 session. The revised reg u la tions meet the required goals of the leg is la tion that include: Ensur ing the con nec tiv ity of road and pedes trian net works with the exist ing and future trans por ta tion network; Min i miz ing storm water run off and impervious surface area; and Address ing per for mance bond ing needs of new sec ond ary streets and asso ci ated cost recov ery fees. Accord ing to VDOT, these pro vi sions will help ensure that devel op ers build streets that will enhance the over all capac ity of Experimental Pavement Markings Aimed at Reduc ing Speed, Increas ing Safety Sim i lar Program Successful in Europe, Australia Pedes tri ans and cyclists may expe ri ence safer cross ings at two mid-block bike trail cross ings after the Vir ginia Depart ment of Trans por ta tion (VDOT) installs zig-zag pave ment mark ings in high traf fic areas to get motor ists to slow down. The Vir ginia Trans por ta tion Research Coun cil, VDOT s research divi sion, is test ing the new mark ings at two loca tions the trans por ta tion net work by pro vid ing addi tional trans por ta tion con nec tions to Please turn to Page 6 in Loudoun County where the Wash ing ton & Old Domin ion trail crosses Ster ling Bou le vard and Belmont Ridge Road. VDOT installed the road mark ings at these loca tions last month. The loca tions were picked out of 70 sites where the trail inter sects with road - ways. Traf fic vol ume, speed, sight Please turn to Page 2 Inside Sur veys....page 11 Requests for Pro pos als....page 23 Confer ences...page 24 A test site of "zig-zag" pavement markings at the crossing of a bike-pedestrian trail in Loudoun County, VA. It is hoped that the markings will encourages vehicles to slow down. (Photo: Courtesy of VDOT )

2 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23, NO. 4 Page 2 Con tin ued from Page 1 Experimental Pavement Markings Aimed at Re duc ing Speed, In creas ing Safety dis tance, road way cur va ture and data col - lec tion were all con sid ered in mak ing the se lec tions. Ac cord ing to VDOT spokes - man Mike Salmon, these two lo ca tions were picked be cause they have a rel a tively high road speed and good vis i bil ity. The sites also have very high vol umes of bi cy - clists and pedestrians. At first mo tor ists may be a lit tle dis ori - ented by the zig-zag mark ings, Salmon said, but the point is to get them to slow down. He told UTM that the posted speed on the roads is 45 miles per hour, a rel a - tively high speed for a bike trail to cross. He noted that there also are warn ing signs on the road to alert driv ers to the bike trail. VDOT is con stantly look ing for new ways to alert driv ers about pe des tri ans, Salmon said. The mark ings are placed in line with the flow of traf fic to catch the at - ten tion of driv ers prior to the ac tual cross - walk. The zig-zag lines ex tend 500 feet from the cross walk out into the road. At a time of lim ited bud gets, the zig-zag pave ment mark ings are a low-cost al ter na - tive to other safety im prove ments, Salmon stressed. The pave ment mark ings come in two dif fer ent styles. The Fed eral High way Ad min is tra tion ap proved their use for the VDOT test af ter see ing the suc cess ful use of these mark ings in the United Kingdom and Australia. VDOT Traf fic En gi neer ing Pro gram Man ager Randy Dittberner said that VDOT striped zig-zags in the cen ter of the travel lanes on Belmont Ridge Road us ing a de sign mod eled on the ap proach used in New South Wales, Aus tra lia. It s re ferred to by New South Wales as merely a zig-zag, and is used as a warn ing for pe - des trian cross ings, par tic u larly those where sight dis tance is lim ited, he ex - plained. We have adopted the same ter mi - nol ogy, and are also us ing it on approaches to crosswalks. On Ster ling Bou le vard, a four-lane di - vided road way, VDOT plans to stripe the zig-zags on the right edge line and lane lines, Dittberner added. This de sign is sim i lar to treat ments in Eu rope, al though in Eu rope it is of ten used to com mu ni cate park ing pro hi bi tions rather than warn ing about pe des trian crossings, he said. VDOT is not aware of any other zig-zags in the U.S. that use a sim i lar de - sign. A treat ment was in stalled at some time in Utah, but in stead of zig-zags with sharp points, the mark ings were curved, "Zig-zag" pave ment mark ings be ing in stalled man u ally. (Photo: Mike Salmon, Cour tesy of VDOT) Dittberner said. The Utah in stal la tion does not ap pear to be as so ci ated with a pe - des trian crossing. Asked if there was an au to mated way to in stall the mark ings, Dittberner said that VDOT is not aware of one. Each line that com poses the zig-zag is laid out by hand in the field, he said. We then used hot-ap plied ther mo plas tic pave ment mark ing, which is in stalled man u ally with a hand-op er ated push-cart-style de vice. We may want to in ves ti gate more au to - mated in stal la tion meth ods if our ex per i - men ta tion shows positive results. VDOT will mon i tor driver be hav ior and speeds ap proach ing the zone for a full year af ter the pave ment mark ings are in - stalled. If the ex per i ment is suc cess ful in re duc ing speeds, VDOT may con sider the zig-zag mark ings as a more stan dard pe - des trian safety measure. For more in for ma tion, visit ginia/2009/ or con tact Mike Salmon at (703) or by at mike.salmon@vdot.virginia.gov. The Urban Trans por ta tion Mon i tor, ISSN , is pub lished monthly, except dur ing Jan u ary and August (10 issues per year), by Law - ley Pub li ca tions, 6813 Jer e miah Ct., Fairfax Sta - tion, VA 22039, Tel: (703) , Fax: (703) , edi tors@lawleypub lications.com. Sub scrip tions $295 per year. Peri - od i cals post age paid at Fairfax, VA. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to The Urban Trans por ta tion Mon i tor, P.O. Box 12300, Burke, VA The Urban Trans por ta tion Mon i tor pub lishes cur rent news on all modes and aspects related to urban trans por ta tion. Law ley Pub li ca tions is an inde pend ent and pri vately owned orga ni za tion. Copy right 2009, Law ley Pub li ca tions. All Rights Reserved. Repro duc tion, includ ing pho - to copy ing and fac sim ile or elec tronic trans mis - sion, in whole or in part with out writ ten per mis sion from the Edi tor is expressly pro hib ited. Law ley Pub li ca tions assumes no respon si bil ity or lia bil ity of any kind for the accu racy or com - plete ness of the infor ma tion herein, or for addi - tional or changed infor ma tion sub se quent to the date the mate rial was received and/or pub lished. Publisher/Editor: Dan iel B. Rathbone, Ph.D., P.E. Man ag ing Edi tor: Clarissa Reeves, M.Ed. Assis tant Edi tor/researcher: J. Holden

3 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 3 Chi cago s RTA Lat est To Use Free way Shoul ders for BRT; Seen As First Step In a Phased Ap proach Com mu ters Can Save One Hour Per Round Trip The Chi cago Re gional Trans por ta tion Au - thor ity (RTA) is plan ning to test bus rapid tran sit (BRT) ser vice early next year by us - ing the shoul der lanes of In ter state High - way 55 be tween the Loop and the south - west sub urbs. The BRT was a pro ject re - quired in new tran sit re form state leg is la - tion en acted last year. Of fi cials hope that com mu ters will be mo ti vated to leave their cars and ride the bus when buses can travel more quickly in con ges tion-free, bus-only lanes. Ac cord - ing to the RTA, com mu ters could save as much as one hour per round trip by rid ing the buses which would help re duce driver stress and wasted time. Com mu nity ben e - fits would also in clude fewer cars on the road, re duc ing con ges tion and ve hi cle gas pollution. The new ser vice is sched uled to be gin dur ing spring 2010 and to run dur ing peak travel pe ri ods. It will be op er ated by the sub ur ban bus agency Pace. The RTA chose the I-55 cor ri dor (Stevenson Ex press way) for the BRT dem - on stra tion pro ject be cause no ma jor im - prove ments are needed and many seg - ments of the high way are among the most con gested in the re gion. Ac cord ing to Chi - cago RTA spokes per son Di ane Palmer, start-up im ple men ta tion costs will be min i - mal and serve the goal of get ting the pro - ject go ing as quickly as pos si ble. The shoul ders al ready ex ist, she said, and a num ber of park-and-ride lots serv ing the The shoul ders on which the RTA is plan ning to run buses might even tu ally be sep a rated from reg u lar traf fic lanes by means of a bar rier as shown here. (Photo: Cour tesy of the RTA, Chi cago) A sec tion of I-55 where the RTA in Chi cago is plan ning to run buses on the free way shoul ders dur ing the peak traf fic pe ri ods. It can be seen that the shoulders are wide. (Photo: Cour tesy, Google, Inc.) route are cur rently underutilized. She pointed out that buses from Pace s ex ist ing fleet could be uti lized in the short term. Palmer added that there are lon ger term plans to con sider add ing sta tions and more tra di tional BRT ve hi cles that mimic more of a train-rid ing experience than a typical public transit bus. The in au gu ral BRT pro ject will be ex - clu sively on the Stevenson I-55. Ac cord ing to Aimee Lee, the RTA s man ager of re - gional plan ning, one of the key find ings of the cur rent RTA study of I-55 will be the de ter mi na tion of ex actly how many miles be tween Il li nois High way 53 and the Dan Ryan Ex press way pres ent safe op por tu ni - ties for shoulder riding. Op er at ing rules will be de vel oped in co op er a tion with our part ner ing agen cies, Lee said. How ever, she added, the rules will cer tainly need to ad dress is sues such as the speed at which buses can op er ate in the shoul der, when the bus needs to re turn to the gen eral traf fic lane, etc. RTA of fi cials have said, for in stance, that the buses would get out of the way of emer gency ve hi cles need ing to use the shoulders. We are look ing to a lot of our peer re - gions to learn from their ex pe ri ence in do - ing this, Lee said. We are par tic u larly in - ter ested in how other re gions have taken a phased ap proach in build ing a tran sit cor ri - dor by first giv ing bus pri or ity through bus on shoul der (BOS) op er a tions and then lay er ing on ad di tional fea tures as the base of riders grows. At an April 22 RTA BRT sub com mit - tee meet ing, the RTA s Se nior Dep uty Ex - ec u tive Di rec tor of Plan ning and Re gional Pro grams Leanne Red den pointed out that bus rapid tran sit has worked suc cess fully in many cit ies in clud ing Twin Cit ies, Min - ne sota; To ronto, On tario; Los An geles, Cal i for nia; Curitiba, Brazil; Bris bane, Aus tra lia; and Bogotá, Co lum bia. Her slide show pre sen ta tion stressed that BRT is not one-size-fits-all and that many vari a tions de pend ing on mar ket char ac - ter is tics, physical constraints, and cost. Ac cord ing to the RTA, I-55 is the first in what they an tic i pate will be a se ries of dem on stra tion cor ri dors for bus rapid tran sit us ing ar te rial streets in Chi cago and the sub urbs as well as area toll roads. As the mar ket builds, RTA of fi cials say, it will add pre mium ve hi cles, con sider brand ing the ser vice with its own name, and ex plore other ex pan sion opportunities. For more in for ma tion, con tact RTA Di rec tor of Com mu ni ca tions Di ane Palmer at (312) or by at PalmerD@rtachicago.org.

4 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL 23 NO. 4 Page 4 Intelligence BTS Adds Two New Key Trans por ta tion In di ca tors. Wash ing ton, D.C. In April, the U.S. De part ment of Trans - por ta tion s Bu reau of Trans por ta tion Sta tis tics (BTS) an nounced that it has up - dated its Key Trans por ta tion In di ca tors with the ad di tion of new ta bles on Trans - por ta tion Em ploy ment and Per sonal Spend ing on Trans por ta tion. The new ta - bles bring to 16 the to tal num ber of trans - por ta tion in di ca tors tracked by BTS. In di ca tors are drawn from BTS and other sources to pro vide timely, eas ily ac - ces si ble in for ma tion for the trans por ta - tion com mu nity. BTS also up dated the fol low ing ta bles as part of the Key Trans - por ta tion In di ca tors up date: Trans por ta - tion Ser vices In dex; Air Travel Price In - dex; Do mes tic Air line Jet Fuel; Mo tor Fuel Prices: Re tail Die sel Prices; Mo tor Fuel Prices: Re tail Gas o line Prices; U.S. Highway Vehicle Miles Traveled; Amtrak Ridership; In dex of Rail road Fuel Prices; Rail Capacity Utilization: Rail Pas sen ger Load Fac tor; Rail Freight: Rev e nue Ton-Miles; Rail On-Time Per - for mance; Use of Pas sen ger Rail: Rev e - nue Pas sen ger Miles; and U.S. Surface Trade U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico. The in di ca tors fall un der two broad cat e go ries: those that pro vide con text about the econ omy and so ci ety in which trans por ta tion func tions, and those that con vey in for ma tion about an as pect of transportation. Reference tables at the be - gin ning of the doc u ment pro vide key sta - tis tics about U.S. so cial and eco nomic char ac ter is tics, and about the extent of the transportation system. For more in for ma tion, visit tation_indicators/ or con tact Dave Smallen at (202) New Re port Calls for Over haul ing U.S. Fed eral In fra struc ture Pol icy; Other Coun tries Suc cess ful In fra struc ture Ini tia tives Cited Wash ing ton, D.C. In fra struc ture 2009: A Pivot Point, a new pub li ca tion by the Ur ban Land In sti tute and Ernst & Young calls for over haul ing U.S. fed eral in fra struc ture pol icy and in te - grat ing land use and in fra struc ture plan - ning at all lev els of gov ern ment. Such a plan, the re port says, could re sult in greater le ver ag ing of pub lic in vest ments; an im - proved mo bil ity net work that ad e quately sup ports de sired eco nomic growth; and the mit i ga tion of green house gas emis sions through re duced auto de pend ency. The on go ing eco nomic cri sis has pushed the na tion to a pivot point ei ther the coun try can risk fur ther pro duc tiv ity de cline, trans por ta tion con ges tion, and po - tential catastrophes from dilapidated sys - tems, or it can de velop new net works and land use mod els to ac com mo date the ex - pected 100 mil lion in pop u la tion growth over the next generation, the report says. The $132 bil lion al lot ted for in fra struc - ture pro jects in the re cently-en acted Amer - i can Re cov ery and Re in vest ment Act (ARRA) should help boost the U.S. econ - omy by cre at ing jobs. But, the re port cau - tions, the leg is la tion falls short of de vel op - ing a na tional strat egy aimed at en abling fu ture eco nomic growth. For the long-term, In fra struc ture 2009 rec om - mends a fund ing so lu tion based on stra te - gic investing, rather than simply spending. In fra struc ture 2009 de tails a four-pronged ap proach to chang ing in fra - structure policy: Cre ate a na tional strat egy A com pre - hen sive strat egy is needed that ac counts for pop u la tion growth, rapid ur ban iza - tion and de clin ing mo bil ity through out ur ban ar eas. New trans port net works must interconnect more efficiently to move peo ple and goods through in - creas ingly con gested global path way cit ies. In no va tive new tran sit schemesmust help re duce car de pend - ency, pre vent bot tle necks in com mer - cial cen ters and de crease pol lu tion Plan ho lis ti cally Goals to re duce con - ges tion, cut car bon foot prints, de crease for eign oil de pend ency and en sure ad e - quate wa ter sup plies re quire in te gra tion of trans por ta tion, en ergy and en vi ron - men tal pro grams with land use plan ning and hous ing pol icy. Peo ple's de ci sions about travel, work and hous ing will of - ten be de ter mined by the cost and con ve - nience of trans port op tions Con sol i date gov ern ment man age ment Fed eral, state and lo cal gov ern ments must re struc ture agen cies re spon si ble for trans por ta tion, hous ing, wa ter and en ergy to man age and ex e cute a co or - dinated infrastructure policy. States should for mu late long-range re gional plans that tie into a na tional in fra struc - ture agenda Change fund ing ap proaches More of the fund ing bur dens for new in fra - struc ture net works and re pairs must shift to us ers from tax pay ers since gov ern ment cof fers alone will never be suf fi cient to cover costs. Among the new fund ing sources are higher gas taxes, greater use of high way tolls, and charges for ve hi cle miles trav eled. The re port also sup ports es tab lish - ment of a na tional in fra struc ture bank to help fi nance na tional net works and attract more private capital. The United States could ben e fit by adopt ing strat e gies im ple mented by its global com pet i tors to im prove con nec - tivity, create efficiencies, and fund projects, the re port says. Among the con - cepts worth studying: The Eu ro pean Un ion's in te gra tion of trans port net works The bus rapid tran sit sys tems of Bo - gota, Co lom bia and Guangzhou, China, which have proven to be highly cost-ef fec tive, ef fi cient and con ve - nient. The Eu ro pean In vest ment Bank s suc - cess in low er ing in ves tor risk and fos - ter ing pub lic-pri vate part ner ships. Can ada s fed eral pro grams that work in con cert with state and lo cal gov ern - ments to tackle in fra struc ture plan - ning and fund ing. Ger many s mas ter plan for freight trans port and lo gis tics de signed to en - hance mo bil ity, im prove ef fi ciency and re duce car bon emis sions. For more in for ma tion, visit ations/reports/~/media/documents/res earchandpublications/reports/infrastru cture/infrastructure% ashx, or con tact Trisha Riggs at or at priggs@uli.org. Tran sit In no va tions in U.S. High - lighted; Re port Re leased by the En vi ron - Please turn to Page 5

5 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 5 Intelligence (continued) Transit Innovations in U.S. High lighted; Re port Re leased by the En vi ron men tal De fense Fund Wash ing ton, D.C. A new re port re leased by the En vi ron - men tal De fense Fund, high lights tran sit in no va tions op er at ing in 45 met ro pol i - tan, sub ur ban and ru ral com mu ni ties in 30 states across the United States that are cre at ing jobs, cut ting traf fic con ges tion, and re duc ing air and global warm ing pol - lution. Entitled Reinventing Transit: Ameri - can Com mu ni ties Find ing Smarter, Cleaner, Faster Trans por ta tion So lu - tions, the re port also pro vides case stud - ies of more than ten of these tran sit in no - va tions. The case stud ies dem on strate how cut ting edge tran sit has been im ple - mented quickly and cost-ef fec tively in a va ri ety of settings from urban to rural. The re port was wel comed by trans - por ta tion lead ers from both houses of Con gress. The re port s sub ject is par tic - u larly timely be cause the six-year fed eral transportation bill, which sustains trans - portation initiatives, expires September 30 and will be the sub ject of near-term con gres sio nal ac tion. Our na tional trans por ta tion pol icy should be sup port - ing ex actly the kinds of in no va tions found in Re in vent ing Tran sit, so in no - va tive tran sit tech nol ogy is not an ex cep - tion, but a rou tine oc cur rence in com mu - ni ties of all sizes, said Con gress man Earl Blumenauer of Port land, Or e gon in an April 23 press re lease. Blumenauer is the vice chair man of the House Se lect Com mit tee on En ergy In de pend ence and Global Warm ing. These tech nol o gies have proven their power to re duce grid - lock as well as green house gas emis sions, while at the same time in creas ing qual ity of life for com mu ni ties in Or e gon and around the coun try, he added. I hope that Con gress can pro mote these tech nol - o gies in the climate legislation and transportation reauthorization currently under consideration. The re port s goal was not to se lect the best tran sit pro jects, but rather to pro vide snap shots of new tech nol o gies and ideas suc cess fully in place to day. They are con - crete ex am ples of how mod ern tran sit can be tai lored to any com mu nity, pro vid ing greater mo bil ity and ac cess to jobs while mak ing travel cheaper and more en ergy ef - fi cient. Ac cord ing to the re port, new forms of tran sit are also a pow er ful tool for eco - nomic growth, cre at ing jobs and pri vate sec tor in vest ments that revitalize nearby communities. For more in for ma tion, visit or con tact Sean Crowley at tel. (202) or by at scrowley@edf.org. NYC Meet ing to Fo cus on How to Cre ate More Sus tain able Cit ies: Event Brings Di verse Group of International Leaders Together New York City, NY Meet ing of the Minds 2009, an event pre - sented by Toy ota and hosted by JP Mor gan Chase & Co., will bring more than 130 lead ers to gether in New York City on June 2-3 for dis cus sions about how to cre ate more sus tain able cit ies us ing smarter de - sign tools, sounder en vi ron men tal prac - tices and cleaner en ergy sys tems. Ac cord - ing to Gordon Feller, CEO of the Ur ban Age In sti tute, it will also fo cus on how new eco nomic stim u lus funds can help to con - nect the dots be tween grids/en ergy sys - tems, trans port/mo bil ity and mu nic i pal ser vices while le ver ag ing mixed fi nanc ing from pub lic and pri vate sources. This event will be the third Meet ing of the Minds fo rum or ga nized and pro duced by the Ur ban Age In sti tute. The first was held in Sep tem ber 2007 in San Fran cisco, Cal i for nia and the sec ond was held in Port - land, Or e gon in July At Meet ing of the Minds 2009 Toy - ota is work ing with a group of part ners in - clud ing Siemens, ZipCar, Re gional Plan Association, World Bank, U.N., Cities De - vel op ment Ini tia tive of Asia (spon sored by Asia De vel op ment Bank; gov ern ments of Swe den and Ger many), Ur ban Land In sti - tute, and Me trop o lis. It is an in vi ta - tion-only, no-charge event that brings to - gether pol icy-mak ers, in no va tors, opin - ion-shapers and thought-lead ers from com mer cial, non profit, and pub lic sec tor or ga ni za tions and di verse geo graphic locations to share ideas and shape a common agenda. Each year's "Meet ing of the Minds" builds on last year's suc cesses. The 2009 event fo cuses on the con nec tions be - tween disparate challenges facing cities. What ever their city's shape or size, whether rich or poor, ur ban lead ers are busy mak ing their com mu ni ties more sus tain able. This event pro vides a plat - form to in crease un der stand ing of 'what works' and 'why'. It will in clude in ten - sive dis cus sions of prac ti cal ur ban in no - va tions in in fra struc ture, tech nol ogy, en - ergy, trans port wa ter and fi nance that can help build more livable cities. Among the many speak ers sched uled for the event are: Jozias van Aartsen, mayor of The Hague, Neth er lands; pres i dent of Eurocities (net work of ma jor Eu ro - pean cit ies); Len Lauer, executive vice pres i dent and chief op er at ing officer, Qualcomm; Janette Sadik-Khan, com mis sioner of trans por ta tion, NYC; Scott Grif fith, CEO, Zipcar; Su san Zielinski, managing di rec tor, SMART, Cen ter for Ad vanc ing Re - search & So lu tions for So ci ety, Uni - versity of Michigan; Bill Reinert, na tional man ager, ad - vanced tech nol ogy-toy ota mo tor sales, USA; Emiel Wegelin, di rec tor, Cit ies De - velopment Initiative for Asia, Manila; Nicolas Chaudron, Allianz Global Fi - nance Pri vate Eq uity, Paris; and Rick Lazio, vice pres i dent-global Gov ern ment Re la tions, JPMorgan Chase & Co. For more in for ma tion, visit m or con tact Gordon Feller at tel. (415) or Gordon@UrbanAge.org.

6 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 6 Con tin ued from Page 1 Virginia Implements Connectivity Requirement for Secondary Streets Adopted Into State to ad ja cent de vel op ments. This is a sig nif i - cant de par ture from the pre vi ous pol icy of ac cept ing any street that served three or more homes and was built in con for mance with state de sign and con struc tion stan - dards with out re gard to the im pact on the over all trans por ta tion net work. Ac cord ing to VDOT, the pol icy had to be re vis ited be - cause the num ber of streets ac cepted into the sys tem and the lev els of con ges tion have in creased, while state and fed eral trans por ta tion fund ing have de creased. De vel op ments with only one en try and exit point cre ate an un sus tain able bur den for the re gional trans por ta tion net work. Ad di tional trans por ta tion con nec tions be - tween adjacent developments will allow lo cal trips and the lo cal por tion of long-dis tance trips to remain on local streets. Ac cord ing to a VDOT Sum mary of the SSAR, by dis pers ing traf fic through out the A typical subdivision with only one outlet and no connectivity to the adjacent developments. (Photo: Cour tesy of Google, Inc.) An illustration showing how to obtain a "connectivity index" for a particular subdivision. (Photo: Cour tesy of VDOT) sys tem, interconnectivity al lows the use of a nar rower street de sign. The nar rower streets re sult in a re duc tion of im per vi ous sur face area and storm water run off. Also, the nar rower width re sults in lower op er at - ing ve hi cle speeds that are more ap pro pri - ate for res i den tial and mixed use ar eas and help ad dress a ma jor con cern speed ing on lo cal streets. These nar rower streets effectively provide built-in traffic calming that is more com pat i ble with the neigh bor - hood street environment, the summary says. Un der the SSAR, the streets within a de vel op ment will gen er ally be con sid ered for ac cep tance as a sin gle ad di tion to the state sys tem. To be ac cepted for per pet ual pub lic main te nance, each ad di tion will need to provide: Con nec tiv ity: new streets must con nect to ad ja cent prop er ties in mul ti ple di rec - tions and must sat isfy a quan ti fied street con nec tiv ity in dex es tab lished for the area type be ing served. Pe des trian ac com mo da tions: new streets must pro vide ap pro pri ate pe des - trian ac com mo da tions, de pend ent on the den sity of the de vel op ment be ing pro posed. Pub lic ser vice: new street net works must serve a suf fi cient num ber of homes, busi nesses and/or over all traf fic de mand that clas si fies the street as be ing pub lic in na ture. In ad di tion to this pol icy change, the new reg u la tion also up dates the in spec tion and surety pro cesses and fees in an ef fort to stream line the pro cess and better align costs. The SSAR con tains a tran si tion pe riod, March 9-July 1, 2009, dur ing which the de - vel op ment com mu nity, stake holders, and VDOT staff can be come more fa mil iar with the new reg u la tions. Ac cord ing to VDOT, plans and plats ini tially sub mit ted to the lo cal gov ern ment and VDOT af ter June 30, 2009, must com ply with the requirements of the SSAR. For more in for ma tion, visit or con tact VDOT spokes man Jeff Caldwell at (804) or at jeffrey.caldwell@vdot.virginia.gov

7 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 7 Product and Industry News Gen eral Mo tors and Segway Join Forces to De velop P.U.M.A. Gen eral Mo tors Corp. and Segway, Inc. have joined forces to cre ate a unique, one-of-a-kind pro to type ve hi cle, the P.U.M.A. (Per sonal Ur ban Mo bil ity & Ac - cessibility). The com pa nies an nounced Pro ject P.U.M.A., which they have been work ing on to gether for over a year, in ad vance of the New York Auto Show in April. The pro to type was test driven on the streets of New York City prior to the show. The P.U.M.A., which of fers ca pac ity for two pas sen gers in a seated po si tion, is based on tech nol ogy de vel oped for Segway s Per sonal Trans port ers (PTs). Like the PT, the P.U.M.A. re lies on dy - namic stabilization to offer passengers ex - cep tion ally strong ma neu ver abil ity and con trol in a unique, personal vehicle. The pro to type was de signed to al low trav el ers to get around cit ies quickly, ef fi - ciently and affordably in a ve hi cle that of - fers en ergy ef fi ciency and emits no pol lut - ants. With an in tended range of 20 km (12.4 miles) or more, it po ten tially could be used for trips that oth er wise would re quire a traditional automobile. The P.U.M.A. can travel at speeds of up to mph (40-56 kph) and cover dis - tances of miles (40-56 km) on a sin - gle charge. Charge time is 5-8 hours and the elec tri cal re charg ing cost, based on the cur rent con fig u ra tion, is only about $0.60. While dynamic stabilization allows the ve hi cle to bal ance on two wheels with a true zero turn ing ra dius, ef fi cient elec tric pro pul sion en sures max i mum con trol over the dy nam ics of the vehicle. Ac cord ing to Segway, the ve hi cle s bal anc ing re lies on an ar ray of an gu lar rate sensors and accelerometers to deter - mine the ori en ta tion and mo tion of the ve - hi cle s plat form. As the plat form leans for - ward, the bal ance sen sor as sem bly no tices and re sponds by re quest ing power to the mo tors to drive the wheels forward to maintain balance. The intuitive user interface ensures that the cen ter of mass shifts to con trol both the speed of move ment and the abil ity to The Per sonal Ur ban Mo bil ity & Ac ces si bil ity (P.U.M.A) prototype vehicle. (Photo: Cour tesy of Segway, Inc.) stop quickly. It ac cel er ates for ward when the steer ing con sole is pushed for ward, shift ing the po si tion of the cen ter of mass, and it brakes when the op po site mo tion oc - curs and the steer ing con sole is pulled toward the driver. Other fea tures in clude elec tric drive and batteries, all-electronic acceleration, steer ing and brak ing, ve hi cle-to-ve hi cle com mu ni ca tions ca pa bil i ties, and au ton o - mous driv ing and park ing. Drive-by-wire dig i tal con trols means that steer ing in - puts, ac cel er a tion, and de cel er a tion are done with ze ros and ones instead of levers, cables, and pads. The P.U.M.A., which uti lizes large for - mat lith ium-ion bat ter ies, also of fers smart bat tery man age ment to en sure safe and ef fi cient use of the bat ter ies and re gen - erative braking capability. The energy ef - fi cient ve hi cle op er ates with zero emissions. The dig i tal dash board al lows data from the ve hi cle to be trans mit ted wirelessly to a handheld de vice. Use ful in for ma tion such as speed and bat tery life is avail able on demand. Al though the P.U.M.A. is cur rently con fig ured for two, it could be re de signed to carry ad di tional pas sen gers. Like the PT, which re quires leg is la tive ap proval for use in the U.S., the P.U.M.A. prob a bly would re quire spe cial ap proval if it were made avail able in the country. The P.U.M.A, which weighs about 300 pounds (136 kg), was de signed for travel over smooth ter rain. Be cause it has not been tested in ad verse weather con di tions, the ve hi cle s per for mance un der such cir - cum stances is un known and fur ther test ing of its weather wor thi ness and trac tion would be required. Cost information is difficult to estimate be cause costs would vary widely de pend - ing on range ca pa bil ity. As with other elec - tric ve hi cles, bat ter ies make up a sig nif i - cant por tion of costs. Segway says the de - vel op ers will not give a cost es ti mate at this time but prob a bly less than most current small car prices. The P.U.M.A. is only a pro to type and the com pa nies have no plans at this stage to pro duce the ve hi cles or make them avail - able for sale. The de vel op ers view the P.U.M.A. as more than just a ve hi cle, as an operating system with the potential for change and development. For more in for ma tion, visit

8 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 8 Idaho Stop Bi cy cle Leg is la tion At tracts In ter est from Other States No Ac ci dents Have Been Caused by Law An Idaho law that al lows bi cy clists to treat stop signs as if they were yield signs is gain ing the at ten tion of bik ing en thu si asts around the coun try. The Idaho State Leg is la ture passed a law in 1982 that en ables bi cy clists to law - fully pro ceed through a clear in ter sec tion with out hav ing to make a full foot-down stop. Un der the law, rid ers can slow down and safely roll through an in ter sec tion if they can see that no other ve hi cle, bike or pe des trian traf fic is approaching. Ac cord ing to Idaho s Ti tle of Mo tor Ve hi cles Chap ter 7, (1) A per son op er at ing a bi cy cle or hu man-pow ered ve - hi cle ap proach ing a stop sign shall slow down and, if re quired for safety, stop be - fore entering the intersection. After slowing to a rea son able speed or stop ping, the per son shall yield the right-of-way to any ve hi cle in the in ter sec tion or ap proach ing on an other high way so closely as to con sti - tute an im me di ate haz ard dur ing the time the per son is mov ing across or within the in ter sec tion or junc tion of high ways, ex - cept that a per son af ter slow ing to a rea son - able speed and yield ing the right-of-way if re quired, may cau tiously make a turn or proceed through the intersection without stopping. Idaho is the only state to have this law but, ac cord ing to Mark McNeese, Se nior transportation plan ner for the Idaho Trans - por ta tion De part ment, there is a great deal of in ter est in the leg is la tion. McNeese re - ceives fre quent in qui ries about the law and fields ques tions about how it works in Idaho. Among the states that have con sid ered or are con sid er ing adopt ing some vari a tion of the Idaho Stop law are Or e gon, Cal i - for nia, Vir ginia and Montana. McNeese notes that the bill put forth re cently by bi - cy cling ad vo cates in Or e gon, HB 2690, im pressed him as the most thor ough and well-researched effort. Sup port ers in Or e gon pre sented in for - ma tion about Idaho s ex pe ri ence pro vided by McNeese as well as by the traffic ser - vices manager for the Ada County High - way Dis trict and the Ada County sher iff. All sup port the law and be lieve it has been very successful. Ac cord ing to McNeese, ur ban bi cy - clists of ten are forced to choose be tween rid ing on quiet, safer res i den tial streets; which usu ally have many stop signs, and faster but more dan ger ous road ways with fewer stops. The law is in tended to let cy - clists take ad van tage of their nat u ral mo - men tum to ride more ef fi ciently but with - out jeopardizing safety. McNeese ex plains that no ac ci dents have been caused by the law be cause it does n t change the right-of-way but only al lows bi cy clists to take ad van tage of the ways in which bi cy cling is a dif fer ent ex - pe ri ence than driv ing a motor vehicle. The Or e gon team also pre sented re - search con ducted by Ja son N. Meggs of the School of Pub lic Health at the Uni ver sity of California, Berkeley demonstrating that bi cy cle safety in Idaho is the same if not better than in other states. His re search showed no ev i dence of long-term change in in jury or fa tal ity rates in the state re sult - ing from the adop tion of the 1982 law. Meggs found that, fol low ing in tro duc - tion of the legislation, bicycle injury rates Idaho Bike Stop Stat ute STOP PING TURN AND STOP SIG NALS. (1) A per son op er at ing a bi cy cle or hu man-pow ered ve hi cle ap proach ing a stop sign shall slow down and, if re quired for safety, stop be fore en ter ing the in ter sec tion. Af - ter slow ing to a rea son able speed or stop ping, the per son shall yield the right-of-way to any ve hi cle in the in ter sec tion or ap proach ing on an other high way so closely as to con sti tute an im me di ate haz ard dur ing the time the per son is mov ing across or within the in ter sec tion or junc tion of high ways, ex cept that a per son af ter slow ing to a rea - son able speed and yield ing the right-of-way if re quired, may cau tiously make a turn or pro ceed through the intersection without stopping. (2) A per son op er at ing a bi cy cle or hu man-pow ered ve hi cle ap proach ing a steady red traf fic con trol light shall stop be fore en ter ing the in ter sec tion and shall yield to all other traf fic. Once the per son has yielded, he may pro ceed through the steady red light with cau tion. Pro vided how ever, that a per son af ter slow ing to a rea son able speed and yield ing the right-of-way if re quired, may cau tiously make a right-hand turn. A left-hand turn onto a one-way high way may be made on a red light af ter stop - ping and yield ing to other traf fic. in Idaho ac tu ally de clined by 14.5% and ev i dence ex ists that in fact the new law im - proves road way safety. When he com - pared Boise, Idaho to other cit ies with sim - i lar bik ing and road con di tions, such as Sac ra mento, Cal i for nia, Meggs found that Boise was ac tu ally safer for bi cy clists in the years following adoption of the law. In sum ma riz ing his sup port for the law, Meggs explains that restoring bicyclists right to treat stops as yields is long over due and in the best in ter ests of the eco nomic, en vi ron men tal and pub lic health of this nation. Sup port ers of the leg is la tion ar gue that bi cy clers, be cause they are out in the open and are more aware of their sur round ings both vi su ally and au di bly, op er ate dif fer - ently from au to mo biles and should be treated dif fer ently un der the law. Also, bi - cyclists instinctively avoid spending time at in ter sec tions be cause they rec og nize that most accidents occur there. Ad di tion ally, ad vo cates for the leg is la - tion point out that slow ing but not stop ping at an intersection already is typical behavior for cy clists and le gal iz ing the prac tice Please turn to Page 9

9 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 9 Mass Tran sit Au dio Ad ver tis ing Pro vides Ad di tional Rev e nue To Tran sit Agen cies First Ap pli ca tion in Dayton, OH Au dio ad ver tis ing can pro vide ad di tional revenue to transit agencies, according to the Chi cago-based startup firm Com mu ter Ad ver tis ing. The con cept be hind Com mu ter Ad ver - tis ing is to de liver short-form au dio ad ver - tis ing mixed in with stop an nounce ments on mass-tran sit ve hi cles. This means that for ev ery 10 stops, com mu ters would hear one 10-sec ond ad that would play over the al ready-ex ist ing PA sys tem. Ads are geared to wards a spe cific stop, so the in for - ma tion is very relevant to the riders. The Greater Dayton Re gional Tran sit Au thor ity (RTA) is the first mar ket in the coun try to part ner with Com mu ter Ad ver - tis ing to of fer short-form and lo ca - tion-based au dio ad ver tis ing, ac cord ing to Com mu ter Ad ver tis ing Ad vi sory Board Mem ber Brian Rosen. Rosen told UTM that Commuter Advertising currently is ne go ti at ing in a num ber of mar kets, con - cen trat ing ef forts in the Mid west and ex - pan sion in select markets on both coasts. Since the com pany uses the equip ment that al ready ex ists, there is no cost to mass tran sit and they share the ad ver tis ing prof - its with Com mu ter Ad ver tis ing. The con - cept pres ents a brand new way for strug - gling mass tran sit com pa nies to ob tain additional revenue. Asked what equip ment and sound qual - ity needs to be in the buses, Rosen said that the Com mu ter Ad ver tis ing au dio pro gram re quires an au to mated on-board enun ci a - tion sys tem. But, he added, each mar ket has dif fer ent equip ment with dif fer ent ca - Con tin ued from Page 10 Idaho Stop Bicycle Legislation would make it safer by rec og niz ing it as stan dard be hav ior. The law rec og nizes the con sid er able en ergy re quired for bik ers to come to a com plete stop and then to re sume full speed. De spite the strong pre sen ta tion, the ef - fort to adopt the Idaho Stop law in Or e - gon failed in April when a key leg is la tor pabilities. Commu - ter Advertising is able to work with each tran sit agency and iden tify the prod ucts best suited to sell in that mar ket and which meth ods are best to get our audio to their buses, he said. Com mu ter Ad ver - tis ing prices com mer - cials so the av er age price per com mer cial is around cents, Rosen said. On av er - age in Dayton, buses leave the ga rage ev ery half hour for ap prox i - mately 18 hours a day. Based on an av er age of 10 rid ers per bus, he ex plained, the cost per rider to the ad ver - tiser works out to be around 1.5 cents. The tran sit au thor - ity s rev e nue is based on Com mu ter Ad ver tis ing ad sales, Rosen said. Com mu ter Advertis ing of fers mul ti - ple prod ucts to lo cal ad ver tis ers in clud ing lo ca tion-based au dio ad ver tis ing, timed-based au dio ad ver tis ing, text scrolls and text messaging. As the de mand on the prod uct in creases in each mar ket, so does the price for each of these prod ucts, he ex - plained. Over time, this leads to a pro - could not be con vinced to sched ule a work ses sion on the bill. The idea is now on hold but in ter est re mains high and it is likely to be re vis ited at some point in the future. For more in for ma tion, con tact Mark McNeese, Idaho Trans por ta tion De part - ment, at (208) or mark.mcneese@itd.idaho.gov. An RTA bus. (Photo: Carmen Gaines, Cour tesy, RTA) jected in crease in rev e nue year after year for our transit partners. In ad di tion to help ing mass tran sit, Com mu ter Ad ver tis ing has other ben e fits to the com mu nity, like pro vid ing lo cal jobs, Rosen said. Ad di tion ally, we of - fer free pub lic ser vice an nounce ments and route change an nounce ments to the tran sit com pa nies as well as 5 per cent free in ven tory and buy one get one free to non-prof its. We also en cour age ad ver tis - ers to par tic i pate in pro grams where they of fer a dis count to RTA rid ers, so it s re - ally a great in vest ment not only for mass transit but for the entire community as well. For more in for ma tion, visit or con tact Jessica Salassek at Em power Pub - lic Re la tions, (312) or jsalasek@empowerpr.com.

10 THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION MONITOR, MAY 4, 2009, VOL. 23 NO. 4 Page 10 Mary land Law mak ers Ap prove Lim ited Use of Speed Cam eras The Mary land Gen eral As sem bly has ap - proved a bill au tho riz ing the use of cam - eras to catch speed ing mo tor ists in school zones and high way work ar eas across the state. The mea sure is ex pected to be signed by Mary land Gov er nor Mar tin O Mal ley, who sup ports the leg is la tion. Ac cord ing to the gov er nor s of fice, the ap proved bill is a valu able piece of pub lic safety legislation. The fi nal text of the leg is la tion was ap - proved March 31, thereby: Au tho riz ing in all counties and municipalities in the State and in spec i fied high way work zones the use of speed mon i tor ing sys tems to en - force spec i fied high way speed laws un der spec i fied stan dards and pro ce dures; lim it - ing the op er a tion of a speed mon i tor ing sys tem in a school zone; re quir ing that rev - e nues from civil fines col lected through use of a work zone speed con trol sys tems un der the Act be dis trib uted to a spec i fied spe cial fund to be used only for specified purposes; etc. The leg is la tion says that in school zones, lo cal law en force ment agen cies may is sue ci ta tions or warn ings to ve hi cle own ers for speed ing at least 12 miles per hour above the posted speed limit be tween 6 am and 8 pm on week days. In high way work zones, the bill al lows state and lo cal law en force ment agen cies or their con trac - tors to is sue ci ta tions or warn ings for speed ing at least 12 miles per hour above the posted speed limit in high way work zones that are set up on ex press ways or con trolled ac cess high ways where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour or greater. A con spic u ous road sign warn ing of the use of speed mon i tor ing sys tems must be placed at a reasonable distance from the work zone. Own ers of ve hi cles found to be speed - ing will re ceive a civil pen alty not to ex - ceed $40. Ac cord ing to the bill, fail ure to pay the civil pen alty or to con test li a bil ity in a timely man ner is an ad mis sion of li a - bil ity; may re sult in the re fusal by the Ad - ministration to register the motor vehicle; and may re sult in the sus pen sion of the motor vehicle registration. The Gen eral As sem bly is let ting Mont - gom ery County re tain speed-mon i tor ing cam eras on some res i den tial roads, even though other ju ris dic tions will be al lowed to use them only in school and work zones. The state leg is la ture had ap proved the use of a pi lot pro gram of cam era en force ment in Mont gom ery County in But the Gen eral As sem bly is hav ing the county make some changes. Cur rently Mont gom - ery gives ci ta tions to driv ers 10 mph over the speed limit and have to raise that to 12 mph. The speed cam era leg is la tion shall take ef fect Oc to ber 1, The Mary - land State High way Ad min is tra tion (MSHA) strongly sup ports the leg is la tion. An MSHA spokes man said that, in the com ing months, they would be gath er ing in put to de ter mine which work zones would be sites for speed-mon i tor ing cam - eras and de vel op ing the ap pro pri ate sign - age as re quired by the leg is la tion. He added that most school zones were on sec - ond ary roads rather than state roads. For this rea son, he said, lo cal ju ris dic tions will de ter mine the sites for speed cameras in school zones. Sen ate Pres i dent Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., who spon sored the leg is la tion, has sug gested that speed cam eras will be in stalled rap idly be cause of lo cal ju ris dic - tions bud get ary needs. But some state del e gates and con stit u ents re main op posed to the leg is la tion. They say the cam eras are an in tru sion of pri vacy that re sult in a pre - sump tion that driv ers are guilty. They also com plain that cam eras are in stalled pri - mar ily to raise rev e nue, not to re duce speed ing. Of fi cials from some Mary land ju ris dic tions have said that they will not put speed cam eras in their ju ris dic tions. In fact, Mary land busi ness man, Dan iel F. Zubairi, has created an organization called Mary land for Re spon si ble En force ment, which will try to col lect enough sig na tures to get the ques tion of speed cam eras passed on to vot ers in a com ing elec tion. Un der Mary land law, vot ers can overturn a law passed by the General Assembly through such a referendum. The Gov er nors High way Safety As so - ci a tion has col lected in for ma tion on states use of en force ment cam eras, and found that au to mated en force ment lo ca tions vary sig nif i cantly. Some states al low en force - ment state wide, while oth ers per mit it only in com mu ni ties meet ing a pop u la tion thresh old or other cri te ria. They found that pen al ties vary as well. In most states, the reg is tered owner of the ve hi cle is is sued the ci ta tion. Of ten, the pen al ties for au to - mated en force ment are dif fer ent than tra di - tional en force ment pen al ties for the same violations. Some states treat automated en - force ment just like park ing tick ets: the owner is li a ble, points are not assessed and there is no record of the citation. Ac cord ing to The In sur ance In sti tute for High way Safety, 49 com mu ni ties across the U.S. are us ing speed cam eras as of April They are: Arizona: Chandler, El Mirage, Mesa, Par a dise Val ley, Phoe nix, Pinal County, Prescott Val ley, Scottsdale, Star Val ley, Tempe, Tuc son. Col o rado: Boul der, Den ver, Fort Col - lins. District of Columbia. Il li nois: state wide work zones. Iowa: Dav en port. Lou i si ana: Broussard, Gretna, La fay - ette, Livingston Par ish, New Or leans, Sul phur, Westwego, Zachary. Mary land: Mont gom ery County. Massachusetts: Blackstone. New Mex ico: Al bu quer que, Las Cru ces. Ohio: Ak ron, East Cleve land, North - wood, Parma, To ledo, West Carrollton. Or e gon: Beaverton, Medford, Port land. Ten nes see: Chat ta nooga, Jack son, Jonesborough, Mount Car mel, Oak Ridge, Red Bank, Selmer. Wash ing ton: Bremerton, Burien, Issaquah, Mon roe, Ta coma. For more in for ma tion, con tact Lora Rakowski at the Mary land State High way, Ad min is tra tion, tel. (401) , or visit the Gov er nors High way Safety As so - ci a tion website at auto_en force.html or the In sur ance In sti - tute of High way Safety at search/top -